Native American Use Of Fire In Ecosystems
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Prior to the
European colonization of the Americas During the Age of Discovery, a large scale colonization of the Americas, involving a number of European countries, took place primarily between the late 15th century and the early 19th century. The Norse explored and colonized areas of Europe a ...
,
indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
used fire to modify the landscape. This influence over the fire regime was part of the environmental cycles and maintenance of wildlife habitats that sustained the cultures and economies of the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
. What was initially perceived by colonists as "untouched, pristine"
wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...
in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
was the cumulative result of the indigenous use of
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
, creating a
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
of
grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...
and
forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...
across North America, sustained and managed by the peoples indigenous to the landscape. Radical disruption of indigenous burning practices occurred with European colonization and the forced relocation of those who had historically maintained the landscape. Some colonists understood the traditional use and benefits of low-intensity broadcast burns ("Indian-type" fires), but others feared and suppressed them. By the 1880s, the impacts of
colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...
had devastated indigenous populations, and fire exclusion had become more widespread. By the early 20th century, fire suppression had become the official US federal policy. Understanding pre-colonization land management and the traditional knowledge held by the indigenous peoples who practice it provides an important basis for current re-engagement with the landscape and is critical for the correct interpretation of the ecological basis for vegetation distribution.


Human-shaped landscape

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans played a major role in determining the diversity of their ecosystems.
The most significant type of
environmental change Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
brought about by
Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
human activity was the modification of vegetation. ..Vegetation was primarily altered by the clearing of forest and by intentional burning. Natural fires certainly occurred but varied in frequency and strength in different habitats. Anthropogenic fires, for which there is ample documentation, tended to be more frequent but weaker, with a different seasonality than natural fires, and thus had a different type of influence on vegetation. The result of clearing and burning was, in many regions, the conversion of forest to grassland, savanna, scrub, open woodland, and forest with grassy openings. ( William M. Denevan)
The benefits of forest management have been seen throughout history, and natives knew the dangers of letting forests become overly dense. Fire was used to keep large areas of forest and mountains free of undergrowth for hunting or travel. It also was a tool to help manage natural resources such as food. Fire was used in warfare for the protection of settlements Authors such as William Henry Hudson,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...
, Francis Parkman, and
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...
contributed to the widespread myth that pre-Columbian North America was a pristine, natural wilderness, "a world of barely perceptible human disturbance.” At the time of these writings, however, enormous tracts of land had already been allowed to succeed to climax due to the reduction in anthropogenic fires after the depopulation of native peoples from epidemics of diseases introduced by Europeans in the 16th century, forced relocation, and warfare.


Grasslands and savannas

When first encountered by Europeans, many ecosystems were the result of repeated fires every one to three years, resulting in the replacement of forests with
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
or
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
, or opening up the forest by removing undergrowth.
Terra preta ''Terra preta'' (, literally "black soil" in Portuguese language, Portuguese), also known as Amazonian dark earth or Indian black earth, is a type of very dark, fertile human impact on the environment, anthropogenic soil (anthrosol) found in the ...
soils, created by slow burning, are found mainly in the
Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...
, where estimates of the area covered range from 0.1 to 0.3%, or 6,300 to 18,900 km2 of low forested Amazonia to 1.0% or more. “Discovery and awareness of anthropogenic amazonian dark earths (terra preta)”, by William M. Denevan, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and William I. Woods, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. “Classification of Amazonian Dark Earths and other Ancient Anthropic Soils” in “Amazonian Dark Earths: origin, properties, and management

