Why in News
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) is still validating burnt-area estimates for Punjab and Haryana. Active-fire counting has a standard protocol, but burnt-area mapping does not yet.
Prelims Pointers
Active-fire counts and burnt-area maps measure different aspects of burning.
An active-fire count records fire detections during satellite observations. Short-lived fires between overpasses may be missed.
Burnt-area mapping identifies land affected after a fire from burn scars, rather than counting fire events.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 uses visible, near-infrared and short-wave infrared imagery to distinguish burned ground from vegetation.
Standing crops, harvested straw and burned soil can be confused in imagery, requiring ground verification.
IARI, NRSC and CAQM contribute to farm-fire monitoring and burnt-area assessment.
IARI compiles farm-fire bulletins using fire-event data from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) constituted an expert committee under NRSC to standardise burnt-area mapping.
Conservation agriculture combines three practices.
Minimum soil disturbance, including reduced or zero tillage.
Soil cover, using crop residues or cover crops.
Crop diversification, including rotations.
Residue cover conserves moisture and reduces erosion.
Prelims Traps
“Wheat sowing requires residue burning.” This is incorrect. Zero tillage permits sowing without burning residues. (UPSC Prelims 2020)
“Conservation agriculture requires residue removal.” This is incorrect. It combines residue cover, minimum tillage and crop rotations. (UPSC Prelims 2018)
“Fewer fire detections prove less land was burnt.” This is incorrect. Fire counts do not measure burnt area.