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Witteveen NH, White C, Sánchez-Martínez BA, Philip A, Boyd F, Booij R, Christ R, Singh S, Gosling WD, Piperno DR, McMichael CNH. Pre-contact and post-colonial ecological legacies shape Surinamese rainforests. Ecology 2024; 105:e4272. [PMID: 38590101 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Disturbances in tropical forests can have long-lasting ecological impacts, but their manifestations (ecological legacies) in modern forests are uncertain. Many Amazonian forests bear the mark of past soil modifications, species enrichments, and fire events, but the trajectories of ecological legacies from the pre-contact or post-colonial period remain relatively unexplored. We assessed the fire and vegetation history from 15 soil cores ranging from 0 to 10 km from a post-colonial Surinamese archaeological site. We show that (1) fires occurred from 96 bc to recent times and induced significant vegetation change, (2) persistent ecological legacies from pre-contact and post-colonial fire and deforestation practices were mainly within 1 km of the archaeological site, and (3) palm enrichment of Attalea, Oenocarpus and Astrocaryum occurred within 0, 1, and 8 km of the archaeological site, respectively. Our results challenge the notion of spatially extensive and persistent ecological legacies. Instead, our data indicate that the persistence and extent of ecological legacies are dependent on their timing, frequency, type, and intensity. Examining the mechanisms and manifestations of ecological legacies is crucial in assessing forest resilience and Indigenous and local land rights in the highly threatened Amazonian forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina H Witteveen
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Cheryl White
- Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Anton de Kom University, Paramaribo, Suriname
| | - Barbara A Sánchez-Martínez
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Annemarie Philip
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Femke Boyd
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Roemer Booij
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Reyan Christ
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Santosh Singh
- Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Anton de Kom University, Paramaribo, Suriname
| | - William D Gosling
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Dolores R Piperno
- Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | - Crystal N H McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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2
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Schmidt MJ, Goldberg SL, Heckenberger M, Fausto C, Franchetto B, Watling J, Lima H, Moraes B, Dorshow WB, Toney J, Kuikuro Y, Waura K, Kuikuro H, Kuikuro TW, Kuikuro T, Kuikuro Y, Kuikuro A, Teixeira W, Rocha B, Honorato V, Tavares H, Magalhães M, Barbosa CA, da Fonseca JA, Mendes K, Alleoni LRF, Cerri CEP, Arroyo-Kalin M, Neves E, Perron JT. Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadh8499. [PMID: 37729404 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh8499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Fertile soil known as Amazonian dark earth is central to the debate over the size and ecological impact of ancient human populations in the Amazon. Dark earth is typically associated with human occupation, but it is uncertain whether it was created intentionally. Dark earth may also be a substantial carbon sink, but its spatial extent and carbon inventory are unknown. We demonstrate spatial and compositional similarities between ancient and modern dark earth and document modern Indigenous practices that enrich soil, which we use to propose a model for the formation of ancient dark earth. This comparison suggests that ancient Amazonians managed soil to improve fertility and increase crop productivity. These practices also sequestered and stored carbon in the soil for centuries, and we show that some ancient sites contain as much carbon as the above-ground rainforest biomass. Our results demonstrate the intentional creation of dark earth and highlight the value of Indigenous knowledge for sustainable rainforest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan J Schmidt
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Laboratório de Estudos Interdisciplinares em Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Samuel L Goldberg
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Carlos Fausto
- National Museum/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Bruna Franchetto
- National Museum/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Jennifer Watling
- Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Wetherbee B Dorshow
- Puente Institute, Nederland, CO, USA
- Earth Analytic Inc., Santa Fe, NM, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Yamalui Kuikuro
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | - Kumessi Waura
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | - Huke Kuikuro
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | - Taku Wate Kuikuro
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | - Takumã Kuikuro
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | - Yahila Kuikuro
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | - Afukaka Kuikuro
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX), Ipatse, MT, Brazil
| | | | - Bruna Rocha
- Federal University of Western Pará, Santarém, PA, Brazil
| | | | - Hugo Tavares
- Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Kelton Mendes
- Tapera - Grupo de Estudos em Arqueologia Amazônica, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Eduardo Neves
- Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - J Taylor Perron
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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3
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Witteveen NH, White C, Sanchez Martinez BA, Booij R, Philip A, Gosling WD, Bush MB, McMichael CNH. Phytolith assemblages reflect variability in human land use and the modern environment. Veg Hist Archaeobot 2023; 33:221-236. [PMID: 38404455 PMCID: PMC10884070 DOI: 10.1007/s00334-023-00932-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Phytoliths preserved in soils and sediments can be used to provide unique insights into past vegetation dynamics in response to human and climate change. Phytoliths can reconstruct local vegetation in terrestrial soils where pollen grains typically decay, providing a range of markers (or lack thereof) that document past human activities. The ca. 6 million km2 of Amazonian forests have relatively few baseline datasets documenting changes in phytolith representation across gradients of human disturbances. Here we show that phytolith assemblages vary on local scales across a gradient of (modern) human disturbance in tropical rainforests of Suriname. Detrended correspondence analysis showed that the phytolith assemblages found in managed landscapes (shifting cultivation and a garden), unmanaged forests, and abandoned reforesting sites were clearly distinguishable from intact forests and from each other. Our results highlight the sensitivity and potential of phytoliths to be used in reconstructing successional trajectories after site usage and abandonment. Percentages of specific phytolith morphotypes were also positively correlated with local palm abundances derived from UAV data, and with biomass estimated from MODIS satellite imagery. This baseline dataset provides an index of likely changes that can be observed at other sites that indicate past human activities and long-term forest recovery in Amazonia. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-023-00932-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina H. Witteveen
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Cheryl White
- Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Anton de Kom University, Universiteitscomplex, Gebouw 7, Leysweg 86, Paramaribo, Suriname
| | - Barbara A. Sanchez Martinez
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Roemer Booij
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Annemarie Philip
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - William D. Gosling
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Mark B. Bush
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 USA
| | - Crystal N. H. McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
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4
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Walker RS, Ferguson JR, Olmeda A, Hamilton MJ, Elghammer J, Buchanan B. Predicting the geographic distribution of ancient Amazonian archaeological sites with machine learning. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15137. [PMID: 37020851 PMCID: PMC10069417 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Amazonia has as least two major centers of ancient human social complexity, but the full geographic extents of these centers remain uncertain. Across the southern rim of Amazonia, over 1,000 earthwork sites comprised of fortified settlements, mound villages, and ditched enclosures with geometric designs known as geoglyphs have been discovered. Qualitatively distinct and densely located along the lower stretches of major river systems and the Atlantic coast are Amazonian Dark Earth sites (ADEs) with deep anthropogenic soils enriched by long-term human habitation. Models predicting the geographic extents of earthworks and ADEs can assist in their discovery and preservation and help answer questions about the full degree of indigenous landscape modifications across Amazonia. We classify earthworks versus ADEs versus other non-earthwork/non-ADE archaeological sites with multi-class machine learning algorithms using soils, climate, and distances to rivers of different types and sizes as geospatial predictors. Model testing is done with spatial cross-validation, and the best model at the optimal spatial scale of 1 km has an Area Under the Curve of 0.91. Our predictive model has led to the discovery of 13 new geoglyphs, and it pinpoints specific areas with high probabilities of undiscovered archaeological sites that are currently hidden by rainforests. The limited, albeit impressive, predicted extents of earthworks and ADEs means that other non-ADE/non-earthwork sites are expected to predominate most of Western and Northern Amazonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert S. Walker
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey R. Ferguson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, MO, United States of America
- Archaeometry Laboratory, University of Missouri Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Angelica Olmeda
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Marcus J. Hamilton
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States of America
| | - Jim Elghammer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - Briggs Buchanan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, United States of America
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5
