Anthropogenic Burning on the Central California Coast in Late Holocene and Early Historical Times: Findings, Implications, and Future Directions

Lightfoot, Kent G.; Cuthrell, Rob Q.; Boone, Cristie M.; Byrne, Roger; Chavez, Andreas S.; Collins, Laurel S.; Cowart, Alicia; Evett, Rand R.; Fine, Paul V. A.; Gifford–Gonzalez, Diane; Hylkema, Mark; Lopez, Valentin; Misiewicz, Tracy M.; Reid, Rachel E. B.

doi:10.1179/1947461x13z.00000000020

Cited by 34 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Our results show that fire return intervals under five years result in grass-dominated systems irrespective of the succession rate of vegetation. This is consistent with trends observed in recent decades over Mediterranean-climate California (e.g., Minnich andDezzani 1998, Sugihara et al 2006) and with anthropological knowledge regarding Native American burning practices over central coastal California (e.g., Lightfoot et al 2013). On the other hand, reduced ignition rates allow buildup of fuels and succession from grassland to shrubland or from shrubland to woodland, as observed over California after implementation of fire suppression policies (e.g., McBride 2003, Meentemeyer et al 2008).…”

Section: Dynamics Of California Ecosystemssupporting

confidence: 89%

A minimal model of fire-vegetation feedbacks and disturbance stochasticity generates alternative stable states in grassland–shrubland–woodland systems

Batllori

Ackerly

Moritz

2015

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Altered disturbance regimes in the context of global change are likely to have profound consequences for ecosystems. Interactions between fire and vegetation are of particular interest, as fire is a major driver of vegetation change, and vegetation properties (e.g., amount, flammability) alter fire regimes. Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs) constitute a paradigmatic example of temperate fire-prone vegetation. Although these ecosystems may be heavily impacted by global change, disturbance regime shifts and the implications of fire-vegetation feedbacks in the dynamics of such biomes are still poorly characterized. We developed a minimal modeling framework incorporating key aspects of fire ecology and successional processes to evaluate the relative influence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on disturbance and vegetation dynamics in systems composed of grassland, shrubland, and woodland mosaics, which characterize many MTEs. In this theoretical investigation, we performed extensive simulations representing different background rates of vegetation succession and disturbance regime (fire frequency and severity) processes that reflect a broad range of MTE environmental conditions. Varying fire-vegetation feedbacks can lead to different critical points in underlying processes of disturbance and sudden shifts in the vegetation state of grassland-shrubland-woodland systems, despite gradual changes in ecosystem drivers as defined by the environment. Vegetation flammability and disturbance stochasticity effectively modify system behavior, determining its heterogeneity and the existence of alternative stable states in MTEs. Small variations in system flammability and fire recurrence induced by climate or vegetation changes may trigger sudden shifts in the state of such ecosystems. The existence of threshold dynamics, alternative stable states, and contrasting system responses to environmental change has broad implications for MTE management.

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Section: Dynamics Of California Ecosystemssupporting

confidence: 89%

A minimal model of fire-vegetation feedbacks and disturbance stochasticity generates alternative stable states in grassland–shrubland–woodland systems

Batllori

Ackerly

Moritz

2015

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…This primarily involves the introduction of anthropogenic fires that periodically clear the landscape of biomass and, in the medium-term and long-term, decrease the chances of potentially more destructive wildfires. The recovery of TREM was done through both archaeological investigations and ethnographic engagement with the ancestral indigenous peoples of the area (Lightfoot et al 2013; Lightfoot and Lopez 2013). These projects reveal that indigenous peoples used fire as a landscape management tool; understanding how they did so supplies alternative management pathways that recognize human management of natural landscapes is not a solely modern phenomenon.…”

Section: Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Approaches to Climate Change and Cultural Heritage

Hambrecht

Rockman²

2017

Am. Antiq.

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Anthropogenic climate change is increasingly threatening cultural heritage; cultural resource managers, communities, and archaeologists are confronting this reality. Yet the phenomenon is happening over such a wide range of physical and sociocultural contexts that it is a problem too big for any one organization or discipline to tackle. Therefore, the sharing of best practices and examples between the communities dealing with this problem is essential. This article presents examples from communities, cultural resource managers, and archaeologists who are engaging with climate change–based threats to cultural heritage. Our presentation of these international activities follows the US National Park Service (NPS) four-pillar approach to climate-change threats to cultural heritage: science, mitigation, adaptation, and communication. We discuss this approach and then present a number of cases in which communities or institutions are attempting to manage cultural heritage threatened by climate change through these four pillars. This article restricts itself to examples that are taking place outside of the USA and concludes with some general recommendations for both archaeologists and funding entities.

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“…However, interpretation of phytolith data becomes more powerful and robust when combined with other lines of evidence. A multidisciplinary team of researchers took advantage of this synergy while conducting an integrative historical ecological study of native people on California's central coast (Lightfoot et al 2013) which investigated the hypothesis that native people at Quiroste Valley Cultural Preserve (QVCP) used fire to actively manage vegetation at the landscape scale from the Late Holocene to the time of Spanish colonization.…”

Section: Phytolith Analysis As An Important Component Of a Multidiscimentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing phytolith analysis approaches to estimate the prehistoric anthropogenic burning regime on the central California coast

Evett

Cuthrell

2017

Quaternary International

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Anthropogenic Burning on the Central California Coast in Late Holocene and Early Historical Times: Findings, Implications, and Future Directions

Cited by 34 publications

References 17 publications

A minimal model of fire-vegetation feedbacks and disturbance stochasticity generates alternative stable states in grassland–shrubland–woodland systems

A minimal model of fire-vegetation feedbacks and disturbance stochasticity generates alternative stable states in grassland–shrubland–woodland systems

International Approaches to Climate Change and Cultural Heritage

Testing phytolith analysis approaches to estimate the prehistoric anthropogenic burning regime on the central California coast

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