NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS APPLIED TO FIRE FOCI OBTAINED BY METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE MCD12Q1 PRODUCT IN THE STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO, SOUTHEAST BRAZIL Rodrigo Hottz Caúla 1 *, José Francisco de Oliveira-Júnior 2 , Givanildo de Gois 2 , Rafael Coll Delgado 2 , Luiz Cláudio Gomes Pimentel 3 , Paulo Eduardo Teodoro 4 1 Engineering School, Postgraduate Program in Biosystems Engineering (Pgeb), Federal University Fluminense (Uff), 24210-240, Niterói, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Forestry Institute, Federal Rural University of Rio De Janeiro (Ufrrj), 23890-000, Seropédica, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 3 Department of Meteorology, Institute Of Geosciences, Federal University of Rio De Janeiro (Ufrj), 21941-901, Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 4 Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa (Ufv), 79200-000, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil Received 25 May 2015; Revised 21 June 2016; Accepted 21 June 2016 ABSTRACT This study shows the relationship between the fire foci and the MCD12Q1 product (MODIS) for the land use and occupation in the state of Rio de Janeiro (SRJ) and evaluates the growth and decay of trends fire foci through nonparametric tests, applied to the number of fire foci in the 2000–2012 period. The study period was divided into (1) 2001 to 2013 for assessment of the product MCD12Q1 back for the land use and occupation and application of nonparametric tests and (2) 2000 to 2012 for the descriptive statistics (total and percentage-%) of fire foci geared for regional assessment. To evaluate growth trends and decay of fire foci, the nonparametric tests (Mann–Kendall and Pettitt) were utilized. Based on data obtained by Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), the land use and occupation in the SRJ has been modified from the last two census years (1995 and 2006). The Mann–Kendall test was significant for the year 2001, with trends of 0 · 19 and 0 · 08 (Mann–Kendall). Fire foci for the years 2001 and 2013 grew with an increase of 0 · 05 and 0 · 01 per year, respectively. The Pettitt statistic test applied for the year 2001 showed that almost 70% of the studied municipalities were above the critical threshold, which has not occurred for the year 2013. The North Fluminense Region with 596 fire foci (30 · 35%) was the one with the largest number of fire foci, and the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes was the largest contributor, with 344 fire foci (57 · 72%). The Pasturage class (MCD12Q1 prod- uct) had the biggest number of fire foci, with 354 foci (56 · 64%) in 2001 and 564 foci (42 · 28%) in 2013 and the largest amount in the north of the SRJ. The study indicated that there was a significant increase in average fire foci. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. key words: remote sensing; burned; fires; statistical methods; human actions INTRODUCTION The importance of detection and monitoring of forest fires is beyond the problem of deforestation, also implying climatic, ecological and environmental changes (Armenteras-Pascual et al., 2011; Mataix-Solera et al., 2011; Caúla et al., 2015; Pereira et al., 2015). High temperatures and the increase in occurrence of severe drought in many regions of the world contribute to the significant increase in fires in several ecosys- tems (Swetnam & Anderson, 2008). Fire is a critical process that regulates terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, supply- ing feedback that connects ecosystems with the global climate through the emission of greenhouse gases and carbonaceous aerosols (Novara et al., 2013; Bedia et al., 2015). Another aspect refers to the transport of combustion product through the smoke plume, which can lead potentially harmful materials to human health over a wide area and achieve the general population (Silva de Souza et al., 2012). In Brazil, the main ecosystems affected by fires are the Amazonian Rainforest and the Cerrado occurring with greater frequency and intensity. Therefore, in these two ecosystems, the research related to the effects of fire have been developed (Brown et al., 2006). Because of soil micro- bial importance in the maintenance and sustainability of eco- systems, knowledge is needed on the occurrence of forest fires and its relation to climatic conditions, as they are essen- tial strategies for maintaining soil microbiota (Hedo et al., 2015). The sustainability of human society depends on the ra- tional use of natural resources. Thus, the soil contributes to the basic human needs such as food, clean water and clean air; it is very important for ecosystems (Keesstra et al., 2014). The influence of change in land use and occupation in the dynamics of fires and burnings around the world is investi- gated from various aspects (Reichert et al., 2015). Cerdà & Lasanta (2005) observed that fire in the Central Spanish Pyre- nees occurs in controlled areas. Wildfire has played a large role in shaping ecology and evolution of Mediterranean vege- tation, and soils are frequently affected (Keesstra et al., 2014; Guénon & Gros, 2015). Novara et al. (2013) investigated the effect of an experimental fire in pastures in Sicily region (Italy) and observed decline in organic carbon of the soil. At last, Fajardo & Gundale (2015) assessed the combined effect of fires on six types of soils and concluded that the fires and changes in land use and occupation affected the structure and ecological function of the forest in Patagonia (Chile). *Correspondence to: R. H. Caúla, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Fed- eral Fluminense, 24210-240, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. E-mail: rhcaula@gmail.com Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. land degradation & development Land Degrad. Develop. (2016) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2574