MODIS-based spatio-temporal distribution of wildfire in Inner Mongolia

data for the period 2002-2014. Through the integration of precipitation data, the impact of precipitation on the characteristics of annual variations in wildfire was investigated. The results showed that: 1) the spatial distribution of fire spots gradually decreased from northeast to southwest and the high density areas were mainly distributed in the border region between China and Mongolia, the forest-grassland belt and typical arable zones. 2) The largest wildfire area in Inner Mongolia was in 2003, followed by 2006, and the smallest was in 2010. Analysis showed that the interannual change of burning area was closely linked to fire high-risk monthly precipitation anomaly. The happening of fire showed seasonal variations, which autumn and spring was high-incidence season, especially the months of March, April, May and September. The fire-burned areas in Xing'anling mountainous and hilly region, Hulunbuir plateau and hilly region, and Xilingol Plateau accounted for 90% of the total burned areas in the seven ecological zones of Inner Mongolia, with area ratios of 52%, 28% and 10%, respectively. 3) The fire-burned areas ranked from large to small was in the sequence of pasture land, agriculture land, woodland and other land use types in the study area. Fire spots were mainly distributed in meadow steppe and typical steppe zones. A large proportion of the fire enhanced recovery of old pastures overtaken by invasive species and secondary growth. This form of pasture management in Inner Mongolia was an important cause of wildfires in pasture lands. The practice of burning straw every spring and autumn also intensified the distribution of fire in typical arable lands, especially in the Nenjiangxian Plain, Hetao Plain and Songnen Plain. The fire-burned area in Xing'anling mountainous and hilly region and Hulunbuir plateau and hilly region had the same variation trend. The results were critically helpful in understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of wildfire and provided scientific basis for wildfire monitoring and alert system. Keywords: Wildfire; Spatial and temporal distribution; MODIS; Inner Mongolia; Ecological zone; Land use type