A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RAINFALL AND BURNED AREA FOR PORTUGAL

Total area burned yearly in Portugal in the period of 1975 to 1992 is related to rainfall during particular periods of the year. Precipitati on in the period of January to April, corresponding to Winter and earl y Spring, related to fine fuel growth and to the water reserve in the soil, shows a non monotonic relationship with burned area each year, d ue to the conflicting mechanisms of the these two processes. Rainfall between June and September, corresponding to the main fire season in P ortugal, exhibits an inverse relation with burned area. Data of a sing le weather station were used in the analysis and it was demonstrated t hat they are representative of a wide area in the country.