The Interactions and Implications of Fire, People, and El Niño in Trans-Pecos, Texas

Through the analysis of detrital charcoal from a sediment core retrieved from Diamond Y Ciénega in Trans-Pecos, Texas, macrocharcoal was utilized as a proxy of fire and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity.  Findings corroborate results from other studies that fire frequency and intensity is governed by ENSO activity within the region and that fire is required for desert grassland maintenance.  Results demonstrate that mesic intervals with heightened ENSO activity and xeric periods of decreased ENSO activity correlate with changes in the archaeological record, specifically indigenous hunter-gatherer use versus non-use of locales far from reliable water sources.  Once in the Historic era (A.D. 1700-Present), these climatic fire controls are overridden by human activities, specifically Euroamerican livestock overgrazing, which suppressed fires and transitioned the previous desert grasslands to the contemporary creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) shrubland.