Download or read book Forgotten Fires written by Omer Call Stewart and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A common stereotype about American Indians is that for centuries they lived in static harmony with nature, in a pristine wilderness that remained unchanged until European colonization. Omer C. Stewart was one of the first anthropologists to recognize that Native Americans made significant impact across a wide range of environments. Most important, they regularly used fire to manage plant communities and associated animal species through varied and localized habitat burning. In Forgotten Fires, editors Henry T. Lewis and M. Kat Anderson present Stewart's original research and insights, written in the 1950s yet still provocative today. Significant portions of Stewart's text have not been available until now, and Lewis and Anderson set Stewart's findings in the context of current knowledge about Native hunter-gatherers and their uses of fire.
Download or read book Climate Fire and Native Americans written by Anna Klimaszewski Patterson and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation addresses the following questions: 1. Can we identify the impact of Native American-set fires on the paleolandscape? 2. Are these impacts local or at a landscape-scale? 3. Could climate alone have produced the forest composition observed in the paleorecord, or was the addition of cultural burning necessary? To answer these questions, the paleolandscape at these two sites was reconstructed using a combination of pollen analysis (vegetation), charcoal analysis (fire history), and process-based landscape modeling. Charcoal analysis demonstrated consistency with regional fire reconstructions, which is expected given that charcoal is typically produced by severe, fast-moving crown fires. Anomalous periods of vegetation change were identified at both sites by comparing changes in climatic and fire-sensitive taxa (Abies and Quercus) with annually reconstructed paleoclimate data. Anomalies between vegetation and climate were most evident at Holey Meadow. Paleolandscape modeling at Holey Meadow further supported a Native American-influenced fire regime at the site. This research provides support for the hypothesis that Native American-set fire can be identified through the paleoenvironmental record, and that these high-frequency, low intensity fires were necessary to produce the forest composition observed in the pollen record. Both study sites demonstrate periods of local anthropogenic influence not explained by climate. These results, combined with three previously studied sites in mountainous areas of California begin to hint at spatially dispersed Native American influences on Sierra Nevadan forests. While this research increases our knowledge of potential periods of climatic and anthropogenic-influenced fire regimes in the southern Sierra Nevada, replication of this cross-disciplinary methodology throughout the Sierra Nevada is necessary to help determine the geographic extent of this land-use pattern.
Download or read book Fire in California s Ecosystems written by Jan W. van Wagtendonk and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2018-06-08 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fire in California’s Ecosystems describes fire in detail—both as an integral natural process in the California landscape and as a growing threat to urban and suburban developments in the state. Written by many of the foremost authorities on the subject, this comprehensive volume is an ideal authoritative reference tool and the foremost synthesis of knowledge on the science, ecology, and management of fire in California. Part One introduces the basics of fire ecology, including overviews of historical fires, vegetation, climate, weather, fire as a physical and ecological process, and fire regimes, and reviews the interactions between fire and the physical, plant, and animal components of the environment. Part Two explores the history and ecology of fire in each of California's nine bioregions. Part Three examines fire management in California during Native American and post-Euro-American settlement and also current issues related to fire policy such as fuel management, watershed management, air quality, invasive plant species, at-risk species, climate change, social dynamics, and the future of fire management. This edition includes critical scientific and management updates and four new chapters on fire weather, fire regimes, climate change, and social dynamics.
Download or read book Fire Ecology and Management Past Present and Future of US Forested Ecosystems written by Cathryn H. Greenberg and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume presents original scientific research and knowledge synthesis covering the past, present, and potential future fire ecology of major US forest types, with implications for forest management in a changing climate. The editors and authors highlight broad patterns among ecoregions and forest types, as well as detailed information for individual ecoregions, for fire frequencies and severities, fire effects on tree mortality and regeneration, and levels of fire-dependency by plant and animal communities. The foreword addresses emerging ecological and fire management challenges for forests, in relation to sustainable development goals as highlighted in recent government reports. An introductory chapter highlights patterns of variation in frequencies, severities, scales, and spatial patterns of fire across ecoregions and among forested ecosystems across the US in relation to climate, fuels, topography and soils, ignition sources (lightning or anthropogenic), and vegetation. Separate chapters by respected experts delve into the fire ecology of major forest types within US ecoregions, with a focus on the level of plant and animal fire-dependency, and the role of fire in maintaining forest composition and structure. The regional chapters also include discussion of historic natural (lightning-ignited) and anthropogenic (Native American; settlers) fire regimes, current fire regimes as influenced by recent decades of fire suppression and land use history, and fire management in relation to ecosystem integrity and restoration, wildfire threat, and climate change. The summary chapter combines the major points of each chapter, in a synthesis of US-wide fire ecology and forest management into the future. This book provides current, organized, readily accessible information for the conservation community, land managers, scientists, students and educators, and others interested in how fire behavior and effects on structure and composition differ among ecoregions and forest types, and what that means for forest management today and in the future.
