Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED)

The Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) is a satellite‑driven modeling framework used to estimate both the extent of vegetation fires and the emissions they produce. By integrating observations from multiple satellite missions and time periods, GFED provides a consistent global record spanning nearly three decades.

GFED supports large‑scale studies of the Earth system, including the global carbon cycle, atmospheric chemistry, air quality, climate interactions, and ecosystem dynamics. Uncertainties in fire estimates can be substantial and generally increase at smaller spatial scales.

The first GFED version was released in 2004 as part of efforts to incorporate fire processes into a global biogeochemical model. It was led by James Randerson (then Caltech, now University of California Irvine), James Collatz (NASA), Louis Giglio (NASA/University of Maryland), and Guido van der Werf (NASA, now Wageningen University & Research). Since then, many researchers have contributed to GFED, including Yang Chen (UCI), Joanne Hall (UMD), Douglas Morton (NASA), Dave van Wees (BeZeroCarbon), Bob Yokelson (University of Montana), Kelley Barsanti (University of California Riverside), and Roland Vernooij (Wageningen University & Research).

GFED data are distributed as NetCDF4 files and can be downloaded via FTP. Working with these files typically requires software such as Python, R, or MATLAB. Summary products and visualizations are also available for users less familiar with NetCDF formats.

The Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) was originally developed using GFED version 3. GFAS provides near‑real‑time emissions estimates by converting active‑fire detections and fire radiative power (FRP) into emissions using vegetation‑specific scaling factors. GFAS does not explicitly account for several fire processes, including small fires.

The Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN) combines burned area, fuel consumption, and emission factors to estimate emissions, similar to GFED. FINN operates at ~1 km resolution and derives burned area primarily from active‑fire detections. GFED uses multiple satellite observations and process‑based modeling, but at a much coarser spatial resolution. These methodological differences can lead to substantial differences in regional emission estimates.

GFED uses a 0.25° resolution to maintain statistical robustness, especially for small‑fire burned‑area estimates. GFAS uses 0.1° resolution and FINN ~1 km. Users needing finer detail may redistribute GFED emissions using active‑fire observations, but this introduces additional uncertainty.

Two trends are well established: global burned area is decreasing, mainly in savannas due to landscape fragmentation and agricultural expansion; and fire weather conditions are becoming more favorable in many forested ecosystems due to climate change. Although burned area is declining, fire‑related carbon emissions remain relatively stable because burning is shifting toward higher‑biomass regions.

Fires emit roughly 3.4 Gt of carbon per year, equivalent to about 34% of fossil‑fuel emissions. Fire is generally considered carbon‑neutral because regrowth compensates for emissions. However, when regrowth does not occur—such as in deforestation fires or drained peatlands—fire emissions contribute to greenhouse‑gas buildup. This is also the case where fire frequency is increasing.

This depends on your data usage. If you only use GFED burned area until the year 2022, please cite Chen et al. (2023). If you use GFED emissions until the year 2022, please cite Van der Werf et al. (2025). When using the post 2022 period (burned area and / or emissions) please cite Chen et al. (2026). If you use emissions and your study period covers both periods please cite both Van der Werf et al. (2025) and Chen et al. (2026).

GFED data are freely available and proper citation is sufficient. Co‑authorship is not expected, but researchers are encouraged to contact the GFED team when methodological questions arise or when expert feedback may improve interpretation.

Media reports should acknowledge the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) and include a link to the GFED website. Journalists needing specific figures, maps, or expert interpretation are encouraged to contact the GFED team directly.