1000-Year record of fire-vegetation interactions in the northeastern United States: A comparison between coastal and inland regions
Backman AE. 1984. 1000-Year record of fire-vegetation interactions in the northeastern United States: A comparison between coastal and inland regions. University of Massachusetts
From the abstract: "Lake sediments preserve a record of vegetation and fire history that can be revealed through pollen and charcoal analyses. This study evaluates spatial and temporal variations in fire occurrence and fire-vegetation interactions for eight ponds in the New England region. Average charcoal values are higher following European settlement at all eight sites, and most modern ignitions result from human activity. Charcoal values prior to settlement suggest that fire occurrence and intensity was greatest near southern coastal sites. Coastal Maine sites show fewer fires and sites away from the coast almost none at all. Modern records show that lightning ignitions are rare in coastal forests. Aboriginal populations were concentrated along the coast, and most presettlement fires were probably the result of human ignitions. Pollen and charcoal analyses from three sites in Acadia National Park suggest that fire is also strongly linked to forest succession in coastal Maine forests."
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Backman, Andrew
- Date of Issue
- 1984-09
- Publisher
- University of Massachusetts
- Units
- ACAD
- Keywords
- FIRE, Fire Ecology, Fire History, Isle Au Haut, Logging, Long Pond, Mount Desert Island, Plants, Pollen, Sargent Mountain Pond, The Bowl, thesis