Download or read book Tending the Wild written by M. Kat Anderson and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2005-06-14 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complex look at California Native ecological practices as a model for environmental sustainability and conservation. John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold today—that much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. But as this groundbreaking book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning. Marvelously detailed and beautifully written, Tending the Wild is an unparalleled examination of Native American knowledge and uses of California's natural resources that reshapes our understanding of native cultures and shows how we might begin to use their knowledge in our own conservation efforts. M. Kat Anderson presents a wealth of information on native land management practices gleaned in part from interviews and correspondence with Native Americans who recall what their grandparents told them about how and when areas were burned, which plants were eaten and which were used for basketry, and how plants were tended. The complex picture that emerges from this and other historical source material dispels the hunter-gatherer stereotype long perpetuated in anthropological and historical literature. We come to see California's indigenous people as active agents of environmental change and stewardship. Tending the Wild persuasively argues that this traditional ecological knowledge is essential if we are to successfully meet the challenge of living sustainably.
Download or read book Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples in the United States written by Julie Koppel Maldonado and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-04-05 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a long history and deep connection to the Earth’s resources, indigenous peoples have an intimate understanding and ability to observe the impacts linked to climate change. Traditional ecological knowledge and tribal experience play a key role in developing future scientific solutions for adaptation to the impacts. The book explores climate-related issues for indigenous communities in the United States, including loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems, food security and traditional foods, as well as water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw and relocation. The book also highlights how tribal communities and programs are responding to the changing environments. Fifty authors from tribal communities, academia, government agencies and NGOs contributed to the book. Previously published in Climatic Change, Volume 120, Issue 3, 2013.
Download or read book Keepers of the Central Fire written by Lorelei A. Lambert and published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. This book was released on 1999 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The health of Native Americans is intimately tied to the health of the environment. Yet abuses of land, water, and air continue to compromise the health of native people and their land rights. This fascinating book explores this intimate relationship between people and the land, and environment and health. Here is an important message for health care providers, ecologists, and those who attempt to live their lives in harmony with the earth.
Download or read book Evidence for Native American Land use Impacts on Forest Structure and Fire Regimes in the Lower Klamath River Region of California written by Jeffrey Nathan Crawford and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Observers of human/landscape interactions generally agree that Native Americans influenced the landscape, but disagreement exists regarding the scale and degree of this disturbance. The differentiation of anthropogenic from climatic impacts on forest structure and composition is difficult using traditional paleoecological methodologies. The goal of this dissertation is to examine potential human impacts in the paleoecological record using an alternative methodology that incorporates elements of paleoecology, ethnographies, and regional archeology. This will provide a better understanding of how to identify potential anthropogenic signals in the late Holocene and improve upon existing paleoecological methodologies by allowing a more complete analysis of how human culture has impacted physical landscapes. Two lake basins in the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California provided study sites to use a cross-disciplinary methodology. There are three significant facets to this research. The first is a comparison of cross-dated fire scars to the sedimentary charcoal record of fire events. This was used to establish whether the fires detected in the paleoecological (charcoal) record represented local fire events that occurred within or near the lake basins. The results suggest that, while not a perfect match, fire events observed in the sedimentary charcoal record (as charcoal peaks) corresponded with between 50.0% (at Fish Lake) and 87.5% (at Lake Ogaromtoc) of known and inferred fire events detected as fire-scarred trees in the study basins. The second step in detecting anthropogenic landscape impacts in the paleoecological record was to identify anomalous periods of fire and vegetation dynamics not well explained by climate. Vegetation was reconstructed through the analysis of pollen. Paleofire dynamics were reconstructed through the analysis of sedimentary charcoal. Three anomalous periods were identified for further evaluation. In the final step of this research, these three anomalous periods were examined to see if cultural land-use patterns drawn from the regional archeological and anthropological record could better explain the observed dynamics. In all three instances, cultural changes in population or land use patterns better explained the observed dynamics than climatic interpretations, providing evidence of Native American impacts on the fire and vegetation dynamics of the two study sites in the late Holocene. This research provides subtle but clear evidence that human impacts are present at both study sites in modern and pre-historic times. Native American burning practices that have been banned since European settlement strongly influenced the forest structure and fire regimes of the Klamath Mountains. The cessation of Native American burning and modern fire suppression has led to a forest assemblage at each site that is unique in the late Holocene record. This research increases our understanding of how past forests in the Klamath Mountains responded to anthropogenic and climatic forces and encourages modern forest management practices to tailor restoration prescriptions to meet multiple human and ecosystem needs. This research also has broader implications for paleoecological methodologies. A single study cannot resolve the debate over the scale of Native American influences, but further replication of this cross-disciplinary methodology is encouraged at other sites throughout California. Further replication will build a broader dataset of sites, help to determine the scale of Native American impacts, and foster a greater understanding of the connections between the cultural and physical aspects of landscapes in the Klamath Mountains and beyond.
