| I examined the hypothesis that traditional social-ecological fire systems around the world include common elements of traditional fire knowledge (TFK). I defined TFK as fire-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices that have been developed and applied on specific landscapes for specific purposes by long time inhabitants. In all, 69 distinct elements of TFK were documented in 35 studies, including accounts from 27 countries on 6 continents. On all 6 continents, 21 elements (30%) were recorded, and 46 elements (67%) were recorded on 4 or more continents. The top 12 most commonly reported elements, which were included in > 50 % of the studies, were fire effects on vegetation; season of the year; fire effects on animals; moisture of live or dead fuels; the... |
