Paul Laris
Biographic Data
| ID | 630094 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Paul Laris |
| GIVEN NAMES | Paul |
| FAMILY NAME | Laris |
| SIGNATURE | LARIS P |
| AFFILIATIONS | California State University, Long Beach |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7021-0853 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 123 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Departing from the Colonial Path: A Critical Approach to Studying Fire Regime Changes in West Africa
Research indicates that, contrary to common perceptions, wildfire activity is declining globally, primarily due to reduced fire activity in savannas. This finding exposes the normative view of fire as hazard and the neutrality of using satellite data for assessing fire regimes, as these overshadow local contexts, histories, and politics that shape them. The evolution of the fire regime concept reflects historical ambiguities in fire science and p…
Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management
Where Have the Native Grasses Gone: What a Long-Term, Repeat Study Can Tell Us about California’s Native Prairie Landscapes
Much of the foothill and valley areas of coastal southern California are covered by stands of non-native grasses with occasional scattered patches of native bunch grasses. For decades, the dominant view held that these native bunchgrasses, particularly Stipa pulchra, once covered these lands and that grazing practices were a key cause of their decline. The so-called bunchgrass dominant paradigm (BDP) put forth by Clements influenced thinking on g…
The Coyote Brush Invasion of Southern California Grasslands and the Legacy of Mechanical Disturbance
This study investigates the recent invasion of exotic grasslands by coyote brush in La Jolla Valley, California. We test the "event dependent" hypothesis that mechanical disturbances during the past century were a key cause. To examine the relationship between past mechanical disturbances and vegetation dynamics we first conducted a review of the historical literature on practices of shrub removal and documented disturbance history using historic…
The Arid Lands: History, Power, Knowledge
The Human Ecology and Geography of Burning in an Unstable Savanna Environment
According to new ecological theories, many savannas are inherently in disequilibrium and can flip from tree-dominated to grass-dominated landscapes depending upon the disturbance regime. In particular, a shift in a fire regime to a more frequent and intensive one can radically alter the tree-to-grass ratio in a given savanna. Drawing upon the ecological buffering model we argue that savanna persistence requires a relatively stable fire regime. We…
Cotton as Catalyst? The Role of Shifting Fertilizer in Mali’s Silent Maize Revolution
Reinterpreting Traditional Cultural Properties: A Political Ecology of Emotion Perspective
Interpretations of traditional cultural properties in the context of cultural resource management in the US demonstrate little understanding of, or concern for, the affective ecologies of landscapes. Institutional approaches to land development and resource management favor meanings and practices of the dominant culture and political structure that have often had devastating consequences for others, particularly American Indian tribes. In Norther…
Dear health minister: Tend the garden but make sure you fence the crocodiles
This paper offers lessons to in-coming health ministers on how they can act to reduce inequities and take action on social determinants. It draws on an interview study of twenty former Australian State, Territory and Federal health ministers about the extent to which they were able to do these things during their tenure. In order to take effective health equity action the health ministers advised: ensure evidence is used to develop a strong party…
Never mind the logic, give me the numbers: Former Australian health ministers' perspectives on the social determinants of health
Humanizing Savanna Biogeography: Linking Human Practices with Ecological Patterns in a Frequently Burned Savanna of Southern Mali
The savanna biome is defined by the codominance of grasses and trees, the precise ratio of which is a function of numerous variables, both natural and anthropogenic. Fire is a critical determinant of the tree-to-grass ratio because it can suppress tree establishment and growth. Despite the fact that nearly all fires have human causes, most savanna fire ecology models are based solely on ecological variables and fail to integrate human land and fi…
West African Environmental Narratives and Development-Volunteer Praxis
Environmental narratives in Africa have been examined in a flurry of publications since the mid‐1990s. In this article we seek to offer insights into the role and motivations of volunteer development workers in perpetuating environmental narratives. We examine the factors that led to the questioning or nonquestioning of environment‐development discourses and their influence, if any, on the actual work undertaken by volunteers. As former developme…
Hobby Ranching and Chile's Land-reform Legacy
