Forests on sandy soils are particularly vulnerable to fire. The study area in
this research was Deliblatska pescara (the Deliblato Sands), one of the most
endangered areas in Serbia. The linear trends, the polynomial trends and the
Pearson correlation coefficient (r) were applied. Statistically significant
decrease in the number of forest fires was found, while the increasing
trends of the burned area and burned forest area were not significant. There
was also an increase in the air temperature during the same period. In a
study of the connection between forest fires and the Atlantic Multidecadal
Oscillation (AMO), significant values of r were statistically observed only
for the annual number of fires. The highest values were recorded for June
(-0.373) and July (-0.375), and for summer r = -0.374 (statistically
significant at p ? .01). As for the AMO in the main fire season
(February-August), r = -0.331 (statistically significant at p ? .01). In
settlements in Deliblatska pescara area, there were trends of the decreasing
number of inhabitants, agricultural population, and agricultural households
in the investigated period. These trends contribute to the reduction of fire
risk. The r value between the dynamics of the number of fires and the
population is .50 (statistically significant at p ? .01). The reduced
agricultural activity contributes to the reduction of fire risk, while
increased tourist presence is a risk factor.
