Paul Reilly
Station Fire Project
Hominins emerged 5-7 million years
ago, and represent over 20 species. Our genus (Homo) appeared approximately 2.4 mya, and the hunting and gathering
(foraging) way of life sustained our genus for the vast majority of time
(99.6%). Studies estimate that (73%) of foraging societies derive between
35-44% of sustenance from plant foods (Cordain et al. 2005). Clearly, the importance
of foraged plant foods in meeting the nutritional requirements of humans is
undeniable.
Around 12,000 years ago, an
explosion of agricultural practices worldwide, known as the Neolithic
Revolution (Childe 1936) coincides with a dramatic increase in artifact remains
which is interpreted as the beginning of a continuous period of population
growth (Bocquet-Appeal 2011). A shift from foraging to food production occurred
nearly instantaneously, and with this shift came numerous physical and social
changes.
The chronic degenerative diseases deemed “the diseases of
civilization” are among the leading causes of death of modern people (CDC
2010). These conditions, including
coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancers,
autoimmune disease, and osteoporosis are rare or absent in pre-agricultural
(and non-westernized) societies (Carrera-Basto et al. 2011). The so called
diseases-of-civilization arose in part due to discordance between the genome
and lifestyle (Cordain 2000). Today’s native populations have epidemic levels
of health problems, and every indicator shows native populations are
unhealthier than the general population (IHS 1996). As an effort to mitigate
risk of disease, there are a number of initiatives espousing the benefits of
incorporating foraged food into the diet (CDC: TFP).
The climate and resource
availability of California supported a number of different indigenous peoples
since prehistory. Since western contact, the overall health of California’s
native people has been steadily declining (IHS 1996). Incorporating a lifestyle
which promotes foraging is more important now than any other time in history.
Resources for indigenous people are limited statewide, and loss of resources is
occurring at a rapid pace.
For the purpose of this project, I
wanted to examine how the 2009 station fire of California, the largest in
Californian history, could impact the foraging capacity of California’s
natives. I chose to look at the fire boundaries in comparison to reservations,
overall burn length, the overall change of basal vegetation, and percent change
of canopy cover.
Overall, the intensity of the burn
greatly affected the vegetation composition within the boundaries of the 2009
Station fire. Although no federally recognized reservations exist with the
boundary, indigenous people such as the Serrano, would have utilized the area
heavily for foraging.
Fire, especially catastrophic fire,
such as the Station fire, generally allow for the spread of invasive plants. In
looking at the map, the overall change in composition of plants is striking. The native plant community at the Station fire
site is now at exponentially increased risk for invasion from non-native
plants. Hopefully, indigenous communities in California will work with local,
state, and federal agencies to restore the Station fire area to promote native
ecologies and potential for foraging traditional food plants.
Literature Cited
Bocquet-Appel, J-P.
2011. When the world’s population took off: The springboard of the Neolithic
demographic transition. Science 333, 560-561.
Carrera-Bastos et al.
2011. The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization. Researc
Reports in Clinical Cardiology. 2:15-35
Center for Disease
Control : Traditional Foods Project. 2014. Diabetes Public Health Resource. <Accessed
11/12/2014 http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/ndwp/traditional-foods.htm>
Childe G. 1936. Man
Makes Himself. Oxford University Press. Oxford, England.
Cordain et al., Origins and
evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century. American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition 81, 341-354
(2005).
Cordain et al., Plant-animal
subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer
diets. American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition 71,
682-692 (2000).
Indian Health
Service. Regional differences in Indian health. Rockville, MD: US Department of
Health and Human Services, 1996.