Twentieth‐century land reform in Chile reflects familiar themes. The state subdivided large land monopolies, ostensibly for social justice reasons: to provide opportunities for campesinos to earn a living from agriculture. In southern Chile's Tierra del Fuego a combination of social justice, nationalism, and geopolitical concerns stimulated land reform between 1924 and 1978. The effort succeeded in creating a new material landscape oriented aroun…
An Anthropogenic Escape Route from the "Gulliver Syndrome" in the West African Savanna
Good, bad or 'necessary evil'? Reinterpreting the colonial burning experiments in the savanna landscapes of West Africa
A simple ecological model underlies contemporary fire policy in many West African countries. The model holds that the timing (or seasonality) of annual savanna fires is a principal determinant of vegetation cover. The model's origin can be traced to the ideas held by influential colonial scientists who viewed anthropogenic fire as a prime force of regional environmental degradation. The main evidence in support of the model derives from the resul…
Contesting sustainable development in Tierra del Fuego
Burning the Seasonal Mosaic: Preventative Burning Strategies in the Wooded Savanna of Southern Mali
Burning the Seasonal Mosaic: Preventative Burning Strategies in the Wooded Savanna of Southern Mali
Good, bad or 'necessary evil'? Reinterpreting the colonial burning experiments in the savanna landscapes of West Africa
A simple ecological model underlies contemporary fire policy in many West African countries. The model holds that the timing (or seasonality) of annual savanna fires is a principal determinant of vegetation cover. The model's origin can be traced to the ideas held by influential colonial scientists who viewed anthropogenic fire as a prime force of regional environmental degradation. The main evidence in support of the model derives from the resul…
Never mind the logic, give me the numbers: Former Australian health ministers' perspectives on the social determinants of health
Hobby Ranching and Chile's Land-reform Legacy
Twentieth‐century land reform in Chile reflects familiar themes. The state subdivided large land monopolies, ostensibly for social justice reasons: to provide opportunities for campesinos to earn a living from agriculture. In southern Chile's Tierra del Fuego a combination of social justice, nationalism, and geopolitical concerns stimulated land reform between 1924 and 1978. The effort succeeded in creating a new material landscape oriented aroun…
Humanizing Savanna Biogeography: Linking Human Practices with Ecological Patterns in a Frequently Burned Savanna of Southern Mali
The savanna biome is defined by the codominance of grasses and trees, the precise ratio of which is a function of numerous variables, both natural and anthropogenic. Fire is a critical determinant of the tree-to-grass ratio because it can suppress tree establishment and growth. Despite the fact that nearly all fires have human causes, most savanna fire ecology models are based solely on ecological variables and fail to integrate human land and fi…
West African Environmental Narratives and Development-Volunteer Praxis
Environmental narratives in Africa have been examined in a flurry of publications since the mid‐1990s. In this article we seek to offer insights into the role and motivations of volunteer development workers in perpetuating environmental narratives. We examine the factors that led to the questioning or nonquestioning of environment‐development discourses and their influence, if any, on the actual work undertaken by volunteers. As former developme…
Contesting sustainable development in Tierra del Fuego
An Anthropogenic Escape Route from the "Gulliver Syndrome" in the West African Savanna
Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management
The Arid Lands: History, Power, Knowledge
The Coyote Brush Invasion of Southern California Grasslands and the Legacy of Mechanical Disturbance
This study investigates the recent invasion of exotic grasslands by coyote brush in La Jolla Valley, California. We test the "event dependent" hypothesis that mechanical disturbances during the past century were a key cause. To examine the relationship between past mechanical disturbances and vegetation dynamics we first conducted a review of the historical literature on practices of shrub removal and documented disturbance history using historic…
Burning the Seasonal Mosaic: Preventative Burning Strategies in the Wooded Savanna of Southern Mali
Contesting sustainable development in Tierra del Fuego
Good, bad or 'necessary evil'? Reinterpreting the colonial burning experiments in the savanna landscapes of West Africa
A simple ecological model underlies contemporary fire policy in many West African countries. The model holds that the timing (or seasonality) of annual savanna fires is a principal determinant of vegetation cover. The model's origin can be traced to the ideas held by influential colonial scientists who viewed anthropogenic fire as a prime force of regional environmental degradation. The main evidence in support of the model derives from the resul…
West African Environmental Narratives and Development-Volunteer Praxis
