There is a close relation between rain and fire in the tiger reserve of Palamu. A good rain minimises the fires and a dry spell hastens their early arrival in the tiger reserve.
The tiger reserve Palamu is a deciduous forest. A forest is deciduous where leaf fall is acute. Besides, here in the PTR the leaf fall is enormous because of thick bamboo growths which account for more of leaf fall.
In the event of scanty rains, leaf fall begins to occur in December-January and the more the leaf fall the greater is the risk of forest fires. The PTR has surface fires and not the tall tree fire one sees on TV screens which happen in latin America or Australia.
The outgoing field director of the PTR, SEH Kazmi, said the reserve may have to face the problem in the coming year as incidents of fire may occur quickly and frequently for the simple reason of leaf fall which is bound to start in advance this time for want of rains.
The fire in PTR is very often man-made as anyone throwing a half-lit bidi or cigarette can cause it. Sometimes bush or shrub fires are caused deliberately, said Kazmi, who stands transferred to Ranchi. A S Rawat of the forest research institute in Dehradun will replace him.