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Tulowiecki SJ, Hanberry BB, Abrams MD. Native American geography shaped historical fire frequency in forests of eighteenth-century Pennsylvania, USA. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18598. [PMID: 37903838 PMCID: PMC10616284 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44692-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Researchers have debated the relative importance of environmental versus Indigenous effects on past fire regimes in eastern North America. Tree-ring fire-scar records (FSRs) provide local-resolution physical evidence of past fire, but few studies have spatially correlated fire frequency from FSRs with environmental and anthropogenic variables. No study has compared FSR locations to Native American settlement features in the eastern United States. We assess whether FSRs in the eastern US are located near regions of past Native American settlement. We also assess relationships between distance to Native American settlement, environmental conditions, and fire frequency in central Pennsylvania (PA), US, using an "ensemble of small models" approach for low sample sizes. Regression models of fire frequency at 21 locations in central PA often selected distance-based proxies of Indigenous land use. Models with mean annual temperature and Native American variables as predictors explained > 70% of the variation in fire frequency. Alongside temperature and wind speed, "distance to nearest trail" and "mean distance to nearest town" were significant and important predictors. In 18th-century central PA, fires were more frequent near Indigenous trails and towns, and further south due to increasing temperature and pyrophilic vegetation. However, for the entire eastern US, FSRs are located far from past settlement, limiting their effectiveness in detecting fire patterns near population centers. Improving understanding of historical fire will require developing FSRs closer to past Native American settlement.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brice B Hanberry
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Rapid City, SD, 57702, USA
| | - Marc D Abrams
- 204 Forest Resources Bldg., Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
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Hanberry BB, Faison EK. Re-framing deer herbivory as a natural disturbance regime with ecological and socioeconomic outcomes in the eastern United States. Sci Total Environ 2023; 868:161669. [PMID: 36681343 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Natural disturbances are critical ecosystem processes, with both ecological and socioeconomic benefits and disadvantages. Large herbivores are natural disturbances that have removed plant biomass for millions of years, although herbivore influence likely has declined during the past thousands of years corresponding with extinctions and declines in distributions and abundances of most animal species. Nonetheless, the conventional view, particularly in eastern North America, is that herbivory by large wild herbivores is at unprecedented levels, resulting in unnatural damage to forests. Here, we propose consideration of large herbivores as a natural disturbance that also imparts many crucial ecological advantages, using white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the only wild large herbivore remaining throughout the eastern U.S., as our focal species. We examined evidence of detrimental effects of browsing on trees and forbs. We then considered that deer contribute to both fuel reduction and ecological restoration of herbaceous plants and historical open forests of savannas and woodlands by controlling tree and shrub densities, mimicking the consumer role of fire. Similarly to other disturbances, deer disturbance 'regimes' are uneven in severity across different ecosystems and landscapes, resulting in heterogeneity and diversity. In addition to biodiversity support and fuel reduction, socioeconomic benefits include >$20 billion dollars per year by 10 million hunters that support jobs and wildlife agencies, non-consumptive enjoyment of nature by 80 million people, cultural importance, and deer as ecological ambassadors, whereas costs include about $5 billion and up to 450 human deaths per year for motor vehicle accidents, along with crop damage and disease transmission. From a perspective of historical ecology rather than current baselines, deer impart a fundamental disturbance process with many ecological benefits and a range of socioeconomic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B Hanberry
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Rapid City, SD 57702, United States of America.
