PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #59: Fire Ecology II.
Thursday, August 8. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Presettlement fire on the New England landscape.

Parshall, T.^*,1, Foster, D.², ¹ Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI² Harvard University, Petersham, MA

ABSTRACT- Fire plays an important role in many ecosystems by influencing species composition, vegetation structure, and nutrient cycling. In New England, our knowledge of how fire shaped past ecosystems is masked by profound changes since the arrival of Europeans 400 years ago and can only by uncovered using retrospective methods. In this study, we assessed the fossil charcoal and pollen content of sediments from 18 lakes in New England to reconstruct fire and vegetation across the period of European settlement. In almost every case, fires were much more common after Europeans started living in the region permanently, whereas evidence for a widespread Native American effect on vegetation and fire is not strong. Although it is true that Native American populations were probably highest along the coast, high fire in these locations are probably best explained by a combination of vegetation and climate. Across New England, presettlement fires are closely related to vegetation composition around the lake at that time. Fires were most common in pitch pine forests along the southern coast of New England and least common in the mesic northern hardwood and spruce forests inland and at higher elevations. Landscape attributes, such as location with respect to prevailing fire tracks and firebreaks, also influenced the spread of fire on more local scales.

KEY WORDS: paleoecology, human impact, fire, charcoal