Fire is an intrinsic ecosystem component, not an unnatural disturbance, in the Canoe Area.

Evidence

In much ecological literature as well as the popular press, fire has been viewed as unnatural, man-caused, and a “disturbance” somehow not part of the ecosystem. But for the Canoe Area at least, it must now be seen as just a perturbation within the system. It was an essential factor in maintaining the kind of long-term stability and diversity recorded in the pollen and charcoal diagrams of Craig (1972) and Swain (1972, and this symposium). The composition, structure, and dynamics of the virgin forests can best be understood if we concentrate on understanding how the system functions with fire as part of that system. — Miron L. Heinselman, Fire in the Virgin Forests of the…, 426

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Fire suppression restructures the whole ecosystem and reduces overall wildlife diversity — Miron L. Heinselman, Fire in the Virgin Forests of the…, 442; Man-controlled burning can still yield a natural ecosystem — Miron L. Heinselman, Fire in the Virgin Forests of the…, 477; BWCA management excluded fire despite its dominant ecological role — Miron L. Heinselman, Fire in the Virgin Forests of the…, 25 (+2 more)

Related

• Restoring the natural regime means burning roughly 4,200 Canoe Area acres yearly (similarity 0.89)
• Man-controlled burning can still yield a natural ecosystem (similarity 0.88)
• BWCA management excluded fire despite its dominant ecological role (similarity 0.88)
• The entire BWCA ecosystem was fire-dependent (similarity 0.87)
• Fire suppression restructures the whole ecosystem and reduces overall wildlife diversity (similarity 0.87)
• Letting all lightning fires run is unsafe in flat Canoe Area terrain (similarity 0.86)
• Historic burns of 100,000 acres can no longer be allowed in the Canoe Area (similarity 0.86)
• The Canoe Area burned and regenerated on about a 100-year rotation. (similarity 0.85)
• No large BWCA burns since 1936 already eliminated early postfire communities. (similarity 0.84)
• Natural fire rotation quantifies fire’s role and grounds fire-management targets. (similarity 0.82)
• The BWCA still has a roughly 60-year window before fire exclusion makes restoration impossible. (similarity 0.82)
• Suppressing disturbance makes ecosystems more vulnerable to catastrophe (similarity 0.81)
• Fire exclusion policies carry greater safety risk than prescribed burning (similarity 0.81)
• Surface fires returned every 36 years on average in surviving pine stands. (similarity 0.79)
• Fire suppression created monocultural forests that mid-frequency burning heals (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Letting all lightning fires run is unsafe in flat Canoe Area terrain #qualifies (0.78) — Miron L. Heinselman, Fire in the Virgin Forests of the…, 455