Combining high-resolution remotely sensed data with local and Indigenous Knowledge to model the landscape suitability of culturally modified trees: biocultural stewardship in Kitasoo/Xai’xais Territory

Environmental management and monitoring must reconcile social and cultural objectives with biodiversity stewardship to overcome political barriers to conservation. Suitability modelling offers a powerful tool for such “biocultural” approaches, but examples remain rare. Led by the Stewardship Authority of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation in coastal British Columbia, Canada, we developed a locally informed suitability model for a key biocultural indicator, culturally modified trees (CMTs). CMTs are trees bearing evidence of past cultural use that are valued as tangible markers of Indigenous heritage and protected under provincial law. Using a spatial multi-criteria evaluation framework to predict CMT suitability, we developed two cultural predictor variables informed by Kitasoo/Xai’xais cultural expertise and ethnographic data in addition to six biophysical variables derived from LiDAR and photo interpretation data. Both cultural predictor variables were highly influential in our model, revealing that proximity to known habitation sites and accessibility to harvesters (by canoe and foot) more strongly influenced suitability for CMTs compared with site-level conditions. Applying our model to commercial forestry governance, we found that high CMT suitability areas are 51% greater inside the timber harvesting land base than outside. This work highlights how locally led suitability modelling can improve the social and evidentiary dimensions of environmental management.

Culturally modified trees and forest structure at a Kawésqar ancient settlement at Río Batchelor, western Patagonia

Indigenous land use occurring on temporal scales over centuries or millennia shapes forests in specific ways and influences the dynamics of forest ecosystems. It is challenging to study such land use, but analysis of “culturally modified trees” (CMTs) can give precise spatial and temporal information on past land use by indigenous people. The aim of this study was to increase our knowledge of indigenous use of land and resources in Nothofagus forests by identifying CMTs and analyzing the forest structure dynamics in an ancient Kawésqar settlement site in western Patagonia. Our results show that there are CMTs at Río Batchelor and that the forest structure varies significantly within the site, indicating that Kawésqar people altered the forest by extracting various resources. We conclude that CMT studies have great potential in Nothofagus forests in southernmost America, but also face specific challenges due to environmental conditions and lack of corroborating historical information.

Results of archaeological surveys of the Pianamu cultural landscape, central Cape York Peninsula, 2014-2016

This paper presents preliminary results of archaeological investigation of the northern Cape York Peninsula highlands, the homelands of the Kuuku I’yu (northern Kaanju) people. Despite intensive and long-term research programs elsewhere in Cape York Peninsula, no previous archaeological work has been undertaken in this particular region. The aim of this research was to identify the location of archaeological places and artefacts throughout the Kaanju Ngaachi Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) and the broader Wenlock region. The preliminary research results outlined here include the recording of rock art, culturally modified trees, lithic material, pastoral sites and the remains of a Native Mounted Police camp. This study clearly indicates that the highlands of Cape York Peninsula have substantial research potential; however, further work is required to achieve a greater understanding of both physical and cultural landscapes.

Trail Trees: Living Artifacts (Vivifacts) of Eastern North America

Living trees historically modified by human populations, oftentimes referred to as “culturally modified trees” (CMTs), are found throughout the North American landscape. In eastern North America specifically, indigenous populations bent thousands of trees to mark trails, and some of these still exist in the region today. In this article, we present a synthesis of current knowledge on trail trees, including their speculated functions, formation, and selection. We also examine the theoretical implications of these living artifacts (or vivifacts) and how they may open new avenues for investigation by archaeologists, environmental historians, and ethnobiologists. To conclude, we make a call for expanded public recognition and documentation of trail trees, discussing the need for their incorporation into forest and park management plans.

How to find the rare trees in the forest — New inventory strategies for culturally modified trees in boreal Sweden

Culturally modified trees (CMTs) in northern forests are rare traces of past human activity that provide unique information on past land use and the relationship between people and forests throughout history. There is an apparent need to provide probability sampling methods for these traces. This article describes the simulation and evaluation of circular plot sampling and strip surveying for estimating the density of culturally modified trees in 25 ha of a forest reserve in northern Sweden. CMTs were surveyed, documented, and prepared for use in simulator software and the bias, precision, and cost of different inventory strategies were calculated. For a given level of precision circular plot sampling was found to be more efficient than strip surveying for estimating the abundance frequencies of all CMTs. For smaller subpopulations of scarce CMT types, the strip-surveying method was superior. Probability sampling would be an important tool for examining larger areas and gaining more CMT information at a lower cost. The results are important for studies of cultural history in sparsely populated forested regions in northwestern North America, northern Scandinavia, and northern Russia, but there are also implications for finding other rare objects in forest ecosystems.