How pristine are tropical forests? An ecological perspective on the pre-Columbian human footprint in Amazonia and implications for contemporary conservation
How pristine are tropical forests? An ecological perspective on the pre-Columbian human footprint in Amazonia and implications for contemporary conservation
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DOI：
10.1016/j.biocon.2011.10.013
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发表时间：
2012-07-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Peres, Carlos A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barlow, Jos;Gardner, Toby A.;Peres, Carlos A.
考古学家、古生态学家和人类学家认为，生态学家需要更多地考虑人类在形成当前热带森林结构和组成方面的史前影响。我们在亚马逊流域的背景下考察了这些论点，并评估了以下方面的程度：(i)“原始森林”和“文化公园”的概念是相互排斥的；（ii）一些植物的聚集分布必然表明了丰富的种植；（iii）哥伦布发现新大陆前的人类干扰增加了森林生物多样性；（iv）哥伦布发现新大陆前的土著实践始终是可持续的；前哥伦比亚人的生态影响与现代生物多样性保护有关。总体而言，我们拒绝接受考古证据“原始神话已被彻底揭穿”的观点，并提出历史上的人类对环境的影响是沿梯度发生的，对亚马逊黑暗地球（ADE）的定居点和斑块的影响很大，对农业地块周围的森林偶尔进行富集种植的影响较小。在亚马孙河流域的广大地区，可能一直远离永久定居点和可通航的河流，其影响力非常低（就狩猎压力和其他类型的资源开采而言）。我们建议对前哥伦布发现的空间分布给予更多的关注，并敦促在将案例研究外推到整个盆地之前保持谨慎。最重要的是，我们认为关于前哥伦布时期人类的“自然性”和环境影响的争论与现在和未来的生物多样性保护关系有限，而且可能会削弱亚马逊河流域和其他热带森林地区今天面临的主要挑战。(C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
Archeologists, paleoecologists and anthropologists argue that ecologists need to give greater consideration to the pre-historical influence of humans in shaping the current structure and composition of tropical forests. We examine these arguments within the context of Amazonia, and assess the extent to which (i) the concepts of "pristine forests" and "cultural parklands" are mutually exclusive, (ii) the aggregated distribution of some plants necessarily indicates enrichment planting, (iii) pre-Columbian human disturbance has increased forest biodiversity, (iv) pre-Columbian indigenous practices were always sustainable, and (v) if indeed, the ecological impacts of pre-Columbian peoples are relevant for modern biodiversity conservation. Overall, we reject the notion that "the pristine myth has been thoroughly debunked" by archeological evidence, and suggest that the environmental impacts of historical peoples occurred along gradients, with high-impacts in settlements and patches of Amazonian Dark Earth (ADE), lesser impacts where occasional enrichment planting took place in forests surrounding agricultural plots, and a very low influence (in terms of light hunting pressure and other types of resource extraction) across vast areas of Amazonia that may always have been far from permanent settlements and navigable rivers. We suggest that the spatial distribution of pre-Columbian finds is given more attention, and urge caution before case studies are extrapolated to the entire Basin. Above all, we feel that debates over "naturalness" and environmental impacts of pre-Columbian humans are of limited relevance to present and future biodiversity conservation, and can detract from the major challenges facing Amazonia and other tropical forest regions today. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.