Agrobiodiversity in Amazônia and Its Relationship with Dark Earths

Clement, Charles R.; McCann, Joseph M.; Smith, Nigel

doi:10.1007/1-4020-2597-1_9

Cited by 43 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…which are allowed to remain in the swidden field and are planted or encouraged in the outer ring of the fields. Both are indicator species for ADEs (Clement et al, 2003). This is especially interesting in light of the background soil levels of closer to 3-5 mg P kg -1 which is more or less typical of unmanaged forest soils in the Amazon and within our study area.…”

Section: Ash Additivesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Indigenous Soil Management and the Creation of Amazonian Dark Earths: Implications of Kayapó Practice

Hecht

2003

Amazonian Dark Earths

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Section: Ash Additivesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Indigenous Soil Management and the Creation of Amazonian Dark Earths: Implications of Kayapó Practice

Hecht

2003

Amazonian Dark Earths

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“…Ethnographic studies identify numerous land use practices that enrich the presence of useful plants on ADE soils and increase productivity (Clement et al, 2009;Levis et al, 2018) including: the removal of non-useful plants, protection of useful plants, attraction of non-human dispersers, human transportation of plants, selection of useful phenotypes, planting, soil improvement, and fire management . Palms (e.g., Mauritia, Attalea, Astrocaryum, Euterpe, Elaeis, and Oenocarpus) and fruit bearing trees (e.g., Agavaceae, Caryocar, Byrsonima, Theobroma cacao, and Lecythidaceae [i.e., Bertholletia excelsa]), are among some of the most enriched species, exhibiting higher concentrations on ADE soils (Clement et al, 2003;Junqueira et al, 2010;Levis et al, 2018). Additionally, numerous paleoecological studies in non-ADE forests attribute the late Holocene increase in edible palms (e.g., Mauritia) to human cultivation and fire management (Montoya et al, 2011c;Rull and Montoya, 2014).…”

Section: Pre-columbian Impacts On Forest Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights From Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

et al. 2018

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Anthropogenic climate change driven by increased carbon emissions is leading to more severe fire seasons and increasing the frequency of mega-fires in the Amazon. This has the potential to convert Amazon forests from net carbon sinks to net carbon sources. Although modern human influence over the Earth is substantial, debate remains over when humans began to dominate Earth's natural systems. To date, little is known about the history of human land use in key regions like the Amazon. Here, we examine the history of human occupation from a ∼8,500 year-old sediment core record from Lake Caranã (LC) in the eastern Amazon. The onset of pre-Columbian activity at LC (∼4,500 cal yr B.P.) is associated with the beginning of fire management and crop cultivation, later followed by the formation of Amazonian Dark Earth soils (ADEs) ∼2,000 cal yr B.P. Selective forest enrichment of edible plants and low-severity fire activity altered the composition and structure of forests growing on ADEs (ADE forests) making them more drought susceptible and fire-prone. Following European colonization (1661 A.D.), the Amazon rubber boom (mid-1800s to 1920 A.D.) is associated with record-low fire activity despite drier regional climate, indicating fire exclusion. The formation of FLONA Reserve in 1974 A.D. is accompanied by the relocation of traditional populations and a fire suppression policy. Despite suppression efforts, biomass burning and fire severity in the past decade is higher than any other period in the record. This is attributed to combined climate and human factors which create optimal conditions for mega-fires in ADE forests and threatens to transform the Amazon from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source. To help mitigate the occurrence of mega-fires, a fire management policy reducing fire-use and careful fire management for farming may help to reduce fuel loads and the occurrence of mega-fires in fire-prone ADE forests. As both natural and anthropogenic pressures are projected to increase in the Amazon, this study provides valuable insights into the legacy of past human land use on modern ADE forest composition, structure, and flammability that can inform ecological benchmarks and future management efforts in the eastern Amazon.

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“…These soils are not only unanimously considered as anthropogenic but also increasingly regarded as important pre-Columbian agricultural legacies: studies documenting ubiquitous fruit-bearing trees established on known expanses highlight their importance as niches for the conservation of agrobiodiversity [113][114][115]. Other research emphasises their role as present-day agricultural infrastructures and records higher yields of crop varieties which do not grow well on low-nutrient, low pH terra firme soils [116][117][118][119][120].…”

Section: Sedentism and Amazonian Anthropogenic Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Amazonian Formative: Crop Domestication and Anthropogenic Soils

Arroyo‐Kalin

2010

Diversity

139

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Abstract:The emergence of sedentism and agriculture in Amazonia continues to sit uncomfortably within accounts of South American pre-Columbian history. This is partially because deep-seated models were formulated when only ceramic evidence was known, partly because newer data continue to defy simple explanations, and partially because many discussions continue to ignore evidence of pre-Columbian anthropogenic landscape transformations. This paper presents the results of recent geoarchaeological research on Amazonian anthropogenic soils. It advances the argument that properties of two different types of soils, terras pretas and terras mulatas, support their interpretation as correlates of, respectively, past settlement areas and fields where spatially-intensive, organic amendment-reliant cultivation took place. This assessment identifies anthropogenic soil formation as a hallmark of the Amazonian Formative and prompts questions about when similar forms of enrichment first appear in the Amazon basin. The paper reviews evidence for embryonic anthrosol formation to highlight its significance for understanding the domestication of a key Amazonian crop: manioc (Manihot esculenta ssp. esculenta). A model for manioc domestication that incorporates anthropogenic soils outlines some scenarios which link the distribution of its two broader varieties-sweet and bitter manioc-with the widespread appearance of Amazonian anthropogenic dark earths during the first millennium AD.

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Agrobiodiversity in Amazônia and Its Relationship with Dark Earths

Cited by 43 publications

References 25 publications

Indigenous Soil Management and the Creation of Amazonian Dark Earths: Implications of Kayapó Practice

Indigenous Soil Management and the Creation of Amazonian Dark Earths: Implications of Kayapó Practice

New Insights From Pre-Columbian Land Use and Fire Management in Amazonian Dark Earth Forests

The Amazonian Formative: Crop Domestication and Anthropogenic Soils

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