Pyrogeography, historical ecology, and the human dimensions of fire regimes

Christopher I. Roos; David M J S Bowman; Jennifer K. Balch; Paulo Artaxo; William J. Bond; Mark Cochrane; Carla M. D'Antonio; Ruth Defries; Michelle Mack; Fay H. Johnston; Meg A. Krawchuk; Christian A. Kull; Max A. Moritz; Stephen Pyne; Andrew C. Scott; Thomas W. Swetnam

doi:10.1111/jbi.12285

Pyrogeography, historical ecology, and the human dimensions of fire regimes

Christopher I. Roos, David M J S Bowman, Jennifer K. Balch, Paulo Artaxo, William J. Bond, Mark Cochrane, Carla M. D'Antonio, Ruth Defries, Michelle Mack, Fay H. Johnston, Meg A. Krawchuk, Christian A. Kull, Max A. Moritz, Stephen Pyne, Andrew C. Scott, Thomas W. Swetnam

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

In our 2011 synthesis (Bowman et al., Journal of Biogeography, 2011, 38, 2223-2236), we argued for a holistic approach to human issues in fire science that we term 'pyrogeography'. Coughlan & Petty (Journal of Biogeography, 2013, 40, 1010-1012) critiqued our paper on the grounds that our 'pyric phase' model was built on outdated views of cultural development, claiming we developed it to be the unifying explanatory framework for all human-fire sciences. Rather, they suggest that 'historical ecology' could provide such a framework. We used the 'pyric transition' for multiple purposes but did not offer it as an exclusive explanatory framework for pyrogeography. Although 'historical ecology' is one of many useful approaches to studying human-fire relationships, scholars should also look to political and evolutionary ecology, ecosystems and complexity theories, as well as empirical generalizations to build an interdisciplinary fire science that incorporates human, ecological and biophysical dimensions of fire regimes.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	833-836
Number of pages	4
Journal	Journal of Biogeography
Volume	41
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12285
State	Published - Apr 2014

Keywords

Ecosystems ecology
Evolutionary ecology
Historical ecology
Human-fire dynamics
Political ecology
Pyric transition
Pyrogeography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Ecology

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10.1111/jbi.12285

Cite this

Roos, C. I., Bowman, D. M. J. S., Balch, J. K., Artaxo, P., Bond, W. J., Cochrane, M., D'Antonio, C. M., Defries, R., Mack, M., Johnston, F. H., Krawchuk, M. A., Kull, C. A., Moritz, M. A., Pyne, S., Scott, A. C., & Swetnam, T. W. (2014). Pyrogeography, historical ecology, and the human dimensions of fire regimes. Journal of Biogeography, 41(4), 833-836. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12285

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abstract = "In our 2011 synthesis (Bowman et al., Journal of Biogeography, 2011, 38, 2223-2236), we argued for a holistic approach to human issues in fire science that we term 'pyrogeography'. Coughlan & Petty (Journal of Biogeography, 2013, 40, 1010-1012) critiqued our paper on the grounds that our 'pyric phase' model was built on outdated views of cultural development, claiming we developed it to be the unifying explanatory framework for all human-fire sciences. Rather, they suggest that 'historical ecology' could provide such a framework. We used the 'pyric transition' for multiple purposes but did not offer it as an exclusive explanatory framework for pyrogeography. Although 'historical ecology' is one of many useful approaches to studying human-fire relationships, scholars should also look to political and evolutionary ecology, ecosystems and complexity theories, as well as empirical generalizations to build an interdisciplinary fire science that incorporates human, ecological and biophysical dimensions of fire regimes.",

keywords = "Ecosystems ecology, Evolutionary ecology, Historical ecology, Human-fire dynamics, Political ecology, Pyric transition, Pyrogeography",

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AU - Bond, William J.

AU - Cochrane, Mark

AU - D'Antonio, Carla M.

AU - Defries, Ruth

AU - Mack, Michelle

AU - Johnston, Fay H.

AU - Krawchuk, Meg A.

AU - Kull, Christian A.

AU - Moritz, Max A.

AU - Pyne, Stephen

AU - Scott, Andrew C.

AU - Swetnam, Thomas W.

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AB - In our 2011 synthesis (Bowman et al., Journal of Biogeography, 2011, 38, 2223-2236), we argued for a holistic approach to human issues in fire science that we term 'pyrogeography'. Coughlan & Petty (Journal of Biogeography, 2013, 40, 1010-1012) critiqued our paper on the grounds that our 'pyric phase' model was built on outdated views of cultural development, claiming we developed it to be the unifying explanatory framework for all human-fire sciences. Rather, they suggest that 'historical ecology' could provide such a framework. We used the 'pyric transition' for multiple purposes but did not offer it as an exclusive explanatory framework for pyrogeography. Although 'historical ecology' is one of many useful approaches to studying human-fire relationships, scholars should also look to political and evolutionary ecology, ecosystems and complexity theories, as well as empirical generalizations to build an interdisciplinary fire science that incorporates human, ecological and biophysical dimensions of fire regimes.

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KW - Historical ecology

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KW - Political ecology

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Pyrogeography, historical ecology, and the human dimensions of fire regimes

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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