Study reveals Pacific Islanders used fire to shape landscapes

Hawaiʻi is not the only Pacific island where wildfire is a concern. Using fire histories, vegetation and soil maps, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa wildfire expert Clay Trauernicht led new research that examined the relationships between historical human land use, climate, and fire occurrence across nine Micronesian islands spanning close to 2,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean. The geographic and ecological breadth of the research points to the use of controlled burning by the inhabitants to shape island vegetation.