Abstract
BackgroundKaruk and Yurok tribes in northwestern California, USA, are revitalizing the practice of cultural burning, which is the use of prescribed burns to enhance culturally important species. These cultural burns are critical to the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, and were widespread prior to the establishment of fire exclusion policies. One of the major objectives of cultural burning is to enhance California hazelnut (Corylus cornuta Marsh var. californica) basketry stem production for Karuk and Yurok basketweavers. To evaluate cultural burning as a form of human ecosystem engineering, we monitored hazelnut basketry stem production, qualities, and shrub density in 48 plots (400 m2) within two prescribed and 19 cultural burn sites. Socio-ecological variables that were analyzed included burn frequency, burn season, overstory tree (≥10 cm diameter at breast height) basal area, ungulate browse, and aspect. We also observed basketry stem gathering to compare travel distances, gathering rates, and basketweaver preferences across sites with different fire histories and land tenure.ResultsHazelnut shrubs, one growing season post burn, produced a 13-fold increase in basketry stems compared with shrubs growing at least three seasons post burn (P < 0.0001). Basketry stem production and stem length displayed negative relationships with overstory tree basal area (P < 0.01) and ungulate browse (P < 0.0001). Plots burned at high frequency (at least three burn events from 1989 to 2019) had 1.86-fold greater hazelnut shrubs than plots experiencing less than three burn events (P < 0.0001), and were all located on the Yurok Reservation where land tenure of indigenous people is comparatively stronger. Basketweavers travelled 3.8-fold greater distance to reach gathering sites burned by wildfires compared with those that were culturally burned (P < 0.01). At cultural burn sites, wildfire sites, and fire-excluded sites, mean gathering rates were 4.9, 1.6, and 0.5 stems per minute per individual, respectively.ConclusionsKaruk and Yurok cultural fire regimes with high burn frequencies (e.g., three to five years) promote high densities of hazelnut shrubs and increase hazelnut basketry stem production. This improves gathering efficiency and lowers travel costs to support the revitalization of a vital cultural practice. Our findings provide evidence of positive human ecosystem engineering, and show that increasing tribal sovereignty over fire management improves socio-economic well-being while at the same time supports measures of ecosystem structure and function.
Highlights
Karuk and Yurok tribes in northwestern California, USA, are revitalizing the practice of cultural burning, which is the use of prescribed burns to enhance culturally important species
Karuk and Yurok cultural fire regimes with high burn frequencies promote high densities of hazelnut shrubs and increase hazelnut basketry stem production
Uno de los principales objetivos de las quemas culturales es aumentar la producción de tallos del avellano de California (Corylus cornuta Marsh var. californica) que es usado para la construcción de cestos por los fabricantes de cestos de las tribus Karuk y Yurok
Summary
Karuk and Yurok tribes in northwestern California, USA, are revitalizing the practice of cultural burning, which is the use of prescribed burns to enhance culturally important species. These cultural burns are critical to the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, and were widespread prior to the establishment of fire exclusion policies. Preceding Spanish and American colonialism, fires set by California Indians imparted profound ecological effects by reducing fire severity and fuel continuity (Mallek et al 2013; Taylor et al 2016) These cultural fires enhanced California Indian subsistence and ceremonial resources and, are integral to the culture and economy of California Indians (Lightfoot and Parrish 2009; Anderson 2018). By the 1990s, US federal land management agencies revised their fire policies to recognize the potential benefits of prescribed fires as a management tool, generating opportunities to revive indigenous people’s cultural burning practices (Butler and Goldstein 2010; Long and Lake 2018; Stephens and Sugihara 2018)
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