Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on cultural resources and archaeology

Abstract

This state-of-knowledge review provides a synthesis of the effects of fire on cultural resources, which can be used by fire managers, cultural resource (CR) specialists, and archaeologists to more effectively manage wildland vegetation, fuels, and fire. The goal of the volume is twofold: (1) to provide cultural resource/archaeological professionals and policy makers with a primer on fuels, fire behavior, and fire effects to enable them to work more effectively with the fire management community to protect resources during fuels treatment and restoration projects and wildfire suppression activities; and (2) to provide fire and land management professionals and policy makers with a greater understanding of the value of cultural resource protection and the methods available to evaluate and mitigate risks to CR. The synthesis provides a conceptual fire effects framework for planning, managing, and modeling fire effects (chapter1) and a primer on fire and fuel processes and fire effects prediction modeling (chapter 2). A synthesis of the effects of fire on various cultural resource materials is provided for ceramics (chapter 3), lithics (chapter 4), rock art (chapter 5), historic-period artifacts/materials (chapter 6), and below-ground features (chapter 7). Chapter 8 discusses the importance of cultural landscapes to indigenous peoples and emphasizes the need to actively involve native people in the development of collaborative management plans. The use and practical implications of this synthesis are the subject of the final chapter (chapter 9).Keywords: cultural resources, heritage resources, archaeology, fire regime, fire environment, fuels management, fire management, fire planning, wildfire, prescribed fire, First-Order fire effects, Second-Order fire effects, Third-Order fire effects, Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER), fire severity, traditional cultural knowledge (TKE), cultural landscapesTo order, check any box or boxes below, fill in the address form, and send to the mailing address listed below. Or send your order and your address in mailing label form to one of the other listed media.RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 1. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on fauna. Send to: ________________________________________________________________________________ Name RMRS-GTR ________________________________________________________________________________ AddressYou may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and number. Publishing ServicesTelephone ( Summary ____________________________________Cultural resources refer to the physical evidence of human occupations that cultural resource specialists and archaeologists use to reconstruct the past. This includes the objects, locations, and landscapes that play a significant role in the history or cultural traditions of a group of people. Cultural resources include artifacts of historical significance left by prehistoric aboriginal p...

Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

“…Bond et al Further, Lee et al (2012) concluded that the proportion of high-severity fire (an average of 32 percent of suitable vegetation burned within analysis areas) had no effect on postfire occupancy by spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada, although the amount of high-severity fire was not included in models of occupancy, colonization, and extinction and was only qualitatively assessed relative to burned sites. Recently, Lee et al (2013) found no statistically significant effects of wildfire or salvage logging on California spotted owls in the mountains of southern California.…”

“…Numerous observational studies have described spotted owl habitat associations (see review above), but very few studies have directly assessed the effects of fuels and forest treatments on spotted owls and their habitat. Researchers have long advocated for experimental studies to evaluate the effects of forest management on spotted owls (Lee andIrwin 2005, Noon andFranklin 2002), and a lack of controlled experiments to test important hypotheses for forest management effects on spotted owls contributes to continuing controversy (Noon and Blakesley 2006). To date, no experiments using before-after control-impact (BACI) designs have been conducted, with the exception of a study of forest treatment effects on owl foraging on the Eldorado National Forest.…”

Post-Fire Seedling Recruitment and Morpho-Ecophysiological Responses to Induced Drought and Salvage Logging in Pinus halepensis Mill. Stands

“…The goal of implementation comprises economic, silvicultural and aesthetic objectives, as well as related benefits for the ecosystem, such as improved seedling recruitment due to mechanical scarification and soil movements [9,10]. However, several studies pointed to negative effects on the ecosystem, such as reducing growth and performance of regenerating Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) seedlings related to water stress and reduction of nutrient availability for plants [11].…”

Lessons from a Programmatic Agreement and Heritage-Based Consultations between Tribes and the National Forests of Arkansas and Oklahoma

“…6. Some archeological sites (e.g., wooden structures, rock art sites, bluff shelters, and historic cemeteries) are vulnerable to fire, including activities performed to help control, suppress, and recover from these burns (Ryan et al 2012). The 2006 PA contains specific language on how to address these sensitive locations from adverse impacts, including the need for additional surveys and protection as warranted.…”