Abstract:Resumen En este artículo se presenta una descripción de las formas de manejo agrícola entre los Pumé desde una perspectiva etnoecológica. Los Pumé son un pueblo indígena que habita en la ecorregión de los Llanos (Venezuela). Aunque han sido identificados por algunos etnógrafos como un grupo de cazadores-recolectores, desde hace tiempo se ha señalado que poseen economías mixtas. Basados o no en las descripciones etnográficas, los agentes del Estado también han hecho representaciones de los Pumé como un grupo qu… Show more
“…It is interesting to note that the stages conceived by the Piaroa largely coincide with the external classifications that have been made on their system (see Table 1) (Freire, 2002;Ruíz, 2005;Bonilla-Bedoya et al, 2012;Ricardo et al, 2016). In other Venezuelan indigenous peoples we find classifications similar to the phases mentioned for the Piaroa (see for example Saturno and Zent, 2016).…”
Section: An Alternative Grounded In Local Knowledge and Experiencesupporting
confidence: 78%
“…The site where a conuco is grown is carefully chosen. When choosing a site, fine interpretation of signs and codes of nature are used (i.e., biosemiotic elements), mainly related to soil characteristics, topography, and flora (Villarreal et al, 2003;Bonilla-Bedoya et al, 2012;Saturno and Zent, 2016). In addition, once the site for the conuco has been chosen, there is a meticulous selection of the micro-planting sites for the different species, according to multidimensional agronomic clues, such as soil texture, natural drainage direction, brightness/shading (Ruíz, 2005).…”
Section: An Alternative Grounded In Local Knowledge and Experiencementioning
confidence: 99%
“…Another key element, crucial to understand the conuco in its proper complexity, is that it is a system composed of phases within a continuum (Freire, 2002;Villarreal et al, 2003;Ruíz, 2005;Saturno and Zent, 2016). In the conuco, a specific management is carried out in each phase, which involves different and very specialized ecological knowledge.…”
Section: An Alternative Grounded In Local Knowledge and Experiencementioning
The multiple ecological crisis that we are facing forces us to ponder the transition toward sustainable agricultural systems. Two key uncertainties need to be unveiled in addressing this problem; first, we need to identify the general features of alternative models that make them sustainable, and second, we need to explore how to build them from the (flawed) existing systems. In this work we explore these two questions using an ethnoecological and theoretical approach. In the exploration of alternative models, we evaluate an ancestral farming system, the conuco, characterized by, (i) the use of the ecological succession to constantly renew its properties, (ii) the increase of its biodiversity over time (in the horizontal and vertical components), and (iii) the self-regulation of the associated populations. Next, we characterize the topology of ecological networks of agroecosystems along the transition from a monoculture to a conuco-like agroecological system. We use topologies obtained from field information of conventional and agroecological systems as starting and arrival points. To model the dynamics of the systems and numerically simulate the transitions, we use a model based on Generalized Lotka-Volterra equations, where all types of population interactions are represented, with outcomes based on a density-dependent conditionality. The results highlight the relevance of increasing the connectance and diminishing the degree centrality of the conventional systems networks to promote their sustainability. Finally, we propose that the transitions between the monoculture and the agroecological systems could be figuratively interpreted as a cusp catastrophe, where the two systems are understood as alternative stable states and the path from one to the other cannot be reverted by just reversing the values of the control parameter. That is, once a system is in either of these states there is a tendency to stay and a resistance to move away from it. This implies that in the process of transition from a monoculture to a multi-diverse system, it is prudent not to despair if there are no immediate improvements in the performance of the system because once a certain point is reached, the system may experience an abrupt improvement.
“…It is interesting to note that the stages conceived by the Piaroa largely coincide with the external classifications that have been made on their system (see Table 1) (Freire, 2002;Ruíz, 2005;Bonilla-Bedoya et al, 2012;Ricardo et al, 2016). In other Venezuelan indigenous peoples we find classifications similar to the phases mentioned for the Piaroa (see for example Saturno and Zent, 2016).…”
Section: An Alternative Grounded In Local Knowledge and Experiencesupporting
confidence: 78%
“…The site where a conuco is grown is carefully chosen. When choosing a site, fine interpretation of signs and codes of nature are used (i.e., biosemiotic elements), mainly related to soil characteristics, topography, and flora (Villarreal et al, 2003;Bonilla-Bedoya et al, 2012;Saturno and Zent, 2016). In addition, once the site for the conuco has been chosen, there is a meticulous selection of the micro-planting sites for the different species, according to multidimensional agronomic clues, such as soil texture, natural drainage direction, brightness/shading (Ruíz, 2005).…”
Section: An Alternative Grounded In Local Knowledge and Experiencementioning
confidence: 99%
“…Another key element, crucial to understand the conuco in its proper complexity, is that it is a system composed of phases within a continuum (Freire, 2002;Villarreal et al, 2003;Ruíz, 2005;Saturno and Zent, 2016). In the conuco, a specific management is carried out in each phase, which involves different and very specialized ecological knowledge.…”
Section: An Alternative Grounded In Local Knowledge and Experiencementioning
The multiple ecological crisis that we are facing forces us to ponder the transition toward sustainable agricultural systems. Two key uncertainties need to be unveiled in addressing this problem; first, we need to identify the general features of alternative models that make them sustainable, and second, we need to explore how to build them from the (flawed) existing systems. In this work we explore these two questions using an ethnoecological and theoretical approach. In the exploration of alternative models, we evaluate an ancestral farming system, the conuco, characterized by, (i) the use of the ecological succession to constantly renew its properties, (ii) the increase of its biodiversity over time (in the horizontal and vertical components), and (iii) the self-regulation of the associated populations. Next, we characterize the topology of ecological networks of agroecosystems along the transition from a monoculture to a conuco-like agroecological system. We use topologies obtained from field information of conventional and agroecological systems as starting and arrival points. To model the dynamics of the systems and numerically simulate the transitions, we use a model based on Generalized Lotka-Volterra equations, where all types of population interactions are represented, with outcomes based on a density-dependent conditionality. The results highlight the relevance of increasing the connectance and diminishing the degree centrality of the conventional systems networks to promote their sustainability. Finally, we propose that the transitions between the monoculture and the agroecological systems could be figuratively interpreted as a cusp catastrophe, where the two systems are understood as alternative stable states and the path from one to the other cannot be reverted by just reversing the values of the control parameter. That is, once a system is in either of these states there is a tendency to stay and a resistance to move away from it. This implies that in the process of transition from a monoculture to a multi-diverse system, it is prudent not to despair if there are no immediate improvements in the performance of the system because once a certain point is reached, the system may experience an abrupt improvement.
The traditional management applied by the Native Community of Chambira (NCCh) is based on agroforestry plots with diverse species and areas with rotation of legumes, cassava and maize. The objective was to evaluate behaviour of the physicochemical indicators of soil quality with traditional crop management in the NCCh. A completely randomised design was applied, where the treatments were traditional mixed fruit management (MF), crop rotation (CR) and native forest (NF) as reference. Physical indicators of the surface layer did not show differences, the apparent density (AD) and the resistance to penetrability (RP) increased with depth; chemical indicators differed in the MF and CR had higher results compared to NF. The AD and RP had a significant negative correlation with soil organic carbon (SOC) and positive correlation between SOC, P, Ca, Mg, K available and cation exchange capacity. The MF and CR managements developed in the NCCh are techniques with great potential for soil conservation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.