%0 Thesis %B Department of Renewable Natural Resources %D 1996 %T Reconstruction and Interpretation of Historical Patterns of Fire Occurrence in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico %A Morino, Kiyomi Ann %Y Swetnam, T. %K dendrochronology %K fillmore canyon %K fire %K Geography %K historical %K new mexico %K organ mountains %K reconstruction %X

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.

%B Department of Renewable Natural Resources %I University of Arizona %C Tucson %V Master of Science %P 144 %G English