Burning

Question 1

Burning is one of many strategies employed by Indigenous peoples for ____ to _____ and _____ the landscapes within which they lived

Answer 1

for millennia to control and steward the landscapes

Question 2

Why low intensity fires?

Answer 2

clear out underbrush, thin out young trees, reduce the amount of fuel accumulating on the forest floor (fuel load)

Question 3

Why are high intensity fires “bad”?

Answer 3

A water-repellant or hydrophobic layer is sometimes formed in the soil that will decrease water infiltration and increase runoff and soil erosion

Question 4

The paradigm of ‘zero fire’

Answer 4

fires seen as a threat to biodiversity etc.

response is to suppress fires

Question 5

What are the benefits of burning? (9)

Answer 5

● Promotes early successional vegetation and associated animals
● Discourages pests and weed growth
● Accelerates nutrient cycling – releases nutrients in ash
● Blackened ground encourages spring growth
● Selects for annuals and perennials –> Annuals and perennials (many pre-adapted to fire) to increase the production of foods (berries, tubers, leafy greens) and medicines.
● Some plants need fire for seed dispersal and germination.
● Synchronization of fruiting
● Shifts in vegetation mosaics; creates openings in forests
● Promotes fire-tolerant, shade-intolerant taxa

Question 6

Present-day uses of landscape fire by the Wapishana people, Guyana

Answer 6

safety

animal husbandry

agriculture

hunting and fishing

gathering natural resources

protection

communication

Question 7

Timing of Indigenous burning

Answer 7

seasonal calendar
understanding environmental and climatic indicators
phases of the moon
patch burning

Question 8

Does patch burning benefit everyone?

Answer 8

Potential Downsides: Fire, Forest Clearing, Soil erosion

• severe fires can result in a net loss of nitrogen in the soil system.
• can overly warm soils in the summer and this may kill plants.
• Health risks from smoke.
• Impact on fauna.

Question 9

Solutions to problems w reintegration of Indigenous burning:

Answer 9

enabling policies that focus on legitimizing and strengthening Indigenous fire management

Community owned fire management linked to Indigenous survival strategies

Long-term approaches supporting the well-being and survival of Indigenous communities,