Native Americans, Ecosystem Development, and Historical Range of Variation

Nowacki, Gregory J.; MacCleery, Douglas W.; Lake, Frank K.

doi:10.1002/9781118329726.ch6

Cited by 38 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Specifically, this study showed quantitatively that Native American groups utilized and promoted existing mast resources in warmer-drier climatic regions (e.g., the Erie Lowland), and manipulated forest composition in more concentrated areas near village sites in cooler-moister climatic regions (e.g., the Allegheny Plateau), which aligns with previous research (Nowacki et al 2012). Specifically, this study showed quantitatively that Native American groups utilized and promoted existing mast resources in warmer-drier climatic regions (e.g., the Erie Lowland), and manipulated forest composition in more concentrated areas near village sites in cooler-moister climatic regions (e.g., the Allegheny Plateau), which aligns with previous research (Nowacki et al 2012).…”

Section: Methodological Advances and Major Findingssupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Across the North American continent, Native American societies incorporated into their subsistence economies numerous strategies to increase ecosystem productivity, which had the potential to alter their environments. The use of different strategies by Native American societies varied widely across North America (Doolittle 2002), which produced complex and diverse impacts upon environments (Nowacki et al 2012), even among Native American societies within smaller geographic regions (e.g., New England; Cronon 1983 magnitude of environmental impacts fluctuated over time as Native American societies incorporated different subsistence strategies, and as societies utilized or abandoned resource patches (Munoz et al 2014). The use of different strategies by Native American societies varied widely across North America (Doolittle 2002), which produced complex and diverse impacts upon environments (Nowacki et al 2012), even among Native American societies within smaller geographic regions (e.g., New England; Cronon 1983 magnitude of environmental impacts fluctuated over time as Native American societies incorporated different subsistence strategies, and as societies utilized or abandoned resource patches (Munoz et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Native American impact on past forest composition inferred from species distribution models, Chautauqua County, New York

Tulowiecki

Larsen

2015

Ecological Monographs

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Little consensus surrounds the extent of Native American impacts upon tree species composition in Eastern North America, prior to European-American settlement (presettlement). Native American land-use practices (e.g., forest clearance and burning) likely altered forest composition, but the spatial extent of these alterations remains vaguely quantified. Previous research has attempted to quantify the spatial extent of clearance practices, but little research has addressed the more subtle alterations to tree species composition resulting from Native American land use. Research has also inadequately distinguished between environmental and anthropogenic controls upon tree species composition, leaving open the possibility that, instead of modifying forest composition, Native American societies instead settled where favored tree species were already present. This study employed species distribution models (SDMs) trained from tree species data within presettlement land survey records (PLSRs), in order to understand Native American impacts upon presettlement tree species composition in Chautauqua County, New York. Using historical and archaeological data, this study developed ''Native American variables'' (NAVs), which represented human accessibility to features of Iroquoian settlement. This study then modeled the distribution of tree species in relation to both environmental variables and NAVs. Notable results indicate that NAVs significantly improved the predictive performance of SDMs for mast-bearing taxa, such as oak (Quercus spp.), chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.), and hickory (Carya spp.). Under a simulated absence of Iroquoian settlement, the amount of ''suitable'' area in Chautauqua County decreased by 2 to 23 percentage points for five mast-bearing taxa, depending upon species and modeling procedure. Results imply that Iroquoian alterations to tree species composition covered a larger spatial extent, in comparison to previous estimates of the spatial extent of clearance practices in Iroquoian regions. Yet, the majority of forest compositional modifications occurred within 10 to 15 km of village sites. This study offers a novel methodology for quantifying Native American impacts upon past tree species composition, and suggests that Iroquoian land-use practices of the early Historic era shaped forest compositional patterns at local extents in one region of presettlement Eastern North America.

