Cultural burning, regime shift, and resilience in North American oak-fire systems

Fire is a critical disturbance that shapes the structure, function and diversity of oak-dominated ecosystems across North America. In an era of increasing wildfire severity, contemporary fire management often relies on prescribed burning to mitigate wildfire risk. Indigenous cultural burning is a complementary practice with diverse goals often focused on habitat management for forest products and rooted in sustainable practices established over millennia. Given this, such cultural burns may yield ecological and cultural benefits beyond those achieved through Western management-led prescribed burns. To develop an understanding of what is known about Indigenous fire management in oak systems, we conducted a systematic review of 64 peer-reviewed studies to examine the role of cultural burning in shaping oak woodlands and savannas, using an inductive-deductive coding approach and evidence mapping to identify research gaps. We identified four key themes in the literature: evidence for Indigenous influence on historical fire regimes, description of traditional burning practices, ecological effects of cultural burning, and socio-ecological benefits of cultural fire. To assess these findings through a global lens, we then mapped them to Social-Ecological Systems (SES) Resilience Theory. Most studies focused on historical or paleoecological data, with limited research on contemporary Indigenous fire stewardship. Thematic gaps may reflect colonial legacies, knowledge loss, or a paucity of research effort, but regardless of cause, these gaps limit efforts to revitalize Indigenous burning systems. Adaptation or transformation of contemporary fire systems to center Indigenous burning may support resilient North American landscapes and communities.