## 4 Discussion
### Human Activity-Driven Impacts  
This study analyzes the causes of grassland fires in Qinghai Province and identifies human activities as the primary factor contributing to their occurrence, a finding consistent with the research by [PERSON] [34], [PERSON] [60], and colleagues. In autumn, as precipitation decreases, surface vegetation dries out, and herdsmen engaged in transhumance often have limited fire awareness. Inadvertent heating can lead to grassland fires. Additionally, to promote pasture regeneration and improve forage quality and quantity, some herdsmen burn artificial pasture after harvesting, a practice consistent with the findings of [PERSON] [61] and [PERSON] [62]. In late winter and early spring, grasslands become extremely dry, and fire incidents caused by Spring Festival rituals and firecrackers increase significantly. Increased human activity during this period further contributes to the high incidence of grassland fires. In human settlements, high population density increases the likelihood of fire incidents. Domestic fires caused by simmering, smoking, and garbage burning, along with industrial fires resulting from short-circuited electrical facilities, aging wiring, and traffic accidents, can serve as ignition sources. Additionally, climate change, driven by global warming and urbanization, contributes to localized heat island effects, exacerbating drought conditions and increasing grassland flammability [63]. However, vegetation cover reduction due to grazing, agricultural expansion, or land-use changes in grasslands near human settlements alters fire propagation patterns and temporarily reduces fire risk. Additionally, settlements are often equipped with wells and firefighting pools, along with specialized fire stations capable of rapid emergency response. However, in remote grassland areas, inadequate water sources for fire suppression, unstable communication signals, and a shortage of firefighting teams hinder timely fire reporting and suppression efforts. Therefore, the rational planning of human settlements, enhancement of firefighting infrastructure, and strict management of anthropogenic fire sources are essential measures to reduce fire incidence and mitigate the ecological and economic losses caused by grassland fires. Figure 6: Spontaneous combustion process of underground grassland fires in Qinghai Province. Characterization of the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Grassland Fires in Qinghai Province and Analysis of Influencing Factors  
This study employs the MaxEnt model to analyze the spatial distribution patterns of grassland fire susceptibility in Qinghai Province. By incorporating grassland type, settlement distribution, and meteorological factors, this study identifies key determinants influencing fire susceptibility. The AUC values in this study exceed 0.9, indicating high predictive accuracy. The results demonstrate the model's ability to effectively capture the relationship between dynamic influencing factors and fire occurrence probability, even with a limited number of fire samples. Moreover, the model accurately simulates the spatial distribution of fire susceptibility and captures its spatial trends. These findings provide critical data support for fire prevention and management while extending the applicability of the MaxEnt model across various regional scales. Furthermore, the findings extend the model's applicability to diverse grassland ecosystems at multiple spatial scales, facilitating fire prediction under future climate change scenarios. Anthropogenic grassland fires in Qinghai Province primarily occur in the eastern forest-grassland transition zone and the agricultural-pastoral ecotone, where population density is high and human activities are frequent. The spatial distribution of these fires is closely linked to population density, settlement patterns, and other geographic factors, aligning with the findings of previous studies [34; 60]. The occurrence of natural grassland fires is directly influenced by combustible load [64] and vegetation type.