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Heijink BM, Mattijs QA, Valencia R, Philip AL, Piperno DR, McMichael CNH. Long‐term fire and vegetation change in northwestern Amazonia. Biotropica 2022; 55:197-209. [PMID: 37081906 PMCID: PMC10108220 DOI: 10.1111/btp.13175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Amazonian forest plots are used to quantify biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and provide the foundation for much of what is known about tropical ecology. Many plots are assumed to be undisturbed, but recent work suggests that past fire, forest openings, and cultivation created vegetation changes that have persisted for decades to centuries (ecological legacies). The Yasuní Forest Dynamics plot is one of the most biodiverse places on earth, yet its human history remains unknown. Here, we use charcoal and phytolith analysis to investigate the fire and vegetation history of the Yasuní forest plot, and compare results with nearby forest plots in Colombia (Amacayacu) and Peru (Medio Putumayo-Algodón [MPA]) to explore the spatial variability of past disturbances and ecological legacies in northwestern Amazonia. Three 14C dated charcoal fragments provided evidence for a modern (1956 CE) and a past fire event ca. 750 years ago at Yasuní, compared with fire ages of 1000-1600 years ago documented at Amacayacu and MPA. Small-scale disturbances and localized canopy openings also occurred in the Yasuní plot. Phytolith assemblages from Yasuní and Amacayacu showed more variability in past vegetation change than MPA. Low-intensity, non-continuous disturbances occurred at all three plots in the past, and our results highlight the variability of past human activities both in space and time in northwestern Amazonia. Our data also suggest that post-Columbian human disturbances from the Rubber Boom (AD 1850-1920) and subsequent oil exploration have likely left stronger ecological legacies than those left by pre-Columbian peoples in our studied regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britte M. Heijink
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Quinten A. Mattijs
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Renato Valencia
- Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Quito Ecuador
| | - Annemarie L. Philip
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Dolores R. Piperno
- Department of Anthropology Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Washington District of Columbia USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
| | - Crystal N. H. McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
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6
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Prümers H, Betancourt CJ, Iriarte J, Robinson M, Schaich M. Lidar reveals pre-Hispanic low-density urbanism in the Bolivian Amazon. Nature 2022; 606:325-328. [PMID: 35614221 PMCID: PMC9177426 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04780-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Archaeological remains of agrarian-based, low-density urbananism1–3 have been reported to exist beneath the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Central America4–6. However, beyond some large interconnected settlements in southern Amazonia7–9, there has been no such evidence for pre-Hispanic Amazonia. Here we present lidar data of sites belonging to the Casarabe culture (around ad 500 to ad 1400)10–13 in the Llanos de Mojos savannah–forest mosaic, southwest Amazonia, revealing the presence of two remarkably large sites (147 ha and 315 ha) in a dense four-tiered settlement system. The Casarabe culture area, as far as known today, spans approximately 4,500 km2, with one of the large settlement sites controlling an area of approximately 500 km2. The civic-ceremonial architecture of these large settlement sites includes stepped platforms, on top of which lie U-shaped structures, rectangular platform mounds and conical pyramids (which are up to 22 m tall). The large settlement sites are surrounded by ranked concentric polygonal banks and represent central nodes that are connected to lower-ranked sites by straight, raised causeways that stretch over several kilometres. Massive water-management infrastructure, composed of canals and reservoirs, complete the settlement system in an anthropogenically modified landscape. Our results indicate that the Casarabe-culture settlement pattern represents a type of tropical low-density urbanism that has not previously been described in Amazonia. Two remarkably large sites in southwest Amazonia, belonging to the Casarabe culture, include complex civic-ceremonial architecture and large water-management infrastructure, representing a type of tropical low-density urbanism that has not previously been described in Amazonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko Prümers
- Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Kommission für Archäologie Aussereuropäischer Kulturen, Bonn, Germany.
| | | | - José Iriarte
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Mark Robinson
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Martin Schaich
- ArcTron 3D, Surveying Technology & Software Development GmbH, Altenthann, Germany
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7
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Coomes OT, Rivas Panduro S, Abizaid C, Takasaki Y. Geolocation of unpublished archaeological sites in the Peruvian Amazon. Sci Data 2021; 8:290. [PMID: 34716357 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-021-01067-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Published maps identifying archaeological sites in the Amazon basin show a paucity of sites in western Amazonia compared to the Brazilian Amazon. Whereas fewer than two dozen are identified for the Peruvian Amazon on basin-wide maps, a thorough review of unpublished archival material held by the Ministry of Culture of Peru and other sources revealed more than 400 known but unpublished sites in the Department of Loreto, challenging the notion that the region was sparsely occupied in prehistory. Our database provides the geolocation of each site and corresponding references for use by scientists seeking to better understand regional Pre-Columbian human occupation and settlement, cultural change, resource use and their landscape legacies. These data are foundational not only to the development of a richer understanding of prehistory and historical ecology of the Amazon basin but importantly for informing current land use, forest conservation and development policies as well as initiatives to support indigenous land and cultural rights in Amazonia. Measurement(s) | archaeological site • geographic location | Technology Type(s) | digital curation | Sample Characteristic - Location | Amazon Basin |
Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.16750639
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8
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Piperno DR, McMichael CH, Pitman NCA, Andino JEG, Ríos Paredes M, Heijink BM, Torres-Montenegro LA. A 5,000-year vegetation and fire history for tierra firme forests in the Medio Putumayo-Algodón watersheds, northeastern Peru. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2022213118. [PMID: 34580207 PMCID: PMC8501791 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022213118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper addresses an important debate in Amazonian studies; namely, the scale, intensity, and nature of human modification of the forests in prehistory. Phytolith and charcoal analysis of terrestrial soils underneath mature tierra firme (nonflooded, nonriverine) forests in the remote Medio Putumayo-Algodón watersheds, northeastern Peru, provide a vegetation and fire history spanning at least the past 5,000 y. A tree inventory carried out in the region enables calibration of ancient phytolith records with standing vegetation and estimates of palm species densities on the landscape through time. Phytolith records show no evidence for forest clearing or agriculture with major annual seed and root crops. Frequencies of important economic palms such as Oenocarpus, Euterpe, Bactris, and Astrocaryum spp., some of which contain hyperdominant species in the modern flora, do not increase through prehistoric time. This indicates pre-Columbian occupations, if documented in the region with future research, did not significantly increase the abundance of those species through management or cultivation. Phytoliths from other arboreal and woody species similarly reflect a stable forest structure and diversity throughout the records. Charcoal 14C dates evidence local forest burning between ca. 2,800 and 1,400 y ago. Our data support previous research indicating that considerable areas of some Amazonian tierra firme forests were not significantly impacted by human activities during the prehistoric era. Rather, it appears that over the last 5,000 y, indigenous populations in this region coexisted with, and helped maintain, large expanses of relatively unmodified forest, as they continue to do today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolores R Piperno
- Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560;
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Crystal H McMichael
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nigel C A Pitman
- Keller Science Action Center, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496
| | - Juan Ernesto Guevara Andino
- Keller Science Action Center, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS-Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170513, Ecuador
| | - Marcos Ríos Paredes
- Keller Science Action Center, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG 36036-900, Brazil
| | - Britte M Heijink
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Luis A Torres-Montenegro
- Keller Science Action Center, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496
- Herbarium Amazonense, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos 16002, Peru
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9
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Bush MB, Nascimento MN, Åkesson CM, Cárdenes-Sandí GM, Maezumi SY, Behling H, Correa-Metrio A, Church W, Huisman SN, Kelly T, Mayle FE, McMichael CNH. Widespread reforestation before European influence on Amazonia. Science 2021; 372:484-487. [PMID: 33926948 DOI: 10.1126/science.abf3870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
An estimated 90 to 95% of Indigenous people in Amazonia died after European contact. This population collapse is postulated to have caused decreases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at around 1610 CE, as a result of a wave of land abandonment in the wake of disease, slavery, and warfare, whereby the attendant reversion to forest substantially increased terrestrial carbon sequestration. On the basis of 39 Amazonian fossil pollen records, we show that there was no synchronous reforestation event associated with such an atmospheric carbon dioxide response after European arrival in Amazonia. Instead, we find that, at most sites, land abandonment and forest regrowth began about 300 to 600 years before European arrival. Pre-European pandemics, social strife, or environmental change may have contributed to these early site abandonments and ecological shifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Bush
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA.