Download or read book Firestorm written by Edward Struzik and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Frightening...Firestorm comes alive when Struzik discusses the work of offbeat scientists." —New York Times Book Review "Comprehensive and compelling." —Booklist "A powerful message." —Kirkus "Should be required reading." —Library Journal For two months in the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire “the Beast.” It acted like a mythical animal, alive with destructive energy, and they hoped never to see anything like it again. Yet it’s not a stretch to imagine we will all soon live in a world in which fires like the Beast are commonplace. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures, stronger winds, and drier lands– a trifecta for igniting wildfires like we’ve rarely seen before. This change is particularly noticeable in the northern forests of the United States and Canada. These forests require fire to maintain healthy ecosystems, but as the human population grows, and as changes in climate, animal and insect species, and disease cause further destabilization, wildfires have turned into a potentially uncontrollable threat to human lives and livelihoods. Our understanding of the role fire plays in healthy forests has come a long way in the past century. Despite this, we are not prepared to deal with an escalation of fire during periods of intense drought and shorter winters, earlier springs, potentially more lightning strikes and hotter summers. There is too much fuel on the ground, too many people and assets to protect, and no plan in place to deal with these challenges. In Firestorm, journalist Edward Struzik visits scorched earth from Alaska to Maine, and introduces the scientists, firefighters, and resource managers making the case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire in the 21st century. Wildfires can no longer be treated as avoidable events because the risk and dangers are becoming too great and costly. Struzik weaves a heart-pumping narrative of science, economics, politics, and human determination and points to the ways that we, and the wilder inhabitants of the forests around our cities and towns, might yet flourish in an age of growing megafires.
Download or read book Fire Native Peoples and the Natural Landscape written by Thomas Vale and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly two centuries, the creation myth for the United States imagined European settlers arriving on the shores of a vast, uncharted wilderness. Over the last two decades, however, a contrary vision has emerged, one which sees the country's roots not in a state of "pristine" nature but rather in a "human-modified landscape" over which native peoples exerted vast control. Fire, Native Peoples, and the Natural Landscape seeks a middle ground between those conflicting paradigms, offering a critical, research-based assessment of the role of Native Americans in modifying the landscapes of pre-European America. Contributors focus on the western United States and look at the question of fire regimes, the single human impact which could have altered the environment at a broad, landscape scale, and which could have been important in almost any part of the West. Each of the seven chapters is written by a different author about a different subregion of the West, evaluating the question of whether the fire regimes extant at the time of European contact were the product of natural factors or whether ignitions by Native Americans fundamentally changed those regimes. An introductory essay offers context for the regional chapters, and a concluding section compares results from the various regions and highlights patterns both common to the West as a whole and distinctive for various parts of the western states. The final section also relates the findings to policy questions concerning the management of natural areas, particularly on federal lands, and of the "naturalness" of the pre-European western landscape.
