The Border Lakes Region of Minnesota and Ontario has long been viewed as a fire-dependent ecosystem. High-severity fire in the region's near-boreal forests has been a focus of ecological research and public fascination. However, the surface fire history within this transnational wilderness landscape has received more limited attention. We used an interdisciplinary, dendroecological approach to characterize the surface fire history of the region, assess potential drivers of historical surface fires, and document the ecological legacies of frequent fires within the red pine forests of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota. We used tree-ring and fire atlas data to reconstruct multi-century surface fire records for 101 sites and document age structure and composition at 32 sites across the BWCAW. Stratification of these sites relative to their proximity to a primary travel and trade corridor used first by Indigenous groups and later by Euro-American fur traders through the late 1800s provided strong evidence of human augmentation of fires. The patterns of fire activity, fire–climate relationships, and forest development indicate that traditional landuse by Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) increased rates of local surface fire and played an important role in shaping the landscape. The decline of traditional subsistence practices by the Border Lakes Anishinaabeg coincided with a sharp decline in surface fires and a period of abundant tree establishment. In the absence of repeat surface fires, many red pine sites have shifted in composition, increased in stem density, and grown vulnerable to forest-type conversion through future high-severity fire. These results highlight the need for active fire reintroduction to red pine forests of the Great Lakes Region and underscore the importance of collaboration and guidance from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers in this process. A blended knowledge approach to fire restoration that directly engages with Indigenous perspectives and cultural practices can perpetuate the distinctive character of the largest remaining tracts of long-lived pine forest in the Great Lakes Region. Carefully developed fire restoration practices would enhance the visitor use experience within one of the most frequently visited wilderness areas in the United States while re-engaging directly with Indigenous knowledge and traditional cultural practices.

中文翻译：

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边界水域独木舟区荒野中历史红松火势的人工增强

明尼苏达州和安大略省的边境湖区长期以来一直被视为依赖火的生态系统。该地区近北森林的高强度火灾一直是生态研究和公众关注的焦点。然而，这一跨国荒野景观中的地表火灾历史受到的关注却较为有限。我们使用跨学科的树木生态学方法来描述该地区的地表火灾历史，评估历史地表火灾的潜在驱动因素，并记录北部边界水域独木舟区荒野 (BWCAW) 红松林内频繁火灾的生态遗产明尼苏达州。我们使用树木年轮和火灾地图集数据重建了 101 个地点的多世纪地表火灾记录，并记录了 BWCAW 中 32 个地点的年龄结构和组成。这些地点相对于它们与原住民群体最初使用的主要旅行和贸易走廊的接近程度进行分层，后来在 1800 年代后期由欧美毛皮贸易商使用，这提供了人类火灾加剧的有力证据。火灾活动模式、火灾-气候关系和森林发展表明，Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) 的传统土地利用增加了当地地表火灾的发生率，并在塑造景观方面发挥了重要作用。边境湖 Anishinaabeg 传统生存方式的减少与地表火灾的急剧减少和树木繁茂的时期相吻合。在没有重复发生地表火灾的情况下，许多红松地点的成分发生了变化，茎密度增加，并且在未来的高强度火灾中变得容易受到森林类型转变的影响。这些结果突显了大湖区红松林积极重新引入火灾的必要性，并强调了在此过程中来自土著知识管理者的合作和指导的重要性。直接与土著观点和文化实践相结合的火灾恢复的混合知识方法可以使大湖区现存最大的长寿松林大片的独特特征永存。精心开发的火灾修复实践将增强游客在美国最常访问的荒野地区之一的使用体验，同时直接重新接触土著知识和传统文化习俗。