| | - M N Nascimento
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA.,Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - C M Åkesson
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
| | - G M Cárdenes-Sandí
- Escuela Centroamericana de Geología, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - S Y Maezumi
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - H Behling
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - A Correa-Metrio
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - W Church
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, USA
| | - S N Huisman
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - T Kelly
- School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End, London, UK
| | - F E Mayle
- Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire, UK
| | - C N H McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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10
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Johns D. With Friends like These Wilderness and Biodiversity Do Not Need Enemies. Conservation 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-13905-6_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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11
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Åkesson CM, Matthews-Bird F, Bitting M, Fennell CJ, Church WB, Peterson LC, Valencia BG, Bush MB. 2,100 years of human adaptation to climate change in the High Andes. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:66-74. [PMID: 31819239 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1056-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Humid montane forests are challenging environments for human habitation. We used high-resolution fossil pollen, charcoal, diatom and sediment chemistry data from the iconic archaeological setting of Laguna de los Condores, Peru to reconstruct changing land uses and climates in a forested Andean valley. Forest clearance and maize cultivation were initiated during periods of drought, with periods of forest recovery occurring during wetter conditions. Between AD 800 and 1000 forest regrowth was evident, but this trend was reversed between AD 1000 and 1200 as drier conditions coincided with renewed land clearance, the establishment of a permanent village and the use of cliffs overlooking the lake as a burial site. By AD 1230 forests had regrown in the valley and maize cultivation was greatly reduced. An elevational transect investigating regional patterns showed a parallel, but earlier, history of reduced maize cultivation and forest regeneration at mid-elevation. However, a lowland site showed continuous maize agriculture until European conquest but very little subsequent change in forest cover. Divergent, climate-sensitive landscape histories do not support categorical assessments that forest regrowth and peak carbon sequestration coincided with European arrival.
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Abstract
The Amazon basin is accepted as an independent center of plant domestication in the world. A variety of important plants were domesticated in the Amazon and its surroundings; however, the majority of plants cultivated today in the Amazon are not domesticated, if this descriptor is understood to convey substantial genetic and phenotypic divergence from wild varieties or species. Rather, many domesticates are trees and tubers that occupy an intermediate stage between wild and domesticated, which seems to be a prevailing pattern since at least the middle Holocene, 6,000 years ago. Likewise, basin-wide inventories of trees show a remarkable pattern where a few species, called hyperdominant, are overrepresented in the record, including many varieties that are economically and symbolically important to traditional societies. Cultivation practices among indigenous groups in the Amazon are embedded in other dimensions of meaning that go beyond subsistence, and such entanglement between nature and culture has long been noticed at the conceptual level by anthropologists. This principle manifests itself in ancient and dynamic practices of landscape construction and transformation, which are seriously threatened today by the risks posed by economic development and climate change to Amazonian traditional societies and biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo G. Neves
- Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-070, Brazil
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13
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Abstract
Resumo A literatura sobre a inovação e a difusão de tecnologias no agronegócio é vasta e a explicação dominante para a disseminação de inovações enfatiza o processo de influência e fluxo de informações através de um sistema social. Questões de pesquisa relativas à inovação e difusão de tecnologias ultrapassam os limites disciplinares convencionais. Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar a inovação e a difusão de tecnologias no contexto da agricultura em áreas de várzea no interior do Estado do Amazonas. Um conjunto de proposições foi desenvolvido com foco nos fatores que influenciam na concepção do processo de inovação e difusão. Através de uma pesquisa qualitativa, foram feitas entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os estágios de análise do processo mental de difusão não determinam a adoção de inovação na presente pesquisa. Os resultados sugerem que o ambiente competitivo do lado da oferta, bem como a influência das indústrias de agronegócio, assistência técnica, agenda política de desenvolvimento, projetos universitários e prática de campo podem favorecer a difusão de tecnologias. O artigo busca ampliar o atual paradigma na compreensão de inovações e na difusão, incorporando fatores operantes em um contexto peculiar de agricultura, sugerindo elementos que, se estimulados, podem ser comunicados e assimilados dentro de um sistema social.
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14
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Root‐Bernstein M, Ladle R. Ecology of a widespread large omnivore, Homo sapiens, and its impacts on ecosystem processes. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:10874-10894. [PMID: 31641442 PMCID: PMC6802023 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Discussions of defaunation and taxon substitution have concentrated on megafaunal herbivores and carnivores, but mainly overlooked the particular ecological importance of megafaunal omnivores. In particular, the Homo spp. have been almost completely ignored in this context, despite the extinction of all but one hominin species present since the Plio-Pleistocene. Large omnivores have a particular set of ecological functions reflecting their foraging flexibility and the varied disturbances they create, functions that may maintain ecosystem stability and resilience. Here, we put the ecology of Homo sapiens in the context of comparative interspecific ecological roles and impacts, focusing on the large omnivore guild, as well as comparative intraspecific variation, focusing on hunter-gatherers.We provide an overview of the functional traits of H. sapiens, which can be used to spontaneously provide the functions for currently ecologically extinct or endangered ecosystem processes. We consider the negative impacts of variations in H. sapiens phenotypic strategies, its possible status as an invasive species, and the potential to take advantage of its learning capacities to decouple negative and positive impacts.We provide examples of how practices related to foraging, transhumance, and hunting could contribute to rewilding-inspired programs either drawing on hunter-gatherer baselines of H. sapiens, or as proxies for extinct or threatened large omnivores. We propose that a greater focus on intraspecific ecological variation and interspecific comparative ecology of H. sapiens can provide new avenues for conservation and ecological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith Root‐Bernstein
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of BioscienceAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
- Institute of Ecology and BiodiversitySantiagoChile
- UMR Sciences pour l'Action et le Développement, Activités, Produits, TerritoiresINRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris‐SaclayThiverval‐GrignonFrance
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)SantiagoChile
| | - Richard Ladle
- School of Science and HealthFederal University of AlagoasAlagoasBrazil
- School of Geography and the EnvironmentOxford UniversityOxfordUK
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15
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Bentley RA, O’brien MJ. Modeling Niche Construction in Neolithic Europe. In: Saqalli M, Vander Linden M, editors. Integrating Qualitative and Social Science Factors in Archaeological Modelling. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019. pp. 91-108. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-12723-7_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
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16
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Capriles JM, Lombardo U, Maley B, Zuna C, Veit H, Kennett DJ. Persistent Early to Middle Holocene tropical foraging in southwestern Amazonia. Sci Adv 2019; 5:eaav5449. [PMID: 31032413 PMCID: PMC6482008 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav5449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The Amazon witnessed the emergence of complex societies after 2500 years ago that altered tropical landscapes through intensive agriculture and managed aquatic systems. However, very little is known about the context and conditions that preceded these social and environmental transformations. Here, we demonstrate that forest islands in the Llanos de Moxos of southwestern Amazonia contain human burials and represent the earliest settlements in the region between 10,600 and 4000 years ago. These archaeological sites and their contents represent the earliest evidence of communities that experienced conditions conducive to engaging with food production such as environmental stability, resource disturbance, and increased territoriality in the Amazonian tropical lowlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M. Capriles
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
- Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile
| | | | - Blaine Maley
- Department of Anatomy, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, Meridian, ID 83642, USA
| | - Carlos Zuna
- Carrera de Arqueología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Heinz Veit
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Douglas J. Kennett
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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17
