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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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2
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Requena Suarez D, Rozendaal DMA, De Sy V, Decuyper M, Málaga N, Durán Montesinos P, Arana Olivos A, De la Cruz Paiva R, Martius C, Herold M. Forest disturbance and recovery in Peruvian Amazonia. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:3601-3621. [PMID: 36997337 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Amazonian forests function as biomass and biodiversity reservoirs, contributing to climate change mitigation. While they continuously experience disturbance, the effect that disturbances have on biomass and biodiversity over time has not yet been assessed at a large scale. Here, we evaluate the degree of recent forest disturbance in Peruvian Amazonia and the effects that disturbance, environmental conditions and human use have on biomass and biodiversity in disturbed forests. We integrate tree-level data on aboveground biomass (AGB) and species richness from 1840 forest plots from Peru's National Forest Inventory with remotely sensed monitoring of forest change dynamics, based on disturbances detected from Landsat-derived Normalized Difference Moisture Index time series. Our results show a clear negative effect of disturbance intensity tree species richness. This effect was also observed on AGB and species richness recovery values towards undisturbed levels, as well as on the recovery of species composition towards undisturbed levels. Time since disturbance had a larger effect on AGB than on species richness. While time since disturbance has a positive effect on AGB, unexpectedly we found a small negative effect of time since disturbance on species richness. We estimate that roughly 15% of Peruvian Amazonian forests have experienced disturbance at least once since 1984, and that, following disturbance, have been increasing in AGB at a rate of 4.7 Mg ha-1 year-1 during the first 20 years. Furthermore, the positive effect of surrounding forest cover was evident for both AGB and its recovery towards undisturbed levels, as well as for species richness. There was a negative effect of forest accessibility on the recovery of species composition towards undisturbed levels. Moving forward, we recommend that forest-based climate change mitigation endeavours consider forest disturbance through the integration of forest inventory data with remote sensing methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Requena Suarez
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Danaë M A Rozendaal
- Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Veronique De Sy
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mathieu Decuyper
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Natalia Málaga
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Patricia Durán Montesinos
- Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre (SERFOR), Ministerio de Desarrollo Agrario y Riego (MIDAGRI), Lima, Peru
| | - Alexs Arana Olivos
- Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre (SERFOR), Ministerio de Desarrollo Agrario y Riego (MIDAGRI), Lima, Peru
| | - Ricardo De la Cruz Paiva
- Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre (SERFOR), Ministerio de Desarrollo Agrario y Riego (MIDAGRI), Lima, Peru
| | - Christopher Martius
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Germany gGmbH, Bonn, Germany
| | - Martin Herold
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Section 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, Helmholtz Center Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
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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. VEGETATION HISTORY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY 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] [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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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] [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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5
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Katz O. The ecosystem services framework in archaeology (and vice versa). PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ofir Katz
- Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, Tamar Regional Council Tamar Israel
- Eilat Campus Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev Eilat Israel
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6
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Dussol L, Rostain S. Tropical Agriculture, Past and Present: Cross-Cutting Approaches to Global Challenges. J ETHNOBIOL 2022. [DOI: 10.2993/0278-0771-42.2.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lydie Dussol
- Université Côte d'Azur, CEPAM, CNRS, Campus Saint-Jean d'Angély, 24 avenue des Diables Bleus, F-6300 Nice, France
| | - Stéphen Rostain
- CNRS, UMR 8096 Archéologie des Amériques, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, 9 rue Malher, 75004 Paris, France
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7
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Nascimento MN, Heijink BM, Bush MB, Gosling WD, McMichael CNH. Early to mid-Holocene human activity exerted gradual influences on Amazonian forest vegetation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200498. [PMID: 35249380 PMCID: PMC8899618 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans have been present in Amazonia throughout the Holocene, with the earliest archaeological sites dating to 12 000 years ago. The earliest inhabitants began managing landscapes through fire and plant domestication, but the total extent of vegetation modification remains relatively unknown. Here, we compile palaeoecological records from lake sediments containing charcoal and from pollen analyses to understand how human land-use affected vegetation during the early to mid-Holocene, and place our results in the context of previous archaeological work. We identified gradual, rather than abrupt changes in forest openness, disturbance and enrichment, with useful species at almost all sites. Early human occupations occurred in peripheral sites of Amazonia, where natural fires are part of the vegetation dynamics, so human-made fires did not exert a novel form of disturbance. Synchronicity between evidence of the onset of human occupation in lake records and archaeological sites was found for eastern Amazonia. For southwestern and western Amazonia and the Guiana Shield, the timing of the onset of human occupation differed by thousands of years between lake records and archaeological sites. Plant cultivation showed a different spatio-temporal pattern, appearing ca 2000 years earlier in western Amazonia than in other regions. Our findings highlight the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of Amazonia and indicate that the region cannot be treated as one entity when assessing ecological or cultural history. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majoi N. Nascimento
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Britte M. Heijink
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mark B. Bush
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
| | - William D. Gosling
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - 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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8
