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- Info
Effects of fire on temperate forests: Northeastern United States
| Author: |
Little, S. |
| Date: |
1974 |
| Periodical: |
In: Kozlowski, T.T.; Ahlgren, C.E., eds. Fire and ecosystems. New York: Academic Press |
| Abstract: |
Fires were common in many sections of the Northeast before the land was settled by Europeans because Indians used fire for land-clearing, for keeping woods in an open condition, and for driving game. Burning was not deliberate in the Adirondacks, in much of northern New England, nor in the hillier sections of southern New England and
Pennsylvania ( Day, 1953 ). But elsewhere frequent fires may have been the rule. These fires shaped the parklike forests noted by early explorers in coastal Maine, southern New England, New Jersey, Maryland, central .New York, and some other parts of the Northeast (Day, 1953). These forests were so open that travel on foot or by horseback was easy, and in some places deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) or wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo) a mile away could be seen easily from the top of a hill. As a general rule, the early European settlers used fire to clear land and to favor quick growth of grass in the spring. However-probably as the result of European influences-the prevailing attitude changed to discourage burning, especially in areas where the inhabitants prospered. |
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