Land-use legacy of historical tree harvesting for charcoal production in a semi-arid woodland

Historical processes may have longer lasting effects in arid forest and woodlands because of slow rates of succession. We investigated the influence of historical tree harvesting upon contemporary spatial dynamics of pinyon-juniper woodland in the western United States. Despite intensive and widespread harvesting of woodland by the charcoal industry during the late 19th century, the role of afforestation has seldom been addressed as a potential mechanism for the dramatic expansion of pinyon-juniper woodlands over the past century. Spatial models of disturbance processes are one way to ascertain effects of such historical influences. We developed a process-based spatial model to estimate the historical tree harvest pressure according to a parsimonious set of rules and constraints. The model used a convection-diffusion approach that incorporated the influences of topography, transportation, and mining production. We used a combination of field-surveyed, archaeological, historical, and GIS data sets to calibrate, validate, and compare the alternative mathematical models. Model results were consistent with the historical harvest evidence (AUC > 0.66), with high harvest intensity closer to the mining districts, quickly decreasing at the maximum distance of influence. Performance was improved by including the local terrain. Harvesting initially showed radial patterns emanating from the significant mining districts, and then gradually expanded northward with development of the railway system. Our spatial modeling approach provides a means to assess the pattern and magnitude of historical tree harvesting in semi-arid woodlands. The general approach can be applied to explore the importance of other historical disturbance and cultural processes, whose effects may no longer be evident, in forests and woodlands worldwide.

Research highlights
► Historical land-use legacy can be reconstructed using a process-based spatial model.
► Pinyon-juniper woodland distribution is influenced by historical charcoal industry.
► Social and ecological variables at various spatial scales influenced harvesting.