CO, CH4, and organic trace gases were measured in air samples collected during several flights with a DC-3 aircraft through the plumes from savanna fires and agricultural fires during the SAFARI 92 campaign in southern Africa in September and October 1992. In all samples a variety of higher molecular weight organic compounds was found, most of which are very reactive. More than 70 of the roughly 140 major components present could be identified. Typically, mixing ratios of several hundred parts per billion carbon of organic compounds were measured inside the plumes, corresponding to an emission ratio of total organic carbon relative to CO2 of up to 1%. About 50% of these emissions were in the form of oxygenated and unsaturated compounds. The contributions of still unknown compounds to the total emission of organic compounds add up to another 20--30%. The observed emission ratios relative to CO2 show a considerable variation depending on the fuel type and the burning stages of the fire. The lowest value of the emission ratio of the sum of all identified organic compounds relative to CO2 was found for a sugar cane fire with (1.7¿0.7)¿10-3 (ppb C/ppb CO2). For a large savanna fire in Kruger National Park the ratio was (7.4¿1.6)¿10-3 (ppb C/ppb CO2). The highest value was (13.7¿0.9)¿10-3 (ppb C/ppb CO2) for an uncontrolled fire of mainly wood and shrub in the Drakensberg region. Results of model calculations show that in biomass-burning plumes, reactive organic compounds contribute significantly to the formation of ozone, especially during the initial phase of photochemical processing.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union