Humanizing Savanna Biogeography: Linking Human Practices with Ecological Patterns in a Frequently Burned Savanna of Southern Mali
Humanizing Savanna Biogeography: Linking Human Practices with Ecological Patterns in a Frequently Burned Savanna of Southern Mali
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DOI：
10.1080/00045608.2011.560063
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发表时间：
2011-01-01
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影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Laris, Paul
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作者：
Laris, Paul
稀树草原生物群落是由草和树的共同优势所定义的，草和树的精确比例是许多自然和人为变量的函数。火是一个关键的决定因素的树木与草的比例，因为它可以抑制树木的建立和生长。尽管几乎所有的火灾都有人为原因，但大多数稀树草原火灾生态学模型仅基于生态变量，未能将人类土地和火的使用模式结合起来。为了了解人类燃烧的做法，土地覆盖模式，火制度相关联，我结合了基于图像的烧伤疤痕分析和土地覆盖地图从陆地卫星数据库，涵盖30年的采访和调查结果的结果。我记录了空间上明确的火灾制度，在马里南部的苏丹稀树草原地区，并将其与人类活动和土地覆盖模式。该研究的结论是，燃烧产生了一个季节性的马赛克，其中一些补丁定期燃烧早，而另一些则晚，而有些地区很少燃烧。生态学家将马赛克火灾制度归因于植物演替等自然因素，但这项研究表明，该制度是土壤条件，植被模式，土地利用和广泛燃烧实践的综合影响的函数。这里记录的人为燃烧制度不同于生态理论的基础上，它的时空模式是相对一致的，每年。研究结果表明，有必要打破自然社会二分法，综合自然和社会科学的解释，“人性化”的稀树草原模型。
The savanna biome is defined by the codominance of grasses and trees, the precise ratio of which is a function of numerous variables, both natural and anthropogenic. Fire is a critical determinant of the tree-to-grass ratio because it can suppress tree establishment and growth. Despite the fact that nearly all fires have human causes, most savanna fire ecology models are based solely on ecological variables and fail to integrate human land and fire use patterns. To understand how human burning practices, land cover patterns, and fire regimes are linked I combined the results of an image-based burn scar analysis and land cover maps generated from a Landsat database covering thirty years with interview and survey results. I documented the spatially explicit fire regime for an area of Sudan savanna in southern Mali and linked it to human practices and land cover patterns. The study concludes that burning creates a seasonal mosaic in which some patches regularly burn early and others late, whereas some areas rarely if ever burn. Ecologists attribute mosaic fire regimes to natural factors such as plant succession, but this research demonstrates that the regime is a function of the combined effects of edaphic conditions, vegetation patterns, land use, and widespread burning practices. The anthropogenic burning regime documented here differs from the one based on ecological theory in that its spatiotemporal pattern is relatively consistent from year to year. The findings demonstrate the need to "humanize" savanna models by breaking nature-society dichotomies and synthesizing natural and social science explanations.