Environmental narratives in Africa have been examined in a flurry of publications since the mid‐1990s. In this article we seek to offer insights into the role and motivations of volunteer development workers in perpetuating environmental narratives. We examine the factors that led to the questioning or nonquestioning of environment‐development discourses and their influence, if any, on the actual work undertaken by volunteers. As former developme…
Hobby Ranching and Chile's Land-reform Legacy
Twentieth‐century land reform in Chile reflects familiar themes. The state subdivided large land monopolies, ostensibly for social justice reasons: to provide opportunities for campesinos to earn a living from agriculture. In southern Chile's Tierra del Fuego a combination of social justice, nationalism, and geopolitical concerns stimulated land reform between 1924 and 1978. The effort succeeded in creating a new material landscape oriented aroun…
An Anthropogenic Escape Route from the "Gulliver Syndrome" in the West African Savanna
Humanizing Savanna Biogeography: Linking Human Practices with Ecological Patterns in a Frequently Burned Savanna of Southern Mali
The savanna biome is defined by the codominance of grasses and trees, the precise ratio of which is a function of numerous variables, both natural and anthropogenic. Fire is a critical determinant of the tree-to-grass ratio because it can suppress tree establishment and growth. Despite the fact that nearly all fires have human causes, most savanna fire ecology models are based solely on ecological variables and fail to integrate human land and fi…
Never mind the logic, give me the numbers: Former Australian health ministers' perspectives on the social determinants of health
Cotton as Catalyst? The Role of Shifting Fertilizer in Mali’s Silent Maize Revolution
Reinterpreting Traditional Cultural Properties: A Political Ecology of Emotion Perspective
Interpretations of traditional cultural properties in the context of cultural resource management in the US demonstrate little understanding of, or concern for, the affective ecologies of landscapes. Institutional approaches to land development and resource management favor meanings and practices of the dominant culture and political structure that have often had devastating consequences for others, particularly American Indian tribes. In Norther…
Dear health minister: Tend the garden but make sure you fence the crocodiles
This paper offers lessons to in-coming health ministers on how they can act to reduce inequities and take action on social determinants. It draws on an interview study of twenty former Australian State, Territory and Federal health ministers about the extent to which they were able to do these things during their tenure. In order to take effective health equity action the health ministers advised: ensure evidence is used to develop a strong party…
The Human Ecology and Geography of Burning in an Unstable Savanna Environment
According to new ecological theories, many savannas are inherently in disequilibrium and can flip from tree-dominated to grass-dominated landscapes depending upon the disturbance regime. In particular, a shift in a fire regime to a more frequent and intensive one can radically alter the tree-to-grass ratio in a given savanna. Drawing upon the ecological buffering model we argue that savanna persistence requires a relatively stable fire regime. We…
The Arid Lands: History, Power, Knowledge
The Coyote Brush Invasion of Southern California Grasslands and the Legacy of Mechanical Disturbance
This study investigates the recent invasion of exotic grasslands by coyote brush in La Jolla Valley, California. We test the "event dependent" hypothesis that mechanical disturbances during the past century were a key cause. To examine the relationship between past mechanical disturbances and vegetation dynamics we first conducted a review of the historical literature on practices of shrub removal and documented disturbance history using historic…
Where Have the Native Grasses Gone: What a Long-Term, Repeat Study Can Tell Us about California’s Native Prairie Landscapes
Much of the foothill and valley areas of coastal southern California are covered by stands of non-native grasses with occasional scattered patches of native bunch grasses. For decades, the dominant view held that these native bunchgrasses, particularly Stipa pulchra, once covered these lands and that grazing practices were a key cause of their decline. The so-called bunchgrass dominant paradigm (BDP) put forth by Clements influenced thinking on g…
Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management
Departing from the Colonial Path: A Critical Approach to Studying Fire Regime Changes in West Africa
Research indicates that, contrary to common perceptions, wildfire activity is declining globally, primarily due to reduced fire activity in savannas. This finding exposes the normative view of fire as hazard and the neutrality of using satellite data for assessing fire regimes, as these overshadow local contexts, histories, and politics that shape them. The evolution of the fire regime concept reflects historical ambiguities in fire science and p…
Geography (13 works) · Ecology (9 works) · Political science (7 works) · Biology (6 works) · Fire effects on ecosystems (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Ecology (5 works) · Fire regime (5 works) · Law (5 works)