This paper aims to identify the fuel sources to burn scars and the sources of ignition responsible for forest fires that occur in the Eastern Amazon region (Pará State) during extreme drought scenarios. To reach this goal, were used deforestation maps provided by PRODES, a land use map from 2008 by the TerraClass project and maps of burn scars that occurred in 2005 and 2010. PRODES and TerraClass data were combined to generate 2005 and 2010 land use maps. Then, these maps were overlaid with 2005 and 2010 burn scar maps. It was observed that grasslands used as pastures were the major source of fuel for fires in the Eastern Amazon. This land use concentrates more than 30% of the burned area in 2005 and 2010, with a total burned area of 21 500 km2 and 43 000 km2, respectively. Burning in Forest areas was also representative in 2005 and 2010, with 24% and 27% of the burned area, respectively. Regarding the sources of ignition in forest fires, and considering only the burnt areas within a 2 km buffer distance from forest edges, burning in pastures was the main propagation source of fire in Forest areas. These results show that the environmental policies of "zero deforestation" do not eliminate the global contribution of Amazon greenhouse gases; it is necessary to create policies for more sustainable and less predatory land management than the use of fire.Pages: 6230-623
