Historical Ecology of the Harlem Plains

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Historical Ecology of the Harlem Plains
Tim Bean, E3B
Advisor Dr. Don Melnick, CERC
Mentor Dr. Eric Sanderson, WCS
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Introduction

• Historical Accounts
• Native American land use
• Fire Modeling
• Successional Modeling
• Results

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Historical Accounts of Harlem Plains
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Archaeology of Harlem Plains
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Fire Narratives

• New Amsterdam
• Adrian van der Donck, in Yonkers (1680)
• Northeast
• Cronon (1983)
• Midwest
• Dorney and Dorney (1989)
• Day (1953)
• Skeptics
• Russell (1983)

Photo courtesy of the Konza Prairie Bio. Station
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FARSITE Fire Modeling

• 5 GIS Inputs
• Elevation
• Slope
• Aspect
• Fuel loading
• Canopy cover

• Climate Inputs
• Max/Min Temperature
• Wind Velocity, Direction
• Precipitation

Successional Model SORTIE
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Results/Predictions

• Work to be done in January
• Oak Savannah

Questions?