The chronology of forest fires in the Republic of Buryatia

Forest fires in the Republic of Buryatia are one of important ecological factors of the impact on the envi-ronment. In the study the analysis of registered forest and peat fires on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia was carried out for the period from 1966 to 2016. It was established that during this period the increase in the number of forest fires happened at certain recurrence each 6-8 years. Since 1997, steady growth of the num-ber of forest fires not having certain frequency was ob-served. The peaks of forest fires from 1966 to 2016 took place in 1969, 1978, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016. It should be noted that there was the increase in the frequency of arisen fires on the territory of the republic for the last 20 years. As a result forest fires on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia caused the instability of forest ecosystems in general. The duration of fire-dangerous season in Buryatia makes from 140 to 160 days - since the begin-ning of May (sometimes since the end of April) and until the end of October. According to average long-term data, the number of forest fires arises in April - June and is distributed as follows: April - 13 %, May - 36, June - 24, July - 13, August - 7, September - 6, Octo-ber - 1 %. In separate years the number of all forest fires arises in April to 34 %, and in September - to 30 %. Multifocal decay of peat on the territory of the Re-public of Buryatia should be noted separately. During the period from 2012 to 2016 there was sharp increase in peat fires. Analyzing the situation, it is possible to note that the area of forest and peat fires considerably increases in comparison with previous years.