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Silva CVJ, Aragão LEOC, Barlow J, Espirito-Santo F, Young PJ, Anderson LO, Berenguer E, Brasil I, Foster Brown I, Castro B, Farias R, Ferreira J, França F, Graça PMLA, Kirsten L, Lopes AP, Salimon C, Scaranello MA, Seixas M, Souza FC, Xaud HAM. Drought-induced Amazonian wildfires instigate a decadal-scale disruption of forest carbon dynamics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2018.0043. [PMID: 30297477 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Drought-induced wildfires have increased in frequency and extent over the tropics. Yet, the long-term (greater than 10 years) responses of Amazonian lowland forests to fire disturbance are poorly known. To understand post-fire forest biomass dynamics, and to assess the time required for fire-affected forests to recover to pre-disturbance levels, we combined 16 single with 182 multiple forest census into a unique large-scale and long-term dataset across the Brazilian Amazonia. We quantified biomass, mortality and wood productivity of burned plots along a chronosequence of up to 31 years post-fire and compared to surrounding unburned plots measured simultaneously. Stem mortality and growth were assessed among functional groups. At the plot level, we found that fire-affected forests have biomass levels 24.8 ± 6.9% below the biomass value of unburned control plots after 31 years. This lower biomass state results from the elevated levels of biomass loss through mortality, which is not sufficiently compensated for by wood productivity (incremental growth + recruitment). At the stem level, we found major changes in mortality and growth rates up to 11 years post-fire. The post-fire stem mortality rates exceeded unburned control plots by 680% (i.e. greater than 40 cm diameter at breast height (DBH); 5-8 years since last fire) and 315% (i.e. greater than 0.7 g cm-3 wood density; 0.75-4 years since last fire). Our findings indicate that wildfires in humid tropical forests can significantly reduce forest biomass for decades by enhancing mortality rates of all trees, including large and high wood density trees, which store the largest amount of biomass in old-growth forests. This assessment of stem dynamics, therefore, demonstrates that wildfires slow down or stall the post-fire recovery of Amazonian forests.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial tropical carbon cycle: patterns, mechanisms and implications'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila V J Silva
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK .,National Institute for Space Research, Av. dos Astronautas, 1.758, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- National Institute for Space Research, Av. dos Astronautas, 1.758, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil.,College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - Jos Barlow
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Fernando Espirito-Santo
- Leicester Institute of Space and Earth Observation (LISEO), Centre for Landscape and Climate Research (CLCR), School of Geography, Geology and Environment, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Paul J Young
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.,Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YX, UK
| | - Liana O Anderson
- National Centre for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, 12247-016 Brazil.,Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Erika Berenguer
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.,Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
| | - Izaias Brasil
- Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Parque Zoobotanico, Rio Branco 69915-900, Acre, Brazil
| | - I Foster Brown
- Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Parque Zoobotanico, Rio Branco 69915-900, Acre, Brazil.,Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540-1644, USA
| | - Bruno Castro
- Instituto Centro de Vida, Av. Ariosto da Riva, 3473, Centro 78580-000, Alta Floresta, Brazil
| | - Renato Farias
- Instituto Centro de Vida, Av. Ariosto da Riva, 3473, Centro 78580-000, Alta Floresta, Brazil
| | - Joice Ferreira
- Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Trav. Dr. Enéas Pinheiro s/no. Caixa Postal 48, Belém 66095-100, Pará, Brazil
| | - Filipe França
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.,Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Trav. Dr. Enéas Pinheiro s/no. Caixa Postal 48, Belém 66095-100, Pará, Brazil
| | - Paulo M L A Graça
- National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Manaus 69067-375, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Letícia Kirsten
- National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Manaus 69067-375, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Aline P Lopes
- National Institute for Space Research, Av. dos Astronautas, 1.758, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Cleber Salimon
- Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e Sociais Aplicadas (CCBSA), R. Horácio Trajano de Oliveira, 1559 - Cristo Redentor, João Pessoa 58070-450, Brazil
| | - Marcos Augusto Scaranello
- Instituto Centro de Vida, Av. Ariosto da Riva, 3473, Centro 78580-000, Alta Floresta, Brazil.,EMBRAPA Informática Agropecuária, Barão Geraldo, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-886 Brazil
| | - Marina Seixas
- Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Trav. Dr. Enéas Pinheiro s/no. Caixa Postal 48, Belém 66095-100, Pará, Brazil
| | | | - Haron A M Xaud
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Roraima, PO Box 133, Boa Vista, Roraima 69.301-970, Brazil
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18
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Maezumi SY, Alves D, Robinson M, de Souza JG, Levis C, Barnett RL, Almeida de Oliveira E, Urrego D, Schaan D, Iriarte J. The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon. Nat Plants 2018; 4:540-547. [PMID: 30038410 PMCID: PMC6119467 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0205-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The legacy of pre-Columbian land use in the Amazonian rainforest is one of the most controversial topics in the social1-10 and natural sciences11,12. Until now, the debate has been limited to discipline-specific studies, based purely on archaeological data8, modern vegetation13, modern ethnographic data3 or a limited integration of archaeological and palaeoecological data12. The lack of integrated studies to connect past land use with modern vegetation has left questions about the legacy of pre-Columbian land use on the modern vegetation composition in the Amazon, unanswered11. Here, we show that persistent anthropogenic landscapes for the past 4,500 years have had an enduring legacy on the hyperdominance of edible plants in modern forests in the eastern Amazon. We found an abrupt enrichment of edible plant species in fossil lake and terrestrial records associated with pre-Columbian occupation. Our results demonstrate that, through closed-canopy forest enrichment, limited clearing for crop cultivation and low-severity fire management, long-term food security was attained despite climate and social changes. Our results suggest that, in the eastern Amazon, the subsistence basis for the development of complex societies began ~4,500 years ago with the adoption of polyculture agroforestry, combining the cultivation of multiple annual crops with the progressive enrichment of edible forest species and the exploitation of aquatic resources. This subsistence strategy intensified with the later development of Amazonian dark earths, enabling the expansion of maize cultivation to the Belterra Plateau, providing a food production system that sustained growing human populations in the eastern Amazon. Furthermore, these millennial-scale polyculture agroforestry systems have an enduring legacy on the hyperdominance of edible plants in modern forests in the eastern Amazon. Together, our data provide a long-term example of past anthropogenic land use that can inform management and conservation efforts in modern Amazonian ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Yoshi Maezumi
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | - Daiana Alves
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Mark Robinson
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Carolina Levis
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
- Forest Ecology and Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Robert L Barnett
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Dunia Urrego
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Denise Schaan
- Department of Anthropology, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil
| | - José Iriarte
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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19
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Loughlin NJD, Gosling WD, Mothes P, Montoya E. Ecological consequences of post-Columbian indigenous depopulation in the Andean–Amazonian corridor. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1233-1236. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0602-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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20
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de Souza JG, Schaan DP, Robinson M, Barbosa AD, Aragão LEOC, Marimon BH, Marimon BS, da Silva IB, Khan SS, Nakahara FR, Iriarte J. Pre-Columbian earth-builders settled along the entire southern rim of the Amazon. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1125. [PMID: 29588444 PMCID: PMC5871619 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03510-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of large geometrical earthworks in interfluvial settings of southern Amazonia has challenged the idea that Pre-Columbian populations were concentrated along the major floodplains. However, a spatial gap in the archaeological record of the Amazon has limited the assessment of the territorial extent of earth-builders. Here, we report the discovery of Pre-Columbian ditched enclosures in the Tapajós headwaters. The results show that an 1800 km stretch of southern Amazonia was occupied by earth-building cultures living in fortified villages ~Cal AD 1250-1500. We model earthwork distribution in this broad region using recorded sites, with environmental and terrain variables as predictors, estimating that earthworks will be found over ~400,000 km2 of southern Amazonia. We conclude that the interfluves and minor tributaries of southern Amazonia sustained high population densities, calling for a re-evaluation of the role of this region for Pre-Columbian cultural developments and environmental impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Gregorio de Souza
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK.
