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Roos CI, Guiterman CH, Margolis EQ, Swetnam TW, Laluk NC, Thompson KF, Toya C, Farris CA, Fulé PZ, Iniguez JM, Kaib JM, O'Connor CD, Whitehair L. Indigenous fire management and cross-scale fire-climate relationships in the Southwest United States from 1500 to 1900 CE. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq3221. [PMID: 36475806 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq3221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Prior research suggests that Indigenous fire management buffers climate influences on wildfires, but it is unclear whether these benefits accrue across geographic scales. We use a network of 4824 fire-scarred trees in Southwest United States dry forests to analyze up to 400 years of fire-climate relationships at local, landscape, and regional scales for traditional territories of three different Indigenous cultures. Comparison of fire-year and prior climate conditions for periods of intensive cultural use and less-intensive use indicates that Indigenous fire management weakened fire-climate relationships at local and landscape scales. This effect did not scale up across the entire region because land use was spatially and temporally heterogeneous at that scale. Restoring or emulating Indigenous fire practices could buffer climate impacts at local scales but would need to be repeatedly implemented at broad scales for broader regional benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher I Roos
- Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Christopher H Guiterman
- CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Ellis Q Margolis
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Thomas W Swetnam
- Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Nicholas C Laluk
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kerry F Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Chris Toya
- Natural Resources Department, Pueblo of Jemez, Jemez, NM, USA
| | - Calvin A Farris
- National Park Service Regions 8, 9, 10, and 12, PO Box 1713, Klamath Falls, OR, USA
| | - Peter Z Fulé
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Jose M Iniguez
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - J Mark Kaib
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Lionel Whitehair
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
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Azpeleta Tarancón A, Sánchez Meador AJ, Padilla T, Fulé PZ, Kim YS. Trends of forest and ecosystem services changes in the Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02459. [PMID: 34582603 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Forests are critically important for the provision of ecosystem services. The Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, USA, are a hotspot for conservation management and the Mescalero Apache Tribe's homeland. The multiple ecosystem services and functions and its high vulnerability to changes in climate conditions make their forests of ecological, cultural, and social importance. We used data from the Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands (MATL) Continuous Forest Inventory over 30 yr to analyze changes in the structure and composition of ecosystems as well as trends in ecosystem services. Many provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services were shared among the MATL ecosystems and were tied to foundational species dominance, which could serve as a reliable indicator of ecosystem functioning. Our analysis indicates that the MATL are in an ongoing transition from conifer forests to woodlands with declines in two foundation species, quaking aspen and ponderosa pine, linked to past forest management and changing climate. In addition, we detected a decrease in species richness and tree size variability, amplifying the risk of forest loss in a rapid climatic change. Continuous permanent plots located on a dense grid (1 × 1 km) such as the ones monitored by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are the most detailed data available to estimate forests multiresource transitions over time. Native lands across the USA could serve as the leading edge of detecting decadal-scale forest changes and tracking climate impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Azpeleta Tarancón
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
| | - Andrew J Sánchez Meador
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
| | - Thora Padilla
- Mescalero Apache Tribe, Division of Resource Management and Protection, Mescalero, New Mexico, 88340, USA
| | - Peter Z Fulé
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
| | - Yeon-Su Kim
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
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Guiterman CH, Margolis EQ, Baisan CH, Falk DA, Allen CD, Swetnam TW. Spatiotemporal variability of human–fire interactions on the Navajo Nation. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher H. Guiterman
- Laboratory of Tree‐Ring Research University of Arizona 1215 E Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona 1064 E Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
| | - Ellis Q. Margolis
- U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center New Mexico Landscapes Field Station 301 Dinosaur Trail Santa Fe New Mexico 87508 USA
| | - Christopher H. Baisan
- Laboratory of Tree‐Ring Research University of Arizona 1215 E Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
| | - Donald A. Falk
- Laboratory of Tree‐Ring Research University of Arizona 1215 E Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona 1064 E Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
| | - Craig D. Allen
- U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center New Mexico Landscapes Field Station 301 Dinosaur Trail Santa Fe New Mexico 87508 USA
| | - Thomas W. Swetnam
- Laboratory of Tree‐Ring Research University of Arizona 1215 E Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
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