Amazonian Dark Earth Shapes the Understory Plant Community in a Bolivian Forest

Quintero-Vallejo, Estela; Klomberg, Yannick; Bongers, Frans; Poorter, Lourens; Toledo, Marisol; Peña-Claros, Marielos

doi:10.1111/btp.12193

Cited by 21 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The increase in palm abundance is also visible in soil profiles of archaeological sites across the region Watling et al, 2017b), suggesting that past societies enriched the forest with useful palms to improve food production. Today, useful and domesticated palms are dominant in southwestern Amazonian forests (Levis et al, 2017b), growing on abandoned pre-Columbian mounds, anthropogenic soils and geoglyphs created by past management practices (Erickson and Balée, 2006;Quintero-Vallejo et al, 2015;Levis et al, 2017b;Watling et al, 2017b). Many palm species were found in most of the forest patches investigated here, suggesting long-term human management.…”

Section: Swiddensmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…The persistent effect of pre-Columbian plant domestication on modern forest composition has been revealed in Amazonian old-growth forests (Junqueira et al, 2017;Levis et al, 2017b), secondary forests (Junqueira et al, 2010) and even in highly dynamic homegardens growing in archaeological sites . Domesticated species adapted to stable soil conditions created by management practices, such as TPI, may persist for a long time after abandonment (Quintero-Vallejo et al, 2015). This may explain why domesticated palms dominate modern forests growing on pre-Columbian mounds, anthropogenic soils and geoglyphs abandoned more than 400 years ago (Erickson and Balée, 2006;Quintero-Vallejo et al, 2015;Watling et al, 2017b).…”

Section: Swiddensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Domesticated species adapted to stable soil conditions created by management practices, such as TPI, may persist for a long time after abandonment (Quintero-Vallejo et al, 2015). This may explain why domesticated palms dominate modern forests growing on pre-Columbian mounds, anthropogenic soils and geoglyphs abandoned more than 400 years ago (Erickson and Balée, 2006;Quintero-Vallejo et al, 2015;Watling et al, 2017b). Another possible explanation for this persistence is the continuous recruitment of useful and domesticated plants present in the forest seed bank .…”

Section: Swiddensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests

et al. 2018

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For millennia, Amazonian peoples have managed forest resources, modifying the natural environment in subtle and persistent ways. Legacies of past human occupation are striking near archaeological sites, yet we still lack a clear picture of how human management practices resulted in the domestication of Amazonian forests. The general view is that domesticated forests are recognizable by the presence of forest patches dominated by one or a few useful species favored by long-term human activities. Here, we used three complementary approaches to understand the long-term domestication of Amazonian forests. First, we compiled information from the literature about how indigenous and traditional Amazonian peoples manage forest resources to promote useful plant species that are mainly used as food resources. Then, we developed an interdisciplinary conceptual model of how interactions between these management practices across space and time may form domesticated forests. Finally, we collected field data from 30 contemporary villages located on and near archaeological sites, along four major Amazonian rivers, to compare with the management practices synthesized in our conceptual model. We identified eight distinct categories of management practices that contribute to form forest patches of useful plants: (1) removal of non-useful plants, (2) protection of useful plants, (3) attraction of non-human animal dispersers, (4) transportation of useful plants, (5) selection of phenotypes, (6) fire management, (7) planting of useful plants, and (8) soil improvement. Our conceptual model, when ethnographically projected into the past, reveals how the interaction of these multiple management practices interferes with natural ecological processes, resulting in the domestication of Amazonian forest patches dominated by useful species. Our model suggests that management practices became more frequent as human population increased during the Holocene. In the field, we found that useful perennial plants occur in multi-species patches around archaeological sites, and that the dominant species are still Levis et al. Amazonian Forest Domestication managed by local people, suggesting long-term persistence of ancient cultural practices. The management practices we identified have transformed plant species abundance and floristic composition through the creation of diverse forest patches rich in edible perennial plants that enhanced food production and food security in Amazonia.