| | - Denise Pahl Schaan
- Department of Anthropology, Federal University of Pará, Belém, 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Mark Robinson
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK
| | | | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, 12227-010, SP, Brazil.,College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - Ben Hur Marimon
- Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, 78690-000, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Schwantes Marimon
- Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, 78690-000, Brazil
| | - Izaias Brasil da Silva
- Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, 12227-010, SP, Brazil
| | - Salman Saeed Khan
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK
| | | | - José Iriarte
- Department of Archaeology, College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK
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21
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Levis C, Flores BM, Moreira PA, Luize BG, Alves RP, Franco-Moraes J, Lins J, Konings E, Peña-Claros M, Bongers F, Costa FRC, Clement CR. How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
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22
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Strömberg CAE, Dunn RE, Crifò C, Harris EB. Phytoliths in Paleoecology: Analytical Considerations, Current Use, and Future Directions. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-94265-0_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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23
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Palace MW, McMichael CNH, Braswell BH, Hagen SC, Bush MB, Neves E, Tamanaha E, Herrick C, Frolking S. Ancient Amazonian populations left lasting impacts on forest structure. Ecosphere 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- M. W. Palace
- Earth Systems Research Center; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space; University of New Hampshire; Durham New Hampshire 03834 USA
- Department of Earth Science; College of Engineering and Physical Sciences; University of New Hampshire; Durham New Hampshire 03834 USA
| | - C. N. H. McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics; University of Amsterdam; 904 Science Park 1098XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - B. H. Braswell
- Earth Systems Research Center; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space; University of New Hampshire; Durham New Hampshire 03834 USA
- Applied GeoSolutions; 55 Main Street, Suite 125 Newmarket New Hampshire 03857 USA
| | - S. C. Hagen
- Applied GeoSolutions; 55 Main Street, Suite 125 Newmarket New Hampshire 03857 USA
| | - M. B. Bush
- Department of Biological Sciences; Florida Institute of Technology; 150 W. University Boulevard Melbourne Florida 32901 USA
| | - E. Neves
- Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia; Universidade de São Paulo; Av. Prof. Almeida Prado, 1466 Sao Paulo Sao Paulo 05508-070 Brazil
| | - E. Tamanaha
- Laboratório de Arqueologia; Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá; Estrada do Bexiga, 2.584, Bairro Fonte Boa Tefé Amazonas 69553-225 Brazil
| | - C. Herrick
- Earth Systems Research Center; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space; University of New Hampshire; Durham New Hampshire 03834 USA
| | - S. Frolking
- Earth Systems Research Center; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space; University of New Hampshire; Durham New Hampshire 03834 USA
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24
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McMichael CH, Feeley KJ, Dick CW, Piperno DR, Bush MB. Comment on "Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition". Science 2017; 358:358/6361/eaan8347. [PMID: 29051349 DOI: 10.1126/science.aan8347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Levis et al (Research Articles, 3 March 2017, p. 925) concluded that pre-Columbian tree domestication has shaped present-day Amazonian forest composition. The study, however, downplays five centuries of human influence following European arrival to the Americas. We show that the effects of post-Columbian activities in Amazonia are likely to have played a larger role than pre-Columbian ones in shaping the observed floristic patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal H McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Kenneth J Feeley
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Christopher W Dick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - Dolores R Piperno
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama.,Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Mark B Bush
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
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25
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Bush MB, Correa-Metrio A, van Woesik R, Shadik CR, McMichael CNH. Human disturbance amplifies Amazonian El Niño-Southern Oscillation signal. Glob Chang Biol 2017; 23:3181-3192. [PMID: 28263014 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2016] [Revised: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The long-term interaction between human activity and climate is subject to increasing scrutiny. Humans homogenize landscapes through deforestation, agriculture, and burning and thereby might reduce the capacity of landscapes to provide archives of climate change. Alternatively, land-use change might overwhelm natural buffering and amplify latent climate signals, rendering them detectable. Here we examine a sub-annually resolved sedimentary record from Lake Sauce in the western Amazonian lowlands that spans 6900 years. Finely-laminated sediments were deposited from ca. 5000 years ago until the present, and human activity in the watershed was revealed through the presence of charcoal and maize agriculture. The laminations, analyzed for color content and bandwidth, showed distinctive changes that were coupled to more frequent occurrence of fossil maize pollen. As agricultural activity intensified ca. 2200 cal. BP, the 2- to 8-year periodicity characteristic of El Niño-Southern Oscillation became evident in the record. These agricultural activities appeared to have amplified an existing, but subtle climatic signal that was previously absorbed by natural vegetation. When agricultural activity slowed, or land use around Lake Sauce changed at ca. 800 cal. BP, the signal of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity became erratic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark B Bush
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA
| | - Alexander Correa-Metrio
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
| | - Robert van Woesik
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA
| | - Courtney R Shadik
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA
| | - Crystal N H McMichael
- Palaeoecology & Landscape Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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26
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Sylvester SP, Heitkamp F, Sylvester MDPV, Jungkunst HF, Sipman HJM, Toivonen JM, Gonzales Inca CA, Ospina JC, Kessler M. Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact. Sci Rep 2017; 7:3334. [PMID: 28611464 PMCID: PMC5469861 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03500-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
What would current ecosystems be like without the impact of mankind? This question, which is critical for ecosystem management, has long remained unanswered due to a lack of present-day data from truly undisturbed ecosystems. Using mountaineering techniques, we accessed pristine relict ecosystems in the Peruvian Andes to provide this baseline data and compared it with the surrounding accessible and disturbed landscape. We show that natural ecosystems and human impact in the high Andes are radically different from preconceived ideas. Vegetation of these ‘lost worlds’ was dominated by plant species previously unknown to science that have become extinct in nearby human-affected ecosystems. Furthermore, natural vegetation had greater plant biomass with potentially as much as ten times more forest, but lower plant diversity. Contrary to our expectations, soils showed relatively little degradation when compared within a vegetation type, but differed mainly between forest and grassland ecosystems. At the landscape level, a presumed large-scale forest reduction resulted in a nowadays more acidic soilscape with higher carbon storage, partly ameliorating carbon loss through deforestation. Human impact in the high Andes, thus, had mixed effects on biodiversity, while soils and carbon stocks would have been mainly indirectly affected through a suggested large-scale vegetation change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven P Sylvester
- Institute of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Department of Geography, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Felix Heitkamp
- Section of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geoscience and Geography, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mitsy D P V Sylvester
- Institute of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Universidad Nacional del San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru
| | - Hermann F Jungkunst
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Geoecology & Physical Geography, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Mainz, Germany
| | - Harrie J M Sipman
- Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Juan C Ospina
- Instituto de Botánica Darwinion (ANCEFN-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Michael Kessler
- Institute of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Piperno DR, McMichael C, Bush MB. Further evidence for localized, short-term anthropogenic forest alterations across pre-Columbian Amazonia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E4118-9. [PMID: 28507146 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1705585114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Watling J, Iriarte J, Mayle FE, Schaan D, Pessenda LCR, Loader NJ, Street-Perrott FA, Dickau RE, Damasceno A, Ranzi A. Reply to Piperno et al.: It is too soon to argue for localized, short-term human impacts in interfluvial Amazonia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E4120-1. [PMID: 28507155 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1705697114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Levis C, Costa FRC, Bongers F, Peña-Claros M, Clement CR, Junqueira AB, Neves EG, Tamanaha EK, Figueiredo FOG, Salomão RP, Castilho CV, Magnusson WE, Phillips OL, Guevara JE, Sabatier D, Molino JF, López DC, Mendoza AM, Pitman NCA, Duque A, Vargas PN, Zartman CE, Vasquez R, Andrade A, Camargo JL, Feldpausch TR, Laurance SGW, Laurance WF, Killeen TJ, Nascimento HEM, Montero JC, Mostacedo B, Amaral IL, Guimarães Vieira IC, Brienen R, Castellanos H, Terborgh J, Carim MDJV, Guimarães JRDS, Coelho LDS, Matos FDDA, Wittmann F, Mogollón HF, Damasco G, Dávila N, García-Villacorta R, Coronado ENH, Emilio T, Filho DDAL, Schietti J, Souza P, Targhetta N, Comiskey JA, Marimon BS, Marimon BH, Neill D, Alonso A, Arroyo L, Carvalho FA, de Souza FC, Dallmeier F, Pansonato MP, Duivenvoorden JF, Fine PVA, Stevenson PR, Araujo-Murakami A, Aymard C. GA, Baraloto C, do Amaral DD, Engel J, Henkel TW, Maas P, Petronelli P, Revilla JDC, Stropp J, Daly D, Gribel R, Paredes MR, Silveira M, Thomas-Caesar R, Baker TR, da Silva NF, Ferreira LV, Peres CA, Silman MR, Cerón C, Valverde FC, Di Fiore A, Jimenez EM, Mora MCP, Toledo M, Barbosa EM, Bonates LCDM, Arboleda NC, Farias EDS, Fuentes A, Guillaumet JL, Jørgensen PM, Malhi Y, de Andrade Miranda IP, Phillips JF, Prieto A, Rudas A, Ruschel AR, Silva N, von Hildebrand P, Vos VA, Zent EL, Zent S, Cintra BBL, Nascimento MT, Oliveira AA, Ramirez-Angulo H, Ramos JF, Rivas G, Schöngart J, Sierra R, Tirado M, van der Heijden G, Torre EV, Wang O, Young KR, Baider C, Cano A, Farfan-Rios W, Ferreira C, Hoffman B, Mendoza C, Mesones I, Torres-Lezama A, Medina MNU, van Andel TR, Villarroel D, Zagt R, Alexiades MN, Balslev H, Garcia-Cabrera K, Gonzales T, Hernandez L, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Manzatto AG, Milliken W, Cuenca WP, Pansini S, Pauletto D, Arevalo FR, Reis NFC, Sampaio AF, Giraldo LEU, Sandoval EHV, Gamarra LV, Vela CIA, ter Steege H. Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition. Science 2017; 355:925-931. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aal0157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 306] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Watling J, Iriarte J, Mayle FE, Schaan D, Pessenda LC, Loader NJ, Street-Perrott FA, Dickau RE, Damasceno A, Ranzi A. Impact of pre-Columbian "geoglyph" builders on Amazonian forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:1868-73. [PMID: 28167791 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1614359114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Over 450 pre-Columbian (pre-AD 1492) geometric ditched enclosures ("geoglyphs") occupy ∼13,000 km2 of Acre state, Brazil, representing a key discovery of Amazonian archaeology. These huge earthworks were concealed for centuries under terra firme (upland interfluvial) rainforest, directly challenging the "pristine" status of this ecosystem and its perceived vulnerability to human impacts. We reconstruct the environmental context of geoglyph construction and the nature, extent, and legacy of associated human impacts. We show that bamboo forest dominated the region for ≥6,000 y and that only small, temporary clearings were made to build the geoglyphs; however, construction occurred within anthropogenic forest that had been actively managed for millennia. In the absence of widespread deforestation, exploitation of forest products shaped a largely forested landscape that survived intact until the late 20th century.