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Bush MB, Rozas-Davila A, Raczka M, Nascimento M, Valencia B, Sales RK, McMichael CNH, Gosling WD. A palaeoecological perspective on the transformation of the tropical Andes by early human activity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200497. [PMID: 35249394 PMCID: PMC8899620 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Palaeoecological records suggest that humans have been in the Andes since at least 14 000 years ago. Early human impacts on Andean ecosystems included an increase in fire activity and the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. These changes in Andean ecosystems coincided with rapid climate change as species were migrating upslope in response to deglacial warming. Microrefugia probably played a vital role in the speed and genetic composition of that migration. The period from ca 14 500 to 12 500 years ago was when novel combinations of plant species appeared to form no-analogue assemblages in the Andes. By 12 000 years ago most areas in what are today the Andean grasslands were being burned and modified by human activity. As the vegetation of these highland settings has been modified by human activity for the entirety of the Holocene, they should be regarded as long-term manufactutred landscapes. The sharp tree lines separating Andean forests from grasslands that we see today were probably also created by repeated burning and owe their position more to human-induced fire than climatic constraints. In areas that were readly penetrated by humans on the forested slopes of the Andes, substantial modification and settlement had occurred by the mid-Holocene. In hard-to-reach areas, however, the amount of human modification may always have been minimal, and these slopes can be considered as being close to natural in their vegetation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Bush
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
| | - A Rozas-Davila
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
| | - M Raczka
- Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AH, UK
| | - M Nascimento
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 904 Science Park, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - B Valencia
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra y Agua, Ciencias de la Tierra y Clima, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Ecuador
| | - R K Sales
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
| | - C N H McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 904 Science Park, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - W D Gosling
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 904 Science Park, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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9
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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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10
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Sales RK, McMichael CNH, Flantua SGA, Hagemans K, Zondervan JR, González-Arango C, Church WB, Bush MB. Potential distributions of pre-Columbian people in Tropical Andean landscapes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200502. [PMID: 35249384 PMCID: PMC8899625 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Much has yet to be learned of the spatial patterning of pre-Columbian people across the Tropical Andes. Using compiled archaeological data and a suite of environmental variables, we generate an ensemble species distribution model (SDM) that incorporates general additive models, random forest models and Maxent models to reconstruct spatial patterns of pre-Columbian people that inhabited the Tropical Andes east of the continental divide, within the modern countries of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Within this region, here referred to as the eastern Andean flank, elevation, mean annual cloud frequency, distance to rivers and precipitation of the driest quarter are the environmental variables most closely related to human occupancy. Our model indicates that 11.04% of our study area (65 368 km2) was likely occupied by pre-Columbian people. Our model shows that 30 of 351 forest inventory plots, which are used to generate ecological understanding of Andean ecosystems, were likely occupied in the pre-Columbian period. In previously occupied sites, successional trajectories may still be shaping forest dynamics, and those forests may still be recovering from the ecological legacy of pre-Columbian impacts. Our ensemble SDM links palaeo- and neo-ecology and can also be used to guide both future archaeological and ecological studies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel K Sales
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
| | - Crystal N H McMichael
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Suzette G A Flantua
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, Bergen, Norway
| | - Kimberley Hagemans
- Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jesse R Zondervan
- School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
| | | | - Warren B Church
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA 31907, USA
| | - Mark B Bush
- Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
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11
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Zhang Y, Cui Q, Huang Y, Wu D, Zhou A. Vegetation Response to Holocene Climate Change in the Qinling Mountains in the Temperate–Subtropical Transition Zone of Central–East China. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.734011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Global warming is having a profound influence on vegetation and biodiversity patterns, especially in alpine areas and high latitudes. The Qinling Mountain range is located in the transition zone between the temperate and subtropical ecosystems of central–east China and thus the vegetation of the area is diverse. Understanding the long-term interactions between plant diversity and climate change can potentially provide a reference for future landscape management and biodiversity conservation strategies in the Qinling Mountains region. Here, we use a pollen record from the Holocene sediments of Daye Lake, on Mount Taibai in the Qingling Mountains, to study regional vegetation changes based on biomes reconstruction and diversity analysis. Temperature and precipitation records from sites close to Daye Lake are used to provide environmental background to help determine the vegetation response to climate change. The results indicate that climate change was the main factor influencing vegetation and palynological diversity in the Qinling Mountains during the Holocene. The cold and dry climate at the beginning of the early Holocene (11,700–10,700 cal yr BP) resulted in a low abundance and uneven distribution of regional vegetation types, with the dominance of coniferous forest. During the early Holocene (10,700–7,000 cal yr BP), temperate deciduous broadleaf forest expanded, palynological diversity and evenness increased, indicating that the warm and humid climate promoted vegetation growth. In the middle Holocene (7,000–3,000 cal yr BP), the climate became slightly drier but a relatively warm environment supported the continued increase in palynological diversity. After ∼3,000 cal yr BP, palynological diversity and the evenness index commenced a decreasing trend, in agreement with the decreased temperature and precipitation in the Qinling Mountains. It’s noteworthy that human activity at this time had a potential influence on the vegetation. During the past few centuries, however, palynological diversity has increased along with the global temperature, and therefore it is possible that in the short-term ongoing climatic warming will promote vegetation development and palynological diversity in the area without human interference.