| | - Edward K Faison
- Highstead, PO Box 1097, Redding, CT 06875, United States of America
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Hanberry BB, Noss RF. Locating potential historical fire‐maintained grasslands of the eastern United States based on topography and wind speed. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service Rapid City South Dakota USA
| | - Reed F. Noss
- Florida Institute for Conservation Science and Southeastern Grasslands Initiative Melrose Florida USA
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Hanberry BB. Addressing regional relationships between white-tailed deer densities and land classes. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13570-13578. [PMID: 34646490 PMCID: PMC8495829 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations have recovered to about 30 million animals in the United States, but land cover has changed during the interval of recovery. To address the relationship between deer densities and current land cover at regional scales, I applied random forests and extreme gradient boosting classifiers to model low and high deer density classes, at two different thresholds (5.8 and 11.6 deer/km2), and land classes in three regions during approximately 2003. For low and high deer density classes divided at 5.8 deer/km2, deciduous broadleaf forest overall was the most influential and positive variable in the central east and central regions and crop and pasture were the most influential and negative variables in the southeast region. Deer density increased with area of deciduous and mixed forests, woody wetlands, and shrub in all regions. Deer density decreased with area of crop, developed open space, and developed low and medium residential density in all regions. For density classes divided at 11.6 deer/km2, deer density had the strongest relationship with woody wetlands in the central east region, mixed and deciduous forest in the southeast region, and woody wetlands and herbaceous vegetation in the central region. Deer density increased with deciduous and mixed forests, woody wetlands, and shrub in all regions. Conversely, deer density decreased with herbaceous vegetation, crop, and developed low residential densities in all regions. Therefore, at regional scales, deer overall occurred at greater densities in forests and woody wetlands and lower densities in agricultural and residential development, which did not appear to support more deer. Deer preference for forests does result in damage to forest products, but alternatively, some may consider that deer provide important socioeconomic and ecological services by reducing number of small trees, particularly in the absence of other disturbances that historically controlled tree biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- USDA Forest ServiceRocky Mountain Research StationRapid CitySouth DakotaUSA
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 8221 Mt. Rushmore Rd. Rapid City SD 57702 USA
| | - Phillip Hanberry
- Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP) University of Missouri Columbia MO 65201 USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- Grassland, Shrubland, and Desert Ecosystem, USDA Forest Service, Rapid City, SD, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest ServiceRocky Mountain Research Station8221 Mt. Rushmore RoadRapid CitySD57702USA
| | - Frank R. Thompson
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest ServiceNorthern Research Station202 ABNR BuildingUniversity MissouriColumbiaMO65211USA
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Hanberry BB, Bragg DC, Hutchinson TF. A reconceptualization of open oak and pine ecosystems of eastern North America using a forest structure spectrum. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; 8221 Mount Rushmore Road Rapid City South Dakota 57702 USA
| | - Don C. Bragg
- USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station; P.O. Box 3516 UAM Monticello Arkansas 71656 USA
| | - Todd F. Hutchinson
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station; 359 Main Road Delaware Ohio 43015 USA
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Hanberry BB, Brzuszek RF, Foster HT, Schauwecker TJ. Recalling open old growth forests in the Southeastern Mixed Forest province of the United States. Écoscience 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2018.1499282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brice B. Hanberry
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Rapid City, SD, USA
| | - Robert F. Brzuszek
- Department of Landscape Architecture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | | | - Timothy J. Schauwecker
- Department of Landscape Architecture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
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Hanberry BB, He HS, Shifley SR. Loss of aboveground forest biomass and landscape biomass variability in Missouri, US. Ecological Complexity 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Wang WJ, He HS, III FRT, Fraser JS, Hanberry BB, Dijak WD. Importance of succession, harvest, and climate change in determining future composition in U.S. Central Hardwood Forests. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00238.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Stambaugh MC, Varner JM, Noss RF, Dey DC, Christensen NL, Baldwin RF, Guyette RP, Hanberry BB, Harper CA, Lindblom SG, Waldrop TA. Clarifying the role of fire in the deciduous forests of eastern North America: reply to Matlack. Conserv Biol 2015; 29:942-946. [PMID: 25704587 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 09/30/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Stambaugh
- Department of Forestry, University of Missouri, 203 ABNR Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, U.S.A..