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Stocker BD, Yu Z, Massa C, Joos F. Holocene peatland and ice-core data constraints on the timing and magnitude of CO 2 emissions from past land use. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:1492-7. [PMID: 28137849 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613889114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
CO2 emissions from preindustrial land-use change (LUC) are subject to large uncertainties. Although atmospheric CO2 records suggest only a small land carbon (C) source since 5,000 y before present (5 kyBP), the concurrent C sink by peat buildup could mask large early LUC emissions. Here, we combine updated continuous peat C reconstructions with the land C balance inferred from double deconvolution analyses of atmospheric CO2 and [Formula: see text]C at different temporal scales to investigate the terrestrial C budget of the Holocene and the last millennium and constrain LUC emissions. LUC emissions are estimated with transient model simulations for diverging published scenarios of LU area change and shifting cultivation. Our results reveal a large terrestrial nonpeatland C source after the Mid-Holocene (66 [Formula: see text] 25 PgC at 7-5 kyBP and 115 [Formula: see text] 27 PgC at 5-3 kyBP). Despite high simulated per-capita CO2 emissions from LUC in early phases of agricultural development, humans emerge as a driver with dominant global C cycle impacts only in the most recent three millennia. Sole anthropogenic causes for particular variations in the CO2 record ([Formula: see text]20 ppm rise after 7 kyBP and [Formula: see text]10 ppm fall between 1500 CE and 1600 CE) are not supported. This analysis puts a strong constraint on preindustrial vs. industrial-era LUC emissions and suggests that upper-end scenarios for the extent of agricultural expansion before 1850 CE are not compatible with the C budget thereafter.
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Rockwell CA, Guariguata MR, Menton M, Quispe EA, Quaedvlieg J, Warren-thomas E, Silva HF, Rojas EEJ, Arrunátegui JAHK, Vega LAM, Hancco RQ, Vera OR, Tito JFV, Panduro BTV, Salas JJY. Spatial distribution of Bertholletia excelsa in selectively logged forests of the Peruvian Amazon. J Trop Ecol 2017; 33:114-27. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467416000614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:To date, the spatial distribution pattern and density of Brazil nut trees in logged forest stands is unclear across the Amazon basin. We asked the following questions: (1) What are the densities and spatial distributions of Brazil nut juveniles (10 ≤ dbh < 40 cm) and adults (≥ 40 cm dbh) in three selectively logged Brazil nut concessions (1413 ha sampled) in Madre de Dios, Peru; (2) What is the spatial relationship between adults and juveniles (10 ≤ dbh < 30 cm); and (3) What is the spatial relationship between juveniles (10 ≤ dbh <30 cm) and cut stumps (≥ 10 y)? Spatial analyses were conducted using statistics derived from Ripley's K function. Juveniles were aggregated in all three concessions. Results for adult populations rejected the null hypothesis of a random distribution among trees ≥ 40 cm dbh. We did not find an attraction between juveniles and cut-stump locations, nor between adults and juveniles. The strong peaks of aggregation for juveniles and adult Brazil nuts in this study occurred at long distances (300–900 m), suggesting multiple tree canopy gaps as drivers of spatial distribution patterns, either via natural or anthropogenic sources. Our data contribute to a more thorough understanding of Brazil nut population structure in disturbed forests in south-western Amazonia.
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Jarrett C, Cummins I, Logan-Hines E. Adapting Indigenous Agroforestry Systems for Integrative Landscape Management and Sustainable Supply Chain Development in Napo, Ecuador. Advances in Agroforestry 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-69371-2_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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Antunes AP, Fewster RM, Venticinque EM, Peres CA, Levi T, Rohe F, Shepard GH. Empty forest or empty rivers? A century of commercial hunting in Amazonia. Sci Adv 2016; 2:e1600936. [PMID: 27757421 PMCID: PMC5061472 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/07/2016] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The Amazon basin is the largest and most species-rich tropical forest and river system in the world, playing a pivotal role in global climate regulation and harboring hundreds of traditional and indigenous cultures. It is a matter of intense debate whether the ecosystem is threatened by hunting practices, whereby an "empty forest" loses critical ecological functions. Strikingly, no previous study has examined Amazonian ecosystem resilience through the perspective of the massive 20th century international trade in furs and skins. We present the first historical account of the scale and impacts of this trade and show that whereas aquatic species suffered basin-wide population collapse, terrestrial species did not. We link this differential resilience to the persistence of adequate spatial refuges for terrestrial species, enabling populations to be sustained through source-sink dynamics, contrasting with unremitting hunting pressure on more accessible aquatic habitats. Our findings attest the high vulnerability of aquatic fauna to unregulated hunting, particularly during years of severe drought. We propose that the relative resilience of terrestrial species suggests a marked opportunity for managing, rather than criminalizing, contemporary traditional subsistence hunting in Amazonia, through both the engagement of local people in community-based comanagement programs and science-led conservation governance.
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Affiliation(s)
- André P. Antunes
- Department of Ecology, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
- Wildlife Conservation Society Brasil, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Rachel M. Fewster
- Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Carlos A. Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Taal Levi
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - Fabio Rohe
- Department of Ecology, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Glenn H. Shepard
- Department of Anthropology, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil
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35
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McMichael CH, Piperno DR, Bush MB. Comment on Clement et al. 2015 'The domestication of Amazonia before European conquest'. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20151837. [PMID: 26702039 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- C H McMichael
- Palaeoecology and Landscape Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - D R Piperno
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - M B Bush
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
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Abstract
During the twentieth century, Amazonia was widely regarded as relatively pristine nature, little impacted by human history. This view remains popular despite mounting evidence of substantial human influence over millennial scales across the region. Here, we review the evidence of an anthropogenic Amazonia in response to claims of sparse populations across broad portions of the region. Amazonia was a major centre of crop domestication, with at least 83 native species containing populations domesticated to some degree. Plant domestication occurs in domesticated landscapes, including highly modified Amazonian dark earths (ADEs) associated with large settled populations and that may cover greater than 0.1% of the region. Populations and food production expanded rapidly within land management systems in the mid-Holocene, and complex societies expanded in resource-rich areas creating domesticated landscapes with profound impacts on local and regional ecology. ADE food production projections support estimates of at least eight million people in 1492. By this time, highly diverse regional systems had developed across Amazonia where subsistence resources were created with plant and landscape domestication, including earthworks. This review argues that the Amazonian anthrome was no less socio-culturally diverse or populous than other tropical forested areas of the world prior to European conquest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles R Clement
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, INPA; Avenue André Araújo, 2936 - Petrópolis, 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | | | | | - André Braga Junqueira
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, INPA; Avenue André Araújo, 2936 - Petrópolis, 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, and Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Eduardo G Neves
- Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - William I Woods
- Department Geography, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
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Clement CR, Denevan WM, Heckenberger MJ, Junqueira AB, Neves EG, Teixeira WG, Woods WI. Response to comment by McMichael, Piperno and Bush. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 282:20152459. [PMID: 26702048 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Charles R Clement
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia-INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936 - Petrópolis, 69067-375 Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - William M Denevan
- Department of Geography, emeritus, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | | | - André Braga Junqueira
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia-INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936 - Petrópolis, 69067-375 Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, 6700 AK Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Eduardo G Neves
- Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-070, Brazil
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Peña-Venegas CP, Stomph TJ, Verschoor G, Echeverri JA, Struik PC. Classification and Use of Natural and Anthropogenic Soils by Indigenous Communities of the Upper Amazon Region of Colombia. Hum Ecol Interdiscip J 2015; 44:1-15. [PMID: 26924875 PMCID: PMC4757621 DOI: 10.1007/s10745-015-9793-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Outsiders often oversimplify Amazon soil use by assuming that abundantly available natural soils are poorly suited to agriculture and that sporadic anthropogenic soils are agriculturally productive. Local perceptions about the potentials and limitations of soils probably differ, but information on these perceptions is scarce. We therefore examined how four indigenous communities in the Middle Caquetá River region in the Colombian Amazon classify and use natural and anthropogenic soils. The study was framed in ethnopedology: local classifications, preferences, rankings, and soil uses were recorded through interviews and field observations. These communities recognized nine soils varying in suitability for agriculture. They identified anthropogenic soils as most suitable for agriculture, but only one group used them predominantly for their swiddens. As these communities did not perceive soil nutrient status as limiting, they did not base crop-site selection on soil fertility or on the interplay between soil quality and performance of manioc genetic resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. P. Peña-Venegas
- />Centre of Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- />Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Avenida Vásquez Cobo entre Calle 15 y 16, Leticia, Amazonas Colombia
| | - T. J. Stomph
- />Centre of Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - G. Verschoor
- />Sociology of Development and Change Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - J. A. Echeverri
- />Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Kilómetro 2 Vía Leticia-Tarapacá, Leticia, Amazonas Colombia
| | - P. C. Struik
- />Centre of Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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McMichael CH, Piperno DR, Neves EG, Bush MB, Almeida FO, Mongeló G, Eyjolfsdottir MB. Phytolith Assemblages Along a Gradient of Ancient Human Disturbance in Western Amazonia. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Silveira JM, Louzada J, Barlow J, Andrade R, Mestre L, Solar R, Lacau S, Cochrane MA. A Multi-Taxa Assessment of Biodiversity Change After Single and Recurrent Wildfires in a Brazilian Amazon Forest. Biotropica 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Julio Louzada
- Universidade Federal de Lavras; Lavras MG 37200-000 Brazil
- Lancaster Environment Centre; Lancaster University; Lancaster LA1 4YQ U.K
| | - Jos Barlow
- Lancaster Environment Centre; Lancaster University; Lancaster LA1 4YQ U.K
| | | | - Luiz Mestre
- South Dakota State University; Brookings SD 57007 U.S.A
- Universidade Federal do Paraná; Palotina PR 85950-000 Brazil
| | - Ricardo Solar
- Universidade Federal de Viçosa; Viçosa MG 36570-900 Brazil
| | - Sébastien Lacau
- Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia; Itapetinga BA 45700-000 Brazil
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Lins J, Lima HP, Baccaro FB, Kinupp VF, Shepard GH, Clement CR. Pre-Columbian floristic legacies in modern homegardens of Central Amazonia. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0127067. [PMID: 26030879 PMCID: PMC4451503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2015] [Accepted: 04/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Historical ecologists have demonstrated legacy effects in apparently wild landscapes in Europe, North America, Mesoamerica, Amazonia, Africa and Oceania. People live and farm in archaeological sites today in many parts of the world, but nobody has looked for the legacies of past human occupations in the most dynamic areas in these sites: homegardens. Here we show that the useful flora of modern homegardens is partially a legacy of pre-Columbian occupations in Central Amazonia: the more complex the archaeological context, the more variable the floristic composition of useful native plants in homegardens cultivated there today. Species diversity was 10% higher in homegardens situated in multi-occupational archaeological contexts compared with homegardens situated in single-occupational ones. Species heterogeneity (β-diversity) among archaeological contexts was similar for the whole set of species, but markedly different when only native Amazonian species were included, suggesting the influence of pre-conquest indigenous occupations on current homegarden species composition. Our findings show that the legacy of pre-Columbian occupations is visible in the most dynamic of all agroecosystems, adding another dimension to the human footprint in the Amazonian landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Lins
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
- * E-mail:
| | - Helena P. Lima
- Coordenação de Ciências Humanas, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG), Belém, Pará, Brasil
| | - Fabricio B. Baccaro
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
| | - Valdely F. Kinupp
- Herbário EAFM, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Amazonas (IFAM), Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
| | - Glenn H. Shepard
- Departamento de Antropologia, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (MPEG), Belém, Pará, Brasil
| | - Charles R. Clement
- Coordenação de Tecnologia e Inovação, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil
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Carson JF, Whitney BS, Mayle FE, Iriarte J, Prümers H, Soto JD, Watling J. Environmental impact of geometric earthwork construction in pre-Columbian Amazonia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:10497-502. [PMID: 25002502 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1321770111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is considerable controversy over whether pre-Columbian (pre-A.D. 1492) Amazonia was largely "pristine" and sparsely populated by slash-and-burn agriculturists, or instead a densely populated, domesticated landscape, heavily altered by extensive deforestation and anthropogenic burning. The discovery of hundreds of large geometric earthworks beneath intact rainforest across southern Amazonia challenges its status as a pristine landscape, and has been assumed to indicate extensive pre-Columbian deforestation by large populations. We tested these assumptions using coupled local- and regional-scale paleoecological records to reconstruct land use on an earthwork site in northeast Bolivia within the context of regional, climate-driven biome changes. This approach revealed evidence for an alternative scenario of Amazonian land use, which did not necessitate labor-intensive rainforest clearance for earthwork construction. Instead, we show that the inhabitants exploited a naturally open savanna landscape that they maintained around their settlement despite the climatically driven rainforest expansion that began ∼2,000 y ago across the region. Earthwork construction and agriculture on terra firme landscapes currently occupied by the seasonal rainforests of southern Amazonia may therefore not have necessitated large-scale deforestation using stone tools. This finding implies far less labor--and potentially lower population density--than previously supposed. Our findings demonstrate that current debates over the magnitude and nature of pre-Columbian Amazonian land use, and its impact on global biogeochemical cycling, are potentially flawed because they do not consider this land use in the context of climate-driven forest-savanna biome shifts through the mid-to-late Holocene.
