TY - THES T1 - Fire History in Riparian Canyon Pine-Oak Forests and the Intervening Desert Grasslands of the Southwest Borderlands: A Dendroecological, Historical, and Cultural Inquiry T2 - School of Renewable Natural Resources Y1 - 1998 A1 - Kaib, J. Mark KW - apache KW - borderland KW - cultural KW - dendrochronology KW - dendroecological KW - desert grassland KW - ethnoecological KW - fire KW - fire history KW - historical KW - Mexico KW - oak KW - peacetime KW - pine KW - post settlement KW - riparian KW - southwest KW - spanish KW - wartime KW - Watershed Management AB -

Dendroecological, documentary, and ethnoecological evidence were combined to provide an integrated understanding of past natural and cultural fires in the Southwest Borderlands. Fire frequency for the desert grasslands was inferred from synchronous intercanyon fire events. Mean fire intervals range between 4-8 years in canyon pine-oak forests, 4-9 years in the intervening desert grasslands, and 5-9 years in the mixed-conifer forests. Riparian canyon pine-oak forests were important corridors for fire spread between the desert grasslands and higher-elevation forests. The decline of post-settlement (>1870s) fires typical of most forests in U.S., is not evident south of the border in Mexico.

Documentary evidence reveals the Apache had detailed knowledge of fire, that burning practices were controlled and limited, and ecosystem enhancement through intentional burning was not suggested. However, the common exception was burning practiced during wartime periods, principally by the Apache but also by the Spanish, Mexicans, and later Americans. Fire reconstructions indicate that wartime-period fires were significantly more frequent than peacetime periods at several canyon-rancherÍa sites.

JF - School of Renewable Natural Resources PB - University of Arizona CY - Tucson VL - MS ER - TY - THES T1 - Reconstruction and Interpretation of Historical Patterns of Fire Occurrence in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico T2 - Department of Renewable Natural Resources Y1 - 1996 A1 - Morino, Kiyomi Ann KW - dendrochronology KW - fillmore canyon KW - fire KW - Geography KW - historical KW - new mexico KW - organ mountains KW - reconstruction AB -

The purpose of this research was to reconstruct and interpret the history of fire in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico. I used dendrochronological techniques to date fire scars on 90 trees comprising ten sites within the Fillmore Canyon watershed. Two fire regimes were identified during the pre-settlement period. Fire Regime I, 1650-1805, was characterized by a high fire frequency (ca. once every two years) and a predominance of patchy fires. Fire Regime II, 1805-1874, was characterized by a lower fire frequency (ca. once every 3.5 years) and a predominance of widespread fires. During the post-settlement period fire was virtually non-existent. I hypothesize that Apache use-of-fire influenced patterns during the pre-settlement period, while Euro-American land use activities influenced patterns during the post-settlement period. Fire-precipitation associations suggest that low fuel moisture levels were a pre-condition for widespread fires.

JF - Department of Renewable Natural Resources PB - University of Arizona CY - Tucson VL - Master of Science ER -