Cultural burning is the process of using prescribed burns by Indigenous peoples to manage landscapes that they have historically occupied. This practice created a relationship between the land and the people so strong that the local flora became dependent on patterned burnings. The practice elevated the Indigenous peoples to a keystone species of their respective environments as the interspecies connections strengthened over time, which may explain why Indigenous people still manage over 50% of all ecological reserves.
Specifically, the Native American use of fire in ecosystems has been well documented, as well as the utilization of fire-stick farming by the Indigenous peoples of Australia. Besides the ecological function, there is a strong cultural aspect. Species most adapted to the burns are also ones most used by the Indigenous peoples, such as California black oak. Lands historically occupied by Indigenous peoples have become attuned to this process of low frequent burns, but not all environments are adjusted to this management. Cultural burns need to occur regularly and can be adapted to different microclimates in order to improve the efficacy of the practice.
Cultural significance Indigenous communities use cultural burning as part of their land management practices, but it is also a fundamental part of their identity and customs. Sacred locations and ecosystems that are essential to Indigenous food supplies are protected by cultural burning in the Pacific West region of the United States. Based on traditional ecological knowledge, this approach to fire control highlights the interconnectedness of fire, people, and the environment.Lake, Frank K., et al. “The Importance of Indigenous Cultural Burning in Forested Regions of the Pacific West, USA.” ResearchGate, 2021, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354289733_The_importance_of_Indigenous_cultural_burning_in_forested_regions_of_the_Pacific_West_US Cultural burning exemplifies how Indigenous land stewardship supports ecosystems and cultural practices. It demonstrates that fire is a means of caring for the land, ensuring long-term survival and spiritual connection, rather than only being a preventative measure.
Indigenous civilizations have developed methods for using fire to protect biodiversity and promote the growth of essential plants in rainforests, where burning is challenging due to high humidity. These burns change the environment in ways that reduce the risk of destructive wildfires while encouraging the growth of fruits and medicinal plants.Bird, Rebecca B., et al. “Burning in the Rainforests: The Ecology and Anthropology of Indigenous Fire Management in Humid Environments.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2020, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4485971/ This strategy demonstrates significant ecological expertise because it preserves plant diversity, promotes new development, and even helps mitigate more intense wildfires by clearing the forest floor of accumulated fuel.
In today's society, many people view fire as dangerous, while many Indigenous people view fire as an element that gives life. Cultural burning upholds a respectful relationship with the environment and has ceremonial and spiritual importance.Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013 This ideology differs from Western views, which regard fire as primarily hazardous. Instead, cultural burning acknowledges the healing and environmental benefits of fire.
Studies and practical uses Cultural burning is a global practice, and similar techniques are used in Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Africa. These fires have been used to control wildlife populations, maintain places of worship, and restore environments. Although these practices are ecological instruments, they represent generations-old knowledge systems. This illustrates the importance of including Indigenous ideas in contemporary environmental management.Codding, Brian F., et al. “Global Patterns in the Use of Fire as a Resource Management Tool.” Royal Society Open Science, vol. 3, no. 3, 2016, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.160382 Cultural burning is a worldwide activity with ecological and cultural significance, as demonstrated by specific examples like the Aboriginal fire management of Kakadu National Park in AustraliaManaging fire regimes in North Australian savannas: Applying Aboriginal approaches to contemporary global problems - Russell-Smith - 2013 - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment - Wiley Online Library. (n.d.). https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/120251 or the Yurok's prescribed burns in California. These time-tested methods can inspire modern, more environmentally friendly approaches to maintaining grasslands and woodlands.
Some Indigenous agricultural practices, such as jhum in South Asia, or ancient Mayan techniques in Mesoamerica, are categorized as slash-and-burn agriculture. The approach can be considered sustainable at a small scale, but is considered environmentally detrimental in the modern age.