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Aragão LEOC, Poulter B, Barlow JB, Anderson LO, Malhi Y, Saatchi S, Phillips OL, Gloor E. Environmental change and the carbon balance of Amazonian forests. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 89:913-31. [PMID: 25324039 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2013] [Revised: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Extreme climatic events and land-use change are known to influence strongly the current carbon cycle of Amazonia, and have the potential to cause significant global climate impacts. This review intends to evaluate the effects of both climate and anthropogenic perturbations on the carbon balance of the Brazilian Amazon and to understand how they interact with each other. By analysing the outputs of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 4 (AR4) model ensemble, we demonstrate that Amazonian temperatures and water stress are both likely to increase over the 21st Century. Curbing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 62% in 2010 relative to the 1990s mean decreased the Brazilian Amazon's deforestation contribution to global land use carbon emissions from 17% in the 1990s and early 2000s to 9% by 2010. Carbon sources in Amazonia are likely to be dominated by climatic impacts allied with forest fires (48.3% relative contribution) during extreme droughts. The current net carbon sink (net biome productivity, NBP) of +0.16 (ranging from +0.11 to +0.21) Pg C year(-1) in the Brazilian Amazon, equivalent to 13.3% of global carbon emissions from land-use change for 2008, can be negated or reversed during drought years [NBP = -0.06 (-0.31 to +0.01) Pg C year(-1) ]. Therefore, reducing forest fires, in addition to reducing deforestation, would be an important measure for minimizing future emissions. Conversely, doubling the current area of secondary forests and avoiding additional removal of primary forests would help the Amazonian gross forest sink to offset approximately 42% of global land-use change emissions. We conclude that a few strategic environmental policy measures are likely to strengthen the Amazonian net carbon sink with global implications. Moreover, these actions could increase the resilience of the net carbon sink to future increases in drought frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiz E O C Aragão
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geography University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, U.K.; Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, São José dos Campos, Sao Paulo, 12227-010, Brazil
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McMichael CH, Palace MW, Bush MB, Braswell B, Hagen S, Neves EG, Silman MR, Tamanaha EK, Czarnecki C. Predicting pre-Columbian anthropogenic soils in Amazonia. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20132475. [PMID: 24403329 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The extent and intensity of pre-Columbian impacts on lowland Amazonia have remained uncertain and controversial. Various indicators can be used to gauge the impact of pre-Columbian societies, but the formation of nutrient-enriched terra preta soils has been widely accepted as an indication of long-term settlement and site fidelity. Using known and newly discovered terra preta sites and maximum entropy algorithms (Maxent), we determined the influence of regional environmental conditions on the likelihood that terra pretas would have been formed at any given location in lowland Amazonia. Terra pretas were most frequently found in central and eastern Amazonia along the lower courses of the major Amazonian rivers. Terrain, hydrologic and soil characteristics were more important predictors of terra preta distributions than climatic conditions. Our modelling efforts indicated that terra pretas are likely to be found throughout ca 154 063 km(2) or 3.2% of the forest. We also predict that terra preta formation was limited in most of western Amazonia. Model results suggested that the distribution of terra preta was highly predictable based on environmental parameters. We provided targets for future archaeological surveys under the vast forest canopy and also highlighted how few of the long-term forest inventory sites in Amazonia are able to capture the effects of historical disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- C H McMichael
- Earth Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire, , Durham, NH 03824, USA, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, , Melbourne, FL 32901, USA, Applied Geosolutions, , Durham, NH 03824, USA, Laboratório de Arqueologia dos Trópicos, Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, , São Paulo, Brazil, Department of Biology and Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Wake Forest University, , Winston-Salem, NC 27106, USA
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ter Steege H, Pitman NCA, Sabatier D, Baraloto C, Salomão RP, Guevara JE, Phillips OL, Castilho CV, Magnusson WE, Molino JF, Monteagudo A, Núñez Vargas P, Montero JC, Feldpausch TR, Coronado ENH, Killeen TJ, Mostacedo B, Vasquez R, Assis RL, Terborgh J, Wittmann F, Andrade A, Laurance WF, Laurance SGW, Marimon BS, Marimon BH, Guimarães Vieira IC, Amaral IL, Brienen R, Castellanos H, Cárdenas López D, Duivenvoorden JF, Mogollón HF, Matos FDDA, Dávila N, García-Villacorta R, Stevenson Diaz PR, Costa F, Emilio T, Levis C, Schietti J, Souza P, Alonso A, Dallmeier F, Montoya AJD, Fernandez Piedade MT, Araujo-Murakami A, Arroyo L, Gribel R, Fine PVA, Peres CA, Toledo M, Aymard C GA, Baker TR, Cerón C, Engel J, Henkel TW, Maas P, Petronelli P, Stropp J, Zartman CE, Daly D, Neill D, Silveira M, Paredes MR, Chave J, Lima Filho DDA, Jørgensen PM, Fuentes A, Schöngart J, Cornejo Valverde F, Di Fiore A, Jimenez EM, Peñuela Mora MC, Phillips JF, Rivas G, van Andel TR, von Hildebrand P, Hoffman B, Zent EL, Malhi Y, Prieto A, Rudas A, Ruschell AR, Silva N, Vos V, Zent S, Oliveira AA, Schutz AC, Gonzales T, Trindade Nascimento M, Ramirez-Angulo H, Sierra R, Tirado M, Umaña Medina MN, van der Heijden G, Vela CIA, Vilanova Torre E, Vriesendorp C, Wang O, Young KR, Baider C, Balslev H, Ferreira C, Mesones I, Torres-Lezama A, Urrego Giraldo LE, Zagt R, Alexiades MN, Hernandez L, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Milliken W, Palacios Cuenca W, Pauletto D, Valderrama Sandoval E, Valenzuela Gamarra L, Dexter KG, Feeley K, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Silman MR. Hyperdominance in the Amazonian tree flora. Science 2013; 342:1243092. [PMID: 24136971 DOI: 10.1126/science.1243092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 391] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The vast extent of the Amazon Basin has historically restricted the study of its tree communities to the local and regional scales. Here, we provide empirical data on the commonness, rarity, and richness of lowland tree species across the entire Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield (Amazonia), collected in 1170 tree plots in all major forest types. Extrapolations suggest that Amazonia harbors roughly 16,000 tree species, of which just 227 (1.4%) account for half of all trees. Most of these are habitat specialists and only dominant in one or two regions of the basin. We discuss some implications of the finding that a small group of species--less diverse than the North American tree flora--accounts for half of the world's most diverse tree community.
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Lombardo U, Szabo K, Capriles JM, May JH, Amelung W, Hutterer R, Lehndorff E, Plotzki A, Veit H. Early and middle holocene hunter-gatherer occupations in western Amazonia: the hidden shell middens. PLoS One 2013; 8:e72746. [PMID: 24013964 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We report on previously unknown early archaeological sites in the Bolivian lowlands, demonstrating for the first time early and middle Holocene human presence in western Amazonia. Multidisciplinary research in forest islands situated in seasonally-inundated savannahs has revealed stratified shell middens produced by human foragers as early as 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest archaeological sites in the region. The absence of stone resources and partial burial by recent alluvial sediments has meant that these kinds of deposits have, until now, remained unidentified. We conducted core sampling, archaeological excavations and an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy and recovered materials from three shell midden mounds. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, sedimentary proxies (elements, steroids and black carbon), micromorphology and faunal analysis, we demonstrate the anthropogenic origin and antiquity of these sites. In a tropical and geomorphologically active landscape often considered challenging both for early human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, the newly discovered shell middens provide evidence for early to middle Holocene occupation and illustrate the potential for identifying and interpreting early open-air archaeological sites in western Amazonia. The existence of early hunter-gatherer sites in the Bolivian lowlands sheds new light on the region’s past and offers a new context within which the late Holocene “Earthmovers” of the Llanos de Moxos could have emerged.
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Abstract
The rainforests are the great green heart of Africa, and present a unique combination of ecological, climatic and human interactions. In this synthesis paper, we review the past and present state processes of change in African rainforests, and explore the challenges and opportunities for maintaining a viable future for these biomes. We draw in particular on the insights and new analyses emerging from the Theme Issue on 'African rainforests: past, present and future' of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. A combination of features characterize the African rainforest biome, including a history of climate variation; forest expansion and retreat; a long history of human interaction with the biome; a relatively low plant species diversity but large tree biomass; a historically exceptionally high animal biomass that is now being severely hunted down; the dominance of selective logging; small-scale farming and bushmeat hunting as the major forms of direct human pressure; and, in Central Africa, the particular context of mineral- and oil-driven economies that have resulted in unusually low rates of deforestation and agricultural activity. We conclude by discussing how this combination of factors influences the prospects for African forests in the twenty-first century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK.
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Hall SJ, Trujillo J, Nakase D, Strawhacker C, Kruse-Peeples M, Schaafsma H, Briggs J. Legacies of Prehistoric Agricultural Practices Within Plant and Soil Properties Across an Arid Ecosystem. Ecosystems 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9681-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Levis C, de Souza PF, Schietti J, Emilio T, Pinto JLPDV, Clement CR, Costa FRC. Historical human footprint on modern tree species composition in the Purus-Madeira interfluve, central Amazonia. PLoS One 2012. [PMID: 23185264 PMCID: PMC3502455 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Native Amazonian populations managed forest resources in numerous ways, often creating oligarchic forests dominated by useful trees. The scale and spatial distribution of forest modification beyond pre-Columbian settlements is still unknown, although recent studies propose that human impact away from rivers was minimal. We tested the hypothesis that past human management of the useful tree community decreases with distance from rivers. Methodology/Principal Findings In six sites, we inventoried trees and palms with DBH≥10 cm and collected soil for charcoal analysis; we also mapped archaeological evidence around the sites. To quantify forest manipulation, we measured the relative abundance, richness and basal area of useful trees and palms. We found a strong negative exponential relationship between forest manipulation and distance to large rivers. Plots located from 10 to 20 km from a main river had 20–40% useful arboreal species, plots between 20 and 40 km had 12–23%, plots more than 40 km had less than 15%. Soil charcoal abundance was high in the two sites closest to secondary rivers, suggesting past agricultural practices. The shortest distance between archaeological evidence and plots was found in sites near rivers. Conclusions/Significance These results strongly suggest that past forest manipulation was not limited to the pre-Columbian settlements along major rivers, but extended over interfluvial areas considered to be primary forest today. The sustainable use of Amazonian forests will be most effective if it considers the degree of past landscape domestication, as human-modified landscapes concentrate useful plants for human sustainable use and management today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Levis
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil.
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