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Section: Methodological Advances and Major Findingssupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native American impact on past forest composition inferred from species distribution models, Chautauqua County, New York

Tulowiecki

Larsen

2015

Ecological Monographs

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“…Humans migrated to the Western Hemisphere at least 14 000 years before present (Goebel et al . 2008) and used fire for heat, light, food preparation, and hunting (cf Nowacki et al . 2012; Ryan et al .…”

Section: Humans and Fire Prior To Euro–american Settlementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prescribed fire in North American forests and woodlands: history, current practice, and challenges

Ryan

Knapp

Varner

2013

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

502

360

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Whether ignited by lightning or by Native Americans, fire once shaped many North American ecosystems. Euro–American settlement and 20th‐century fire suppression practices drastically altered historic fire regimes, leading to excessive fuel accumulation and uncharacteristically severe wildfires in some areas and diminished flammability resulting from shifts to more fire‐sensitive forest species in others. Prescribed fire is a valuable tool for fuel management and ecosystem restoration, but the practice is fraught with controversy and uncertainty. Here, we summarize fire use in the forests and woodlands of North America and the current state of the practice, and explore challenges associated with the use of prescribed fire. Although new scientific knowledge has reduced barriers to prescribed burning, societal aversion to risk often trumps known, long‐term ecological benefits. Broader implementation of prescribed burning and strategic management of wildfires in fire‐dependent ecosystems will require improved integration of science, policy, and management, and greater societal acceptance through education and public involvement in land‐management issues.

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“…a). In the moist pyrophobic north, the Native American footprint was limited, often concentrated around lake‐ and stream‐side villages and interconnected trails (Patterson & Sassaman, ; Nowacki et al ., ). However, immediately south of the tension zone, Native American landscape manipulations were much more prevalent, promoting oak and pine dominance through broadcast burning (Delcourt & Delcourt, ; Abrams & Nowacki, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is climate an important driver of post‐European vegetation change in the Eastern United States?

Nowacki

Abrams

2014

Global Change Biology

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179

155

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Many ecological phenomena combine to direct vegetation trends over time, with climate and disturbance playing prominent roles. To help decipher their relative importance during Euro-American times, we employed a unique approach whereby tree species/genera were partitioned into temperature, shade tolerance, and pyrogenicity classes and applied to comparative tree-census data. Our megadata analysis of 190 datasets determined the relative impacts of climate vs. altered disturbance regimes for various biomes across the eastern United States. As the Euro-American period (ca. 1500 to today) spans two major climatic periods, from Little Ice Age to the Anthropocene, vegetation changes consistent with warming were expected. In most cases, however, European disturbance overrode regional climate, but in a manner that varied across the Tension Zone Line. To the north, intensive and expansive early European disturbance resulted in the ubiquitous loss of conifers and large increases of Acer, Populus, and Quercus in northern hardwoods, whereas to the south, these disturbances perpetuated the dominance of Quercus in central hardwoods. Acer increases and associated mesophication in Quercus-Pinus systems were delayed until mid 20th century fire suppression. This led to significant warm to cool shifts in temperature class where cool-adapted Acer saccharum increased and temperature neutral changes where warm-adapted Acer rubrum increased. In both cases, these shifts were attributed to fire suppression rather than climate change. Because mesophication is ongoing, eastern US forests formed during the catastrophic disturbance era followed by fire suppression will remain in climate disequilibrium into the foreseeable future. Overall, the results of our study suggest that altered disturbance regimes rather than climate had the greatest influence on vegetation composition and dynamics in the eastern United States over multiple centuries. Land-use change often trumped or negated the impacts of warming climate, and needs greater recognition in climate change discussions, scenarios, and model interpretations.

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Native Americans, Ecosystem Development, and Historical Range of Variation

Cited by 38 publications

References 72 publications

Native American impact on past forest composition inferred from species distribution models, Chautauqua County, New York

Native American impact on past forest composition inferred from species distribution models, Chautauqua County, New York

Prescribed fire in North American forests and woodlands: history, current practice, and challenges

Is climate an important driver of post‐European vegetation change in the Eastern United States?

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