by J. Lehmann, N. Kaampf, W.I. Woods, W. Sombroek, D.C. Kern, T.J.F. Cunha ''et al.'', Chapter 5, 2003. (eds J. Lehmann, D. Kern, B. Glaser & W. Woods); cited in Lehmann ''et al.''., 2003, pp. 77–102
In the Klamath Valley region of northern California, the frequent and low-intensity fire of cultural burns are key to keeping grasslands open that otherwise would be invaded by conifers, which are less fire tolerant than the native oak. In the Pacific Northwest, the implementation of cultural burning led by tribal practitioners has been found to facilitate the growth of culturally important plants such as camas, yampa, and tarweed. Camas, yampa, and tarweed are all plants that have been part to several tribes' diets. The Blackfeet Nation, Blackfoot,
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
, and
Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...
tribes would eat the bulbs of the Common Camas ''( Camassia quamash)'', which could be steamed or dried to make flour. Yampa, part of the genus '' Perideridia'' and also known as wild carrots, are harvested by the Yokut tribe of the San Joaquin Valley, California. The seeds are tarweed are also edible, described as "rich as butter." Burning to keep grasslands open can provide space for diverse flora that grow in very few places, found in the diversity of prairies, like the western lily and Howell's triteleia. There is some argument about the effect of human-caused burning when compared to lightning in western North America. Eyewitness accounts of extensive pre-settlement prairie in the 1600s, and the rapid conversion of extensive prairie areas to woodland on settlement, combined with accounts of the efforts made to make indigenous prairie burning practices illegal in Canada and the US, all point to widespread pre-settlement control of fire with the intent to maintain and expand prairie areas. As Emily Russell (1983) has pointed out, “There is no strong evidence that Indians purposely burned large areas....The presence of Indians did, however, undoubtedly increase the frequency of fires above the low numbers caused by lightning.” As might be expected, Indian fire use had its greatest impact “in local areas near Indian habitations.” John E. Keeley (2002) theorized Native American burning in the coastal ranges of central and southern California subsidized natural lightning ignitions to the extent that landscape patterns of grassland and open shrub land were significantly increased. “Intact shrub lands provided limited resources for native Americans and thus there was ample motivation for using fire to degrade this vegetation to an open mosaic of shrub lands/grassland


Reasons for and benefits of burning

Reasons given for intentional burns in pre-contact ecosystems are numerous. They include: * Facilitating agriculture by rapidly recycling mineral-rich ash and biomass. * Increasing nut production in wild/wildcrafted orchards by darkening the soil layer with carbonized leaf litter, decreasing localized
albedo Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...
, and increasing the average temperature in spring, when nut flowers and buds would be sensitive to late frosts. * Promoting the regrowth of fire-adapted food and utility plants by initiating seed germination or coppicingshrub species like osier, willow, hazel,
Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...
, and others have their lifespan extended and productivity increased through controlled cutting (burning) of branch stems. * Facilitating hunting by clearing underbrush and fallen limbs, allowing for more silent passage and stalking through the forest, as well as increasing visibility of game and clear avenues for projectiles. * Burning helps to create an environmental context within which more localized burning could then be conducted for specific cultural purposes. * Facilitating travel by reducing impassible brambles, underbrush and thickets. * Assisting in pollination by several species, such as hummingbirds, bees, butterflies benefit from burned soil and charred wood which can serve as spots to nest. The California Tortoiseshell butterfly ('' Nymphalis californica'') and the Ceanothus silk moth ('' Hyalophora euryalus'') are two specific examples of pollinators that can help for some culturally significant plants thrive in intentionally burned land. * Increasing the local biodiversity in the understory of forest. Burning has been found to be beneficial in increasing the biodiversity found in the grasslands created beneath the understory of oak tree groves, bringing a greater presence of reptiles, amphibians and small mammals, and the density of blueberry bushes has been found to be benefit from prescribed burning as well. * Reinforcing an ecosystem's ability to withstand encroachment of invasive species, which can push out native species. * Decreasing the risk of larger scale, catastrophic fires which consume decades of built-up fuel. * Increasing population of game animals by creating habitat in grasslands or increasing understory habitat of fire-adapted grass forage (in other words, wildcrafted pasturage) for deer, lagomorphs, bison, extinct grazing megafauna like mammoths, rhinoceros, camelids and others, the nearly extinct prairie chicken; and the populations of nut-consuming species like rodents, turkey and bear and notably the
passenger pigeon The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (''Ectopistes migratorius'') is an bird extinction, extinct species of Columbidae, pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word ''passager'', meaning "passing by" ...
through increased nut production (above); as well as the populations of their predators, i.e. mountain lions, lynx, bobcats, wolves, etc. * Increasing the frequency of regrowth of beneficial food and medicine plants, like clearing-adapted species like cherry, plum, and others. Beargrass is a culturally significant member of the
Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...
family, and the leaves that are produced from a year to three years after being treated with fire are the high quality that are useful to the
Karuk The Karuk people ()Andrew Garrett, Susan Gehr, Erik Hans Maier, Line Mikkelsen, Crystal Richardson, and Clare Sandy. (November 2, 2021) ''Karuk; To appear in The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America: A Comprehensive Guide (De G ...
people Northern California for traditional basketry. * Decreasing tick and biting insect populations by destroying overwintering instars and eggs. * In chaparrals, burning was used as a way to control pests and pathogens that affected the culturally significant plants found there. * Increasing streamflow due to reduction of
evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the combined processes which move water from the Earth's surface (open water and ice surfaces, bare soil and vegetation) into the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of w ...
by plants. *Rivers cooled by smoke density alert salmon that they may begin upstream migration. *Religious practices - setting fire to attract fair weather, to bring rain, to "call" salmon back from the ocean *Seed supporting areas were burned to facilitate harvesting, stimulate seed production, protect the perennial stock, replenish the annual stock, recycle nutrients, and remove detritus to allow for new growth.


