Millennia of Indigenous land management has given rise to the plant communities we see today

 

Kalina's research is focused on present-day plant communities as a legacy of Indigenous management over millennia. In the Central Coast of British Columbia, First Nations have a deep history of stewarding these landscapes since time immemorial. With evidence of at least 14,000 years of tending to the land, their management practices have had long-term ecological effects on contemporary plant communities. Using a combination of ecological field methods and GIS modeling, she is looking at both the distribution and nutrient status of culturally important plants in Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv territories. Through collaboration with the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department, this work will help inform their management decisions around culturally important plants in their territory. This work will also contribute to a broader understanding of how plant communities are influenced by long-term nutrient inputs from human activity.