Active Fire Dynamics in the Amazon: New Perspectives From High‐Resolution Satellite Observations

Abstract The Amazon region is expected to become an amplified fire‐prone system, but the mechanism of fire occurrence not fully understood. Here, we employed more than 300,000 Sentinel‐2 images acquired during 2016–2019 and compiled a high‐resolution inventory active fires (AFs) over Amazon. We found that activities in 2019 did stand out compared with those 2017 as whole. However, number increased absence exceptional drought, suggesting human disturbance AF further demonstrated 90% detected AFs were associated humans clearing deforested fields on forest fringes for agricultural land expansion. Additionally, our indicated satellite sensors coarser spatial resolution could miss considerable small fires, especially at sensitive agriculture–forest interface, which therefore should be targeted priority conservation area.