The two-year drought served as a precursor to a series of forest fires by creating conditions conducive to increased fire frequency and intensity, particularly when combined with climate patterns like ENSO and human-induced changes. These events initiate positive feedback loops that can lead to further climate change and alter forest ecosystems, which afterward enter a phase of secondary succession.
The two-year drought can be considered a precursor to a series of forest fires. Drought conditions have often been followed by increased fire frequency, particularly in tropical forests where fires were historically infrequent but have become more common in recent decades due to factors such as climate change and human activities.
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can exacerbate these conditions by leading to drought events, such as the 1997-1998 Indonesian fires, which resulted in vast forest damage and significant carbon emissions. These changes have a series of positive feedback loops that increase the risk and frequency of fires, contributing to further climate change and degradation of forest ecosystems.
After forest fires, ecosystems undergo a process of secondary succession, where new plant life begins to grow back among the charred remains of the previous forest. Over time, small plants give way to shrubs and eventually young trees as the forest slowly regenerates. This recovery process, however, is itself influenced by subsequent fire events which can further shape the structure and composition of the regrowing forest.