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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] [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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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. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh8499. [PMID: 37729404 PMCID: PMC11320335 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh8499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [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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Forests and Farmers: GIS Analysis of Forest Islands and Large Raised Fields in the Bolivian Amazon. LAND 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/land11050678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The Llanos de Mojos of the Bolivian Amazon is a domesticated landscape with a long history of management by pre-Columbian communities. This paper uses a landscape approach to interpret the settlement patterns of pre-Columbian raised-field farmers in west central Mojos. The pre-Columbian landscape was reconstructed by mapping the distribution of three types of landscape features: forest islands, raised agricultural fields, and water systems (rivers, streams and wetlands). Previous research has identified four types of patterned clustering or ‘constellations’ of these landscape features in west central Mojos. These constellations and the immediate area of the landscape that surrounds them afforded Mojos farmers a specific set of tasks or activities to take part in as part of harnessing resources from the landscape. The mapping of landscape features and their associated tasks onto the landscape provides insight into the organization of the communities that constructed and managed them. It was found that the landscape of west central Mojos is organized into two distinct regional patterns. In the northern part of the region, evidence of large farming communities is dispersed along the banks of the permanent rivers with networks of landscape features extending off into remote areas of the savanna. In the southern part of the region, evidence for large farming communities is clustered closer together in remote areas of the savanna with networks of landscape features extending back towards the permanent rivers. The two regions are melded together by a transitional zone that implies a type of interaction between the regions rather than a distinct separation.
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Scerri EML, Roberts P, Yoshi Maezumi S, Malhi Y. Tropical forests in the deep human past. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200500. [PMID: 35249383 PMCID: PMC8899628 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Since Darwin, studies of human evolution have tended to give primacy to open 'savannah' environments as the ecological cradle of our lineage, with dense tropical forests cast as hostile, unfavourable frontiers. These perceptions continue to shape both the geographical context of fieldwork as well as dominant narratives concerning hominin evolution. This paradigm persists despite new, ground-breaking research highlighting the role of tropical forests in the human story. For example, novel research in Africa's rainforests has uncovered archaeological sites dating back into the Pleistocene; genetic studies have revealed very deep human roots in Central and West Africa and in the tropics of Asia and the Pacific; an unprecedented number of coexistent hominin species have now been documented, including Homo erectus, the 'Hobbit' (Homo floresiensis), Homo luzonensis, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens. Some of the earliest members of our own species to reach South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania and the tropical Americas have shown an unexpected rapidity in their adaptation to even some of the more 'extreme' tropical settings. This includes the early human manipulation of species and even habitats. This volume builds on these currently disparate threads and, for the first time, draws together a group of interdisciplinary, agenda-setting papers that firmly places a broader spectrum of tropical environments at the heart of the deep human past. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor M L Scerri
- Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.,Department of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - S Yoshi Maezumi
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
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