Download or read book Indians Fire and the Land in the Pacific Northwest written by Robert Thomas Boyd and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland Urban Interface WUI Fires written by Samuel L. Manzello and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-07-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This reference work encompasses the current, accepted state of the art in the science of wildfires and wildfires that spread to communities, known as wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires. 171 author contributions include accepted knowledge on these topics from throughout the world, all written by the leading researchers, experts, practitioners, and academics. This encyclopedia is an invaluable reference for newcomers to the field, as well as researchers, students, developers, and professionals who are interested in exploring this dynamic area. General Sections include: Combustion Coordination System Locations Fire Whirls Firebrands and Embers Incident Management Team (IMT) Support Locations Incident Response Support Locations On-the-Incident Locations Soot and Effects on Wildland/WUI Fire Behavior Weathering Effects on Fire Retardant Wood Treatments Wildland Firefighting Locations Wildland Fuel Treatments
Download or read book Implications of the California Wildfires for Health Communities and Preparedness written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-08-31 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California and other wildfire-prone western states have experienced a substantial increase in the number and intensity of wildfires in recent years. Wildlands and climate experts expect these trends to continue and quite likely to worsen in coming years. Wildfires and other disasters can be particularly devastating for vulnerable communities. Members of these communities tend to experience worse health outcomes from disasters, have fewer resources for responding and rebuilding, and receive less assistance from state, local, and federal agencies. Because burning wood releases particulate matter and other toxicants, the health effects of wildfires extend well beyond burns. In addition, deposition of toxicants in soil and water can result in chronic as well as acute exposures. On June 4-5, 2019, four different entities within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop titled Implications of the California Wildfires for Health, Communities, and Preparedness at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis. The workshop explored the population health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and health equity consequences of increasingly strong and numerous wildfires, particularly in California. This publication is a summary of the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
Download or read book When Forests Burn written by Albert Marrin and published by Knopf Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2024-03-19 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating look at the most destructive wildfires in American history, the impact of climate change, and what we're doing right and wrong to manage forest fire, from a National Book Award finalist. Perfect for young fans of disaster stories and national history. Wildfires have been part of the American landscape for thousands of years. Forests need fire--it's as necessary to their well-being as soil and sunlight. But some fires burn out of control, destroying everything and everyone in their path. In this book, you'll find out about: how and why wildfires happen how different groups, from Native Americans to colonists, from conservationists to modern industrialists, have managed forests and fire the biggest wildfires in American history--how they began and dramatic stories of both rescue and tragedy what we're doing today to fight forest fires Chock full of dramatic stories, fascinating facts, and compelling photos, When Forests Burn teaches us about the past--and shows a better way forward in the future.
Download or read book A Comprehensive Look at the Benefits of Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Native American Indigenous Communities for Fire Management Practices in Northern California written by Christopher Mishima and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wildfires are currently ravaging California, destroying the land and the livelihood of many vulnerable communities. This research explores the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as a tool to aid in the fight against wildfires. Revitalization of Native American culture and traditional practices, such as prescribed burns, can transform current fire management practices. This research examined the connections among three aspects of fire management: Native American TEK, non-native ecological field studies and modelling, and current government fire policies and management practices. Through primary interviews and case studies, this research found that the Native American communities in the West have a wealth of knowledge on fire management. A key challenge is how to help non-native scientists understand and quantify place-specific TEK so it can be implemented in today's practices. Barriers such as fire suppression, human encroachment in the wildland-urban interface, and restrictions in state and federal regulations make it difficult for tribes to perform their time-tested practices. Increased trust between non-native scientists and native scientists is needed to implement their TEK, and collaboration is needed to develop new fire management strategies for resilience in man-made climate disruption.
Download or read book Between Two Fires written by Laurence M. Hauptman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1996 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tragic historic story of the destruction of Native American peoples as a result of the Civil War, including their own service in both the Union and Confederate armies.
Download or read book Ecological Foundations for Fire Management in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This synthesis provides an ecological foundation for management of the diverse ecosystems and fire regimes of North America, based on scientific principles of fire interactions with vegetation, fuels, and biophysical processes. Although a large amount of scientific data on fire exists, most of those data have been collected at small spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is challenging to develop consistent science-based plans for large spatial and temporal scales where most fire management and planning occur. Understanding the regional geographic context of fire regimes is critical for developing appropriate and sustainable management strategies and policy. The degree to which human intervention has modified fire frequency, intensity, and severity varies greatly among different ecosystems, and must be considered when planning to alter fuel loads or implement restorative treatments. Detailed discussion of six ecosystems--ponderosa pine forest (western North America), chaparral (California), boreal forest (Alaska and Canada), Great Basin sagebrush (intermountain West), pine and pine-hardwood forests (Southern Appalachian Mountains), and longleaf pine (Southeastern United States)-- illustrates the complexity of fire regimes and that fire management requires a clear regional focus that recognizes where conflicts might exist between fire hazard reduction and resource needs. In some systems, such as ponderosa pine, treatments are usually compatible with both fuel reduction and resource needs, whereas in others, such as chaparral, the potential exists for conflicts that need to be closely evaluated. Managing fire regimes in a changing climate and social environment requires a strong scientific basis for developing fire management and policy.