Impacts of European settlement

By the time that European explorers first arrived in North America, millions of acres of "natural" landscapes were already manipulated and maintained for human use. Fires indicated the presence of humans to many European explorers and settlers arriving on ship. In San Pedro Bay in 1542,
chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
fires provided that signal to
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (; 1497 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to explore presen ...
, and later to others across all of what would be named
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In the American west, it is estimated that burned annually pre-settlement in what is now Oregon and Washington. By the 17th century, native populations were greatly affected by the genocidal structure of
settler colonialism Settler colonialism is a logic and structure of displacement by Settler, settlers, using colonial rule, over an environment for replacing it and its indigenous peoples with settlements and the society of the settlers. Settler colonialism is ...
. Many colonists often either deliberately set wildfires and/or allowed out of control fires to "run free." Also, sheep and cattle owners, as well as shepherds and cowboys, often set the alpine meadows and prairies on fire at the end of the grazing season to burn the dried grasses, reduce brush, and kill young trees, as well as encourage the growth of new grasses for the following summer and fall grazing season. Native people were forced off their traditional landbases or killed, and traditional land management practices were eventually made illegal by settler governance. By the 19th century, many indigenous nations had been forced to sign treaties with the federal government and relocate to reservations, which were sometimes hundreds of miles away from their ancestral homelands. In addition to violent and forced removal, fire suppression would become part of colonial methods of removal and genocide. As sociologist Kari Norgaard has shown, "Fire suppression was mandated by the very first session of the California Legislature in 1850 during the apex of genocide in the northern part of the state." For example, the
Karuk The Karuk people ()Andrew Garrett, Susan Gehr, Erik Hans Maier, Line Mikkelsen, Crystal Richardson, and Clare Sandy. (November 2, 2021) ''Karuk; To appear in The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America: A Comprehensive Guide (De G ...
peoples of Northern California "burn he forestto enhance the quality of forest food species like elk, deer, acorns, mushrooms, and lilies, as well as basketry materials such as hazel and willow, but also keep travel routes open.” When such relationships to their environment were made illegal through fire suppression, it would have dramatic consequences on their methods of relating to one another, their environment, their food sources, and their educational practices. Thus, many scholars have argued that fire suppression can be seen as a form of "colonial ecological violence" which results in particular risks and harms experienced by native peoples and communities. Through the turn of the 20th century, settlers continued to use fire to clear the land of brush and trees in order to make new farm land for crops and new pastures for grazing animals—the North American variation of
slash and burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. T ...
technology—while others deliberately burned to reduce the threat of major fires—the so‑called "light burning" technique. Light burning is also been called "
Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three languages do not form a single subgroup and th ...
forestry," a direct but derogatory reference to southwestern tribal burning habits. The ecological impacts of settler fires were vastly different than those of their Native American predecessors. Cultural burning practices were functionally made illegal with the passage of the
Weeks Act The Weeks Act is a federal law (36 Stat. 961) enacted by the United States Congress on March 1, 1911. Introduced by Massachusetts Congressman John W. Weeks and signed into law by President William Howard Taft, the law authorized the United Stat ...
in 1911.


