Researchers analyze the evolving human relationship with fire

Humanity's relationship to fire - including wildfires, burning of fossil fuels, controlled burns, and human-caused fire - is the focus of a report by an international team of scientists. The team was organized by UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS).

Fire, both friend and foe, is a controversial force in the world. The team of 18 researchers analyzed the history and possible future of our ever-changing relationship with fire in an article published in the Journal of Biogeography. The article is titled, "The Human Dimension of Fire Regimes on Earth."

"The value of this study is that it presents a critical assessment of the diversity of human uses of fire, from tamed landscape fire, to agricultural fire, to industrial fire," said Jennifer K. Balch, postdoctoral associate at NCEAS and second author on the paper. "Human use and misuse of fire has been so prevalent in our evolutionary history, and the evolution of cultures, that we've forgotten how dominant a force fire really is."

The research team noted that wildfires are often viewed as major disasters, and there is concern that climate change will increase their incidence. However, it is difficult to consider the true impact of past or future wildfires without understanding their place in natural and human history, about which much is unknown.

The researchers offer a historical framework to help other researchers, as well as managers, to develop a context for considering the relationships humans have with fire. This framework is key to planning for future fire risk and understanding the role of fire in natural ecosystems, according to David M. J. S. Bowman, lead author and professor at the School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania.