Abstract: Forest fire is a major environmental concern affecting biodiversity, forest health, and ecological balance. In India, the frequency and intensity of forest fires have been steadily rising, particularly in ecologically fragile regions such as the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan. This study aims to analyze the spatio-temporal assessment of forest fire occurrences and associated land use and land cover (LULC) changes in Girwa Tehsil of Udaipur District during the period 2018-2023. MODIS FIRMS active fire point data were analysed to evaluate the distribution and frequency of fire incidents, while hotspot analysis was carried out using overlay mapping to identify high-risk fire-prone zones. The results indicated that fire events were not uniformly distributed but clustered in specific belts, particularly the Sajjangarh-Badi forest corridor and parts of central Girwa, with peak five years recorded in 2019 and 2021. To understand the land transformation associated with recurrent fires, SAGA GIS was employed for supervised classification of Sentinel-2 imagery from 2018 and 2023. Comparative LULC mapping revealed a significant decline in dense forest cover and a corresponding increase in degraded or wasteland categories, along with slight expansion of built-up areas due to urban growth. The integration of fire hotspot mapping with LULC dynamics provides evidence that recurrent fires have accelerated vegetation degradation and land transformation in Girwa. The finding highlights the urgent need for proactive forest fire management, afforestation in degraded regions, and the integration of geospatial monitoring for sustainable ecological conservation.

Keywords: Forest Fire, MODIS FIRMS, Hotspot Mapping, SAGA GIS.

Downloads: | DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2025.121016