I have conducted research on the effects of anthropogenic fires on Guinea savanna parklands of North of Ghana, West Africa in the last seven years. This is important because the North of Ghana reportedly contributes about 40% in the last 30 years of ecological fires in the Country. It is essential that we we ascertain and understand causes of fire, why people burn and consequence of the traditional uses of fire on the environment.
I observed in the study that fire applied in different landuses such as crop fields or farmlands for instance, affect woody species and soil differently from woodlands. It was also observed that controlled and prescribed burning affect woody species differently in protected areas from unprotected areas due to the different fire regime. Fire users in rural areas and protected areas have different reasons for applying fire. Thus, to understand people’s perception of and the practice of the use of fire, the survey revealed that fire practice are linked to livelihoods in rural areas of Africa These practices have influenced biodiversity in the Guinea savanna over a millennia but with little documentation on the impact of fire combined with land uses in the Sudano-Guinean savanna of West Africa.