Australia
A study was done in Western Australia that looked into different fire management strategies and how they influence an endangered plant species known as the Backwater grevillea. They compared the different effects of current fire suppression strategies, cultural burning and wildfires on this species. From their results, they concluded the cultural burning was the best management style for the conservation of this species. Besides simply benefitting one species, they also noticed it had a greater effect in slowing the spread and occurrence of wildfires in the area, benefitting other plant species and people as well. Incorporating cultural burning was also found to have a secondary benefit to the local communities. Returning the Indigenous peoples' connection to the land created an opportunity for knowledge and kinship of local plants to be restored. This was due to the close studying done on the plants to find out what intensity of fire best suited their growth patterns. As a result of the study, it was determined that current fire management strategies are too generalized and do not take into account on site ecosystem relations and services. When the people working on the site have a learned connection to it they know how the ecosystem will respond to the fire and can better control its trajectory.
More recently, fire regime suppression was questioned in the aftermath of the 2022 wildfires in Australia. This method of management resulted in a build up in fuel on the forest floor that could not be cleared manually, as well as an increase of tree cover and density. Mariani et al. (2022) studied traces of pollen in Australia soils during the precolonial and modern eras, concluding that the landscape in the precolonial era was composed of 51% herbs and grasses, 15% tree cover, and 34% shrub cover. This is in stark contrast to modern times, where they found the landscape to be composed of 35% herbs and grasses, 48% tree cover, and 17% shrub cover. Allowing tree cover to expand in western Australia has resulted in greater intensity and frequency of wildfire. The reason for the expansion of these forests is credited to the suppression of cultural burns conducted by the indigenous population of Australia.
Brazil In the Amazon, Indigenous groups employ controlled burns to enhance soil fertility and biodiversity.Mistry, J., Berardi, A., Andrade, V. et al. Indigenous Fire Management in the Cerrado of Brazil: The Case of the Krahô of Tocantíns. Hum Ecol 33, 365–386 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-005-4143-8
In Brazil, fire has been a landscape management tool for approximately 12,000 years in the Atlantic Forest. The use of low-intensity controlled fires changed the structure and composition of the rainforest, which would not have a regular fire regime without human intervention. The reduction of aboveground biomass and a more open canopy allowed for the selection and cultivation of useful, edible species of plants.
Canada First Nations in Canada use fire to maintain berry patches and caribou habitats.Hoffman, K.M.; Christianson, A.C.; Dickson-Hoyle, S.; Copes-Gerbitz, K.; Nikolakis, W.; Diabo, D.A.; McLeod, R.; Michell, H.J.; Al Mamun, A.; Zahara, A.; Mauro, N.; Gilchrist, J.; Ross, R.M.; Daniels, L.D. 2022. The right to burn: barriers and opportunities for Indigenous-led fire stewardship in Canada. https://www.nwfirescience.org/sites/default/files/publications/Hoffman%20et%20al_2022_The%20right%20to%20Burn_Barriers%20and%20opps%20for%20Indgenous-led%20fire%20stewardship%20in%20Canada.pdf In the Anishinaabeg Nation around the Great Lakes, fire is a living being that has the power to change landscapes through both destruction and the regrowth and return of life following a fire. Human beings are also inexorably tied to the land they live on as stewards who maintain the ecosystems around them. Because fire can reveal dormant seedlings, it is a land management tool. Fire was a part of the landscapes of Ontario until early colonial rule restricted indigenous culture in across Canada.
Wildfires are an integral ecological process in Canada. They play a key role in stabilizing the region's various vegetation communities from grasslands and prairies to conifer and deciduous forests. The cause historic, large scale wildfires has been disputed. Some Canadian forest fire researchers have declared lightning strikes the most probable cause, believing the Indigenous population unlikely to create large scale fires. However, there is evidence showing the Indigenous population used fires to change their ecosystem and decrease fuel load to lessen the severity of natural wildfires.
United States
California In California, fire was an integral part to how the Indigenous population managed the land. It has been shown that areas managed using Indigenous practices had created forests that were open and had a mixed stand of tree species. With lower fuel levels, the understory could host a diverse number of plant species. This in turn increased the forests' resistance to drought and fire, with the smoke from the small regular fires even decreasing pests and pathogen levels in the forests leading to a healthier tree stand. Without fire, California forests are now experiencing an over-densification of conifer trees which crowd out understory species and hinder the success rate of black oak saplings. Due to the lack of diversity, these forest are then more susceptible to drought and can create huge forest fires as the fuel builds up.