Ecological evidence of intensive cultivation of oaks by California Indians: implications for the treatment of sudden oak death

Abstract

The native oaks of California are remarkable for being among the oldest and largest oak trees in the United States besides their great age and size, these trees possess various idiosyncrasies in their arrangements and shapes that appear to defy basic principles of ecology and population biology. When taken together, these and other associated patterns present an anomalous situation that cannot be explained using our current scientific understanding of old-growth forests. In this paper I describe several abnormal features of California oaks recorded during ecological surveys in the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada foothills in 1997 and 2003. These features are all plainly visible, expressed as gross variations in the character of the oaks and the surrounding soils. In the search for a plausible and parsimonious explanation of these anomalies, I am drawn by previous experiences to consider the wisdom and practices of the native people.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the sudden oak death second science symposium: the state of our knowledge

Citation

Klinger, Lee. 2006. Ecological evidence of intensive cultivation of oaks by California Indians: implications for the treatment of sudden oak death. In: Frankel, Susan J.; Shea, Patrick J.; and Haverty, Michael I., tech. coords. Proceedings of the sudden oak death second science symposium: the state of our knowledge. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-196. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 487-488