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Section: Swiddensmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Swiddensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Swiddensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests

et al. 2018

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“…The relative resource allocation to root depth on differing soil types is largely unknown for Amazonian trees and could be an important determinant of drought resistance (Asner and Vitousek 2005). Seedling recruitment has been shown to be lower on ADE sites and was attributed to Ca toxicity and nutrient imbalances (Quintero-Vallejo et al 2015), and this could contribute to differences in species composition. Others have suggested that ADE abandonment resulted in mineralization of organic C and nutrient leaching, thus reducing overall nutrient content and humus in the soil and potentially influencing forest structure (Neves et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Amazonian populations left lasting impacts on forest structure

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Amazonia contains a vast expanse of contiguous tropical forest and is influential in global carbon and hydrological cycles. Whether ancient Amazonia was highly disturbed or modestly impacted, and how ancient disturbances have shaped current forest ecosystem processes, is still under debate. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs), which are anthropic soil types with enriched nutrient levels, are one of the primary lines of evidence for ancient human presence and landscape modifications in settings that mostly lack stone structures and which are today covered by vegetation. We assessed the potential of using moderate spatial resolution optical satellite imagery to predict ADEs across the Amazon Basin. Maximum entropy modeling was used to develop a predictive model using locations of ADEs across the basin and satellite-derived remotely sensed indices. Amazonian Dark Earth sites were predicted to be primarily along the main rivers and in eastern Amazonia. Amazonian Dark Earth sites, when compared with randomly selected forested sites located within 50 km of ADE sites, were less green canopies (lower normalized difference vegetation index) and had lower canopy water content. This difference was accentuated in two drought years, 2005 and 2010. This is contrary to our expectation that ADE sites would have nutrient-rich soils that support trees with greener canopies and forests on ADE soils being more resilient to drought. Biomass and tree height were lower on ADE sites in comparison with randomly selected adjacent sites. Our results suggested that ADE-related ancient human impact on the forest is measurable across the entirety of the 6 million km 2 of Amazon Basin using remotely sensed data.

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“…In parts of the Amazon basin, pre-Columbian soil amendments (terra preta do indio) are decisive for soil nutrient availability today (Glaser & Birk 2012). It is conceivable that effects related to ancient logging and soil nutrient amendments may still influence floristic composition and species responses, not only at the local scale as shown by Quintero-Vallejo et al (2015) but also at a regional scale. Future studies on the physiological mechanisms underlying inter-or infra-specific trade-offs along edaphic gradients should attempt to encompass terra preta as an important confounding factor, but also clarify the anthropogenic influence on present-day palm distributions in Amazonia.…”

Section: H Y P E R D O M I N a N T C A N O P Y P A L M Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling responses of western Amazonian palms to soil nutrients

et al. 2017

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Summary Understanding the responses of individual plant species along different edaphic gradients is a key question in ecology, with implications to community assembly, functioning of forest ecosystems, niche theory and conservation planning. In tropical rain forests, responses to soil nutrients have been described only for a handful of species. Even abundant and conspicuous components of the forest, such as the palms (Arecaceae), remain largely unknown in this respect. We inventoried all palm species and analysed soil chemistry in 96 sites across western Amazonia to (i) assess the relative importance of some micronutrients vs. macronutrients as drivers of patterns in palm species composition, (ii) model the response shapes of 61 palm taxa and of canopy vs. understorey palms along gradients of selected soil nutrients, (iii) determine if the response shapes of conspecific palm varieties differ in relation to the most important observed soil nutrient and (iv) assess if the rank order of the most abundant canopy species changes along edaphic gradients. Patterns in palm species composition were best explained by Mehlich‐III extractable exchangeable bases (Ca, K, Mg) and phosphorus (P), with the different palm species clearly separating along the soil cation concentration gradient. All 61 palm taxa exhibited statistical responses along soil nutrient gradients. Response shapes in relation to exchangeable bases varied among bimodal skewed (51% of species), unimodal skewed (47%) and monotonic (2%). There were no significant differences between canopy vs. understorey species in their mean response shapes to the exchangeable bases, but canopy species had significantly higher mean optimum value for soil P and greater mean niche width along the Ca, K, Mg, P and boron (B) gradients. Varieties of the same species of Bactris, Desmoncus and Geonoma generally had different response shapes and different optima for the exchangeable bases. Synthesis. Among the soil variables we studied, macronutrients (especially exchangeable bases and P) emerged as more important than micronutrients in predicting species abundances in palm communities of western Amazonian non‐inundated forests. Non‐Gaussian responses were predominant, conspecific palm varieties exhibited different response types, and the rank order of dominance of canopy palms varied along the gradients of exchangeable bases and P. Together, these findings advance niche theory about palms and may be used for generating better predictive models of palm species distributions and for experimental studies that search for the physiological mechanisms underlying inter‐ and infra‐specific trade‐offs along edaphic gradients.

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Amazonian Dark Earth Shapes the Understory Plant Community in a Bolivian Forest

Cited by 21 publications

References 52 publications

How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests

How People Domesticated Amazonian Forests

Ancient Amazonian populations left lasting impacts on forest structure

Modelling responses of western Amazonian palms to soil nutrients

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