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12
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Mottl O, Flantua SGA, Bhatta KP, Felde VA, Giesecke T, Goring S, Grimm EC, Haberle S, Hooghiemstra H, Ivory S, Kuneš P, Wolters S, Seddon AWR, Williams JW. Global acceleration in rates of vegetation change over the past 18,000 years. Science 2021; 372:860-864. [PMID: 34016781 DOI: 10.1126/science.abg1685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Global vegetation over the past 18,000 years has been transformed first by the climate changes that accompanied the last deglaciation and again by increasing human pressures; however, the magnitude and patterns of rates of vegetation change are poorly understood globally. Using a compilation of 1181 fossil pollen sequences and newly developed statistical methods, we detect a worldwide acceleration in the rates of vegetation compositional change beginning between 4.6 and 2.9 thousand years ago that is globally unprecedented over the past 18,000 years in both magnitude and extent. Late Holocene rates of change equal or exceed the deglacial rates for all continents, which suggests that the scale of human effects on terrestrial ecosystems exceeds even the climate-driven transformations of the last deglaciation. The acceleration of biodiversity change demonstrated in ecological datasets from the past century began millennia ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Mottl
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.
| | - Suzette G A Flantua
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway. .,Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Kuber P Bhatta
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Vivian A Felde
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.,Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Thomas Giesecke
- Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Simon Goring
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Eric C Grimm
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Simon Haberle
- Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Henry Hooghiemstra
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sarah Ivory
- Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI), Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Petr Kuneš
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Steffen Wolters
- Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Alistair W R Seddon
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.,Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - John W Williams
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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13
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Diazgranados M, Tovar C, Etherington TR, Rodríguez-Zorro PA, Castellanos-Castro C, Galvis Rueda M, Flantua SGA. Ecosystem services show variable responses to future climate conditions in the Colombian páramos. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11370. [PMID: 33987031 PMCID: PMC8101452 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The páramos, the high-elevation ecosystems of the northern Andes, are well-known for their high species richness and provide a variety of ecosystem services to local subsistence-based communities and regional urbanizations. Climate change is expected to negatively affect the provision of these services, but the level of this impact is still unclear. Here we assess future climate change impact on the ecosystem services provided by the critically important páramos of the department of Boyacá in Colombia, of which over 25% of its territory is páramo. Methods We first performed an extensive literature review to identify useful species of Boyacá, and selected 103 key plant species that, based on their uses, support the provision of ecosystem services in the páramos. We collated occurrence information for each key species and using a Mahalanobis distance approach we applied climate niche modelling for current and future conditions. Results We show an overall tendency of reduction in area for all ecosystem services under future climate conditions (mostly a loss of 10% but reaching up to a loss of 40%), but we observe also increases, and responses differ in intensity loss. Services such as Food for animals, Material and Medicinal, show a high range of changes that includes both positive and negative outcomes, while for Food for humans the responses are mostly substantially negative. Responses are less extreme than those projected for individual species but are often complex because a given ecosystem service is provided by several species. As the level of functional or ecological redundancy between species is not yet known, there is an urgency to expand our knowledge on páramos ecosystem services for more species. Our results are crucial for decision-makers, social and conservation organizations to support sustainable strategies to monitor and mitigate the potential consequences of climate change for human livelihoods in mountainous settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio Diazgranados
- Natural Capital and Plant Health Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Ardingly, West Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Carolina Tovar
- Biodiversity Informatics and Spatial Analysis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas R Etherington
- Biodiversity Informatics and Spatial Analysis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom.,Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
| | - Paula A Rodríguez-Zorro
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution Montpellier (ISEM), Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Carolina Castellanos-Castro
- Ciencias Básicas de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Manuel Galvis Rueda
- Departamento de Biología, Grupo de Investigación en Estudios Micro y Macro Ambientales (MICRAM), Universidad Tecnológica y Pedagógica de Colombia, Tunja, Colombia
| | - Suzette G A Flantua
- Natural Capital and Plant Health Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Ardingly, West Sussex, United Kingdom.,Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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