Model unlocks human impact on Africa's fire regimes

BBC ^ | December 30, 2011 | Mark Kinver

[decimon]

A model has helped shed light on how human-started fires shaped Africa's landscape, researchers report.

Before human activity became widespread, most fires were caused by lightning strikes during the continent's wet seasons, they said.

As the human population expanded, more fires occurred during the dry season, triggering a shift in the impact of fires on Africa's ecology, they added.

>

It has been estimated that early humans could have had the ability to start fires about 300,000 years ago, but the real impact was from about 70,000 years ago as human populations became more widespread.

>

[decimon]

Up in smoke ping.

[sinanju]

Human beings have used controlled burning since before we were fully human. For all manner of reasons.

[Post Toasties]

Unfortunately, not a single word in this article about how human started fires have altered Africa’s climate, fauna and flora. Guess that would be un-PC - the ‘noble savage’ lives on.....

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***It has been estimated that early humans could have had the ability to start fires about 300,000 years ago,****

Was that when the atmosphere was composed of 30% oxygen instead of the 19% today? What a blaze that would have made!

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks decimon. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.