Modern management

Removal of indigenous populations and their controlled burning practices have resulted in major ecological changes, including increased severity of wild fires, especially in combination with
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. Attitudes towards Native American-type burning have shifted in recent times, and Tribal agencies and organizations, now with fewer restrictions placed on them, have resumed their traditional use of fire practices in a modern context by reintroducing fire to fire-adapted ecosystems, on and adjacent to, tribal lands. Many foresters and ecologists have also recognized the importance of native fire practices. They are now learning from traditional fire practitioners and using
controlled burn A controlled burn or prescribed burn (Rx burn) is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, ...
s to reduce fuel accumulations, change species composition, and manage vegetation structure and density for healthier forests and rangelands. Fire was used as a technological tool for natives and its use in controlled burns. According to Dave Roos, an author for the
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
on Native American news, he ascertained that fire was viewed as a science.
Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service ...
is a clear example of how indigenous used controlled burns to clear brush in order to provide nutrient rich soil for woodland crop growth. Fire has always had a medicine type feeling with the indigenous and medicine is best used when it's given at the perfect time. Forest management includes but is not limited to controlled burns, selective thinning, and reforestation. Fire agencies across the US have adopted these tactics. Some are drawing on Native American oral history and traditional ecological knowledge to revive them. Native Americans in California and Australia have known the risk of overgrown forests for millennia and used these tactics to prevent wildfires and encourage beneficial plant growth. Controlled burns help cut back the organic fuel in uncontrolled forests. Native Americans used wood for small scale fires to clear brush from in between the trees of a forest in order to limit the possibility of an uncontrolled forest fire. Selective thinning allows for old thin trees to be replaced by more pyrophytic plants or plants that benefit from fire. Pyrophyte vegetation are plants and trees that have formed the ability to resist the effects of fire. Native Americans had a method of forest thinning with their understanding of which plants would be at highest risk of burning during fire season. They would dig the plants out and or burn them off individually.


Archaeological studies

Studies made by U.C. Berkeley concluded that fire has greatly influenced forest vegetation over the last few decades. The 1990 to 2014 study tracked some of the most destructive wildfires, showing human intervention has always existed regarding forest management, and native people played a vital role in the forest's survival. Several forms of evidence are collected when researching the history of cultural fire. * Charcoal data: this includes both observing the frequency and quantity of charcoal in
sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
layers, as well as analysis of the charcoal to determine its plant origins. * Pollen data: pollen in the sediment is used to determine which plants existed at given times. Pollen is microscopic but lasts a long time in the soil. When studying fire, researchers observe pollen types and quantity in relation to charcoal in the sediment. * Dendroecological data:
dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...
is a method used to determine the age and health of a tree by observing the rings within its trunk. This method can be employed to determine fire frequency because trees will develop burn scars that appear on the rings. * Phytolith Data: Measurements of
phytolith Phytoliths (from Greek language, Greek, "plant stone") are rigid, microscopic mineral deposits found in some plant tissues, often persisting after the decay of the plant. Although some use "phytolith" to refer to all mineral secretions by plants, ...
content in surface deposits may indicate the appearance of past grasslands in landscapes.


California

Californian Indigenous groups stopped burning due to the Spanish banning the practice and the loss of manpower due to the forced labor on missions, ranchos, and pueblos. Following this development, fire incidence decreased at sites across the state. California's Native population has a cultural and dietary reliance on plants that must be maintained by burning. One cultural example is the hazel bush, used for weaving baskets, mainly baskets that carry newborn babies. The baskets must be woven with straight branches, and they need to be burned to do so. Acorns and salmon, which are native food sources, are also affected by Indigenous-prescribed burns. Burning was similarly useful in California for many food plants with edible parts—bulbs, leaves, fruits, and seeds. These plants appeared in open woods, meadows, prairies, or grasslands in California, and required systematic burning to keep their populations healthy and abundant. Don L Hankins conducted a study to understand the effects of Indigenous prescribed burning on different aspects of
riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...
fauna. They found a generally positive impact and concluded that prescribed burnings are important for maintaining the biodiversity of riparian ecosystems. This study showed that prescribed fires maintained the richness of the area. Fire burns are particularly needed to sustain native plant species. They increased the proportion of native plants to non-native plants and the richness of native plants. Fall burning, in particular, increased overall and native richness. On the other hand, fires in the spring only affected the richness of native species and did not impact non-native species. Another study of California's Quiroste Valley was conducted using visible plant remains (macrobotanical), charcoal or ash ( anthracological), and local ecological data. The study found that the low frequency of lightning in the area, along with the presence of high amounts of grass-like plants and plants which thrive in post fire environments, indicates a history of anthropogenic burnings in the area. Two potential factors that were not able to be accounted for in this study was the frequency of lighting in the past, as they assumed it to be similar to modern day lightning frequency and used modern day data for their conclusions, and the potential for a different climate encouraging different plants to grow.


Kentucky

Research conducted by Paul Delcort at Cliff Palace Pond ( Jackson County) pioneered the study of anthropogenic fires in the United States using archaeological techniques. These studies looked at pollen and charcoal sediment samples to chart fires over time. The study found that between 1000 BCE and 1800 CE there was increased charcoal concentrations, suggesting frequent low severity fires. During this same period there was an increase in pollen from fire adapted tree species such as oak, chestnut, and hickory. There was also an increase in pollen from sunflowers and
goosefoot ''Chenopodium'' is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoot, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifica ...
in forest areas which may suggest that there was food production in burned ecosystems. The studies found that fires which coincided with human habitation prior to fire suppression resulted in a diverse patchwork ecosystem with many plants that could be used by humans.


Massachusetts

A study of sites in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...
, that were inhabited from 3000 BCE to 1000 CE found that the precedence of low severity landscape fires was correlated with periods of habitation by looking at charcoal sentiment samples. The research found that periods of intense burning were correlated with increases in chestnut trees through looking at fossilized pollen samples. The study did not find any archaeological evidence that the fires were intentionally set, but a combination of historic accounts from the region, the correlation with habitation, and the incentive for burning to increase nut producing trees, it is likely that these were anthropogenic fires.


New Mexico

A study of the anthropological use of fire in the
Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains (, Tewa: ''Tsąmpiye'ip'įn'', Navajo: ''Dził Łizhinii'') are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Moun ...
was conducted using charcoal samples in the soil and fire scars in tree rings. The study found that increases in low severity ecological fires were positively correlated with population changes, rather than climate changes. The study also found, from fungal evidence, that there were more herbivores present at times of increased burning and that the fires that occurred during the period of ancient settlement were less severe than modern wildfires in the region.


Tennessee

A study of charcoal and pollen deposits in the
Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " Al ...
of Tennessee found regular anthropological fires were occurring from 3,000 years ago to 200 years ago. However, the study found no evidence that the fires changed the overall vegetation that was present in the region.


West Virginia

A paleoarchealogical study of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
Valley in West Virginia found that ecosystems experienced coevolution with humans due to land management practices. The study concluded that these practices included burning and land clearing. They found that these practices altered soil carbon cycling and the diversity of plant species. They found that the use of fire decreased biomass, increased charcoal abundance, and potentially led to more usable vegetation.


See also

* Fire-stick farming * Bushfire *
Fire ecology Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vit ...
* Pyrogeography


Notes and references


Further reading

* Blackburn, Thomas C. and Kat Anderson (eds.). 1993. ''Before the Wilderness: Environmental Management by Native Californians''. Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press. Several chapters on Indian use of fire, one by Henry T. Lewis as well as his final “In Retrospect.” * Bonnicksen, Thomas M. 2000. ''America's Ancient Forests: From the Ice Age to the Age of Discovery''. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Especially see chapter 7 “Fire Masters” pp. 143–216. * Boyd, Robert T. (ed.). 1999.
Indians, Fire, and the Land in the Pacific Northwest
'. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, . An excellent series of papers about Indian burning in the West. * Lewis, Henry T. 1982. ''A Time for Burning''. Occasional Publication No. 17. Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta, Boreal Institute for Northern Studies. 62 pages. * Lutz, Harold J. 1959. ''Aboriginal Man and White Men as Historical Causes of Fires in the Boreal Forest, with Particular Reference to Alaska''. '' Yale School of Forestry Bulletin'' No. 65. New Haven, CT: Yale University. 49 pages. * Pyne, Stephen J. 1982. ''Fire in America: A Cultural History of Wildland and Rural Fire''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 654 pages. See Chapter 2 “The Fire from Asia” pp. 66–122. * Russell, Emily W.B. 1983. "Indian‑Set Fires in the Forests of the Northeastern United States." ''
Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
'', Vol. 64, #1 (Feb): 78–88.l * Stewart, Omer C. with Henry T. Lewis and of course M. Kat Anderson (eds.). 2002. ''Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness''. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 364 pages. * Vale, Thomas R. (ed.). 2002. ''Fire, Native Peoples, and the Natural Landscape''. Washington, DC:
Island Press Island Press is a nonprofit, environmental publisher based in Washington, D.C., United States, that specializes in natural history, ecology, conservation, and the built environment. Established in 1978, Island Press generates about half of its ...
. An interesting set of articles that generally depict landscape changes as natural events rather that Indian caused. * Whitney, Gordon G. 1994. ''From Coastal Wilderness to Fruited Plain: A History of Environmental Change in Temperate North America 1500 to the Present''. New York: Cambridge University Press. See especially Chapter 5 “Preservers of the Ecological Balance Wheel”, pp. 98–120. {{DEFAULTSORT:Native American Use Of Fire
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
Native American history Wildfire ecology