| | - J Morgan Varner
- Department of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 324 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, U.S.A
| | - Reed F Noss
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, U.S.A
| | - Daniel C Dey
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Northern Research Station, University of Missouri, 202 ABNR Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, U.S.A
| | - Norman L Christensen
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Box 90329, Durham, NC, 27708, U.S.A
| | - Robert F Baldwin
- Department of Forestry and Conservation, Clemson University, 221 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, U.S.A
| | - Richard P Guyette
- Department of Forestry, University of Missouri, 203 ABNR Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, U.S.A
| | - Brice B Hanberry
- Department of Forestry, University of Missouri, 203 ABNR Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, U.S.A
| | - Craig A Harper
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, 280 Ellington Plant Sciences, Knoxville, TN, 37996, U.S.A
| | - Sam G Lindblom
- The Nature Conservancy, Virginia Chapter, 490 Westfield Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22901, U.S.A
| | - Thomas A Waldrop
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southern Research Station, Clemson University, 233 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, U.S.A
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Hanberry BB, Dey DC, He HS. The history of widespread decrease in oak dominance exemplified in a grassland-forest landscape. Sci Total Environ 2014; 476-477:591-600. [PMID: 24496032 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2013] [Revised: 01/14/2014] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Regionally-distinctive open oak forest ecosystems have been replaced either by intensive agriculture and grazing fields or by denser forests throughout eastern North America and Europe. To quantify changes in tree communities and density in the Missouri Plains, a grassland-forest landscape, we used historical surveys from 1815 to 1864 and current surveys from 2004 to 2008. To estimate density for historical communities, we used the Morisita plotless density estimator and applied corrections for surveyor bias. To estimate density for current forests, we used Random Forests, an ensemble regression tree method, to predict densities from known values at plots using terrain and soil predictors. Oak species decreased from 62% of historical composition to 30% of current composition and black and white oaks historically were dominant species across 93% of the landscape and currently were dominant species across 42% of the landscape. Current forest density was approximately two times greater than historical densities, demonstrating loss of savanna and woodlands and transition to dense forest structure. Average tree diameters were smaller than in the past, but mean basal area and stocking remained similar over time because of the increase in density in current forests. Nevertheless, there were spatial differences; basal area and stocking decreased along rivers and increased away from rivers. Oak species are being replaced by other species in the Missouri Plains, similar to replacement throughout the range of Quercus. Long-term commitment to combinations of prescribed burning and silvicultural prescriptions in more xeric sites may be necessary for oak recruitment. Restoration of open oak ecosystems is a time-sensitive issue because restoration will become increasingly costly as oaks are lost from the overstory and the surrounding matrix becomes dominated by non-oak species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B Hanberry
- University of Missouri, 203 Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
| | - Daniel C Dey
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, University of Missouri, 202 Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Hong S He
- University of Missouri, 203 Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
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Hanberry BB. Finer grain size increases effects of error and changes influence of environmental predictors on species distribution models. ECOL INFORM 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2013.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Abstract
We examined reassembly of winning and losing tree species, species traits including shade and fire tolerance, and associated disturbance filters and forest ecosystem types due to rapid forest change in the Great Lakes region since 1850. We identified winning and losing species by changes in composition, distribution, and site factors between historical and current surveys in Minnesota’s mixed and broadleaf forests. In the Laurentian Mixed Forest, shade-intolerant aspen replaced shade-intolerant tamarack as the most dominant tree species. Fire-tolerant white pine and jack pine decreased, whereas shade-tolerant ashes, maples, and white cedar increased. In the Eastern Broadleaf Forest, fire-tolerant white oaks and red oaks decreased, while shade-tolerant ashes, American basswood, and maples increased. Tamarack, pines, and oaks have become restricted to sites with either wetter or sandier and drier soils due to increases in aspen and shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive species on mesic sites. The proportion of shade-tolerant species increased in both regions, but selective harvest reduced the applicability of functional groups alone to specify winners and losers. Harvest and existing forestry practices supported aspen dominance in mixed forests, although without aspen forestry and with fire suppression, mixed forests will transition to a greater composition of shade-tolerant species, converging to forests similar to broadleaf forests. A functional group framework provided a perspective of winning and losing species and traits, selective filters, and forest ecosystems that can be generalized to other regions, regardless of species identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice B Hanberry
- Department of Forestry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America.
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Hanberry BB, He HS, Palik BJ. Comparing Predicted Historical Distributions of Tree Species Using Two Tree-based Ensemble Classification Methods. The American Midland Naturalist 2012. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-168.2.443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Hanberry BB, Hanberry P, Riffell SK, Demarais S, Jones JC. Bird assemblages of intensively established pine plantations in Coastal Plain Mississippi. J Wildl Manage 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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