Resumo:
The objective of this research was to collect and tabulate forest fire statistics in Brazil for the years 1984 to 1987, as reported by private forest companhies, and public forest agencies. The statistical data are presented for the country as a whole, and for each state, separately. Besides basic statistics such as number of fires and bumed area several tables were constructed in order to show the monthly distribution of fire occurrences, the classification according eight cause categories, the distribution by size class, and the type of burned vegetation- A total of 1,527 fires'that burned 111.832,20 hectares were analysed during the study period. The state of Minas“ Gerais (27.4%) presented the higher number of fires, followed by Espirito santo (19,5%), and Amapá (11,5%). According to the burned area, Minas Gerais (39,3%) was still the first, followed by the Feaerai' District (21.8%), and Amapá (18,1%). Espírito Santo state-ranked 8th, with 2.4% of the total burned area in the jour year study period. The main fire season occurred between August and November, but in the first two years, July and December also registered. significant number of fíres. Debris burning and Incendiary were the two most important causes of fires; Recreation jtres was an important cause tn Amapá state. Eucatypt was the forest type that presented higiter number of fires. Most ftres were classified in size classes II (0.1 - 4.0 hectares), and III (4.1- 46 hectares), showing that forest supresston must be improved in the country.
