Identification of fire hazard areas in the floodplain landscapes of the lower don based on active burn detection data from space

Wildfires are a significant exogenous factor in the state of floodplain ecosystem landscapes, the importance of which increases in modern changing hydrological and climatic conditions. A decrease in the water content of the flood in the lower reaches of the Don River leads to the degradation of meadow communities in the floodplain and the drying up of its delta, which causes an increased fire hazard. The article presents the results of a study of the fire regime of floodplain and delta landscapes of the Lower Don based on an analysis of the long-term dynamics of the number and density of active combustion sites according to the MODIS satellite system. Using a long-term archive of detection of active combustion sites for 2001-2023, we were able to determine seasonal and long-term patterns in the dynamics of their number, identify the most fire-hazardous areas with a fire frequency of at least 25%, and also highlight municipal districts with an increase in flammability - the Azov and Myasnikovsky districts, where the Don Delta is located. In general, the trends of the Lower Don floodplain flammability are aimed at reducing it mainly due to fires in the summer-autumn period, but the number of recorded fires in March increases. As a result of geoinformation processing and the use of spatial analysis methods, settlements were identified in the vicinity of which the largest area of fire-hazardous areas is concentrated. The largest number of such areas are in the Volga delta. Most of them are located at a distance of 2-5 km from the nearest settlement. This indicates both the threat to these settlements from fires and the significant role of the anthropogenic factor in the occurrence of fires. It is necessary to optimize and strengthen fire prevention measures in the vicinity of the identified settlements with the largest areas of fire-hazardous areas. The information obtained as a result of the study can be used for further development of fire prevention measures.