Doctoral Dissertation Research: Changes in tropical forest farming under conditions of rapid socio-ecological restructuring

热带雨林正在转变为许多不同类型的农业生产系统。随着这些森林的变化，人们从中获得的生计也在变化。该项目探讨了在各种环境压力下，是什么因素推动了雨林种植，通过一种被称为农林业的农业实践。该项目训练一名研究生掌握严格的科学技术，混合方法的环境人类学。这项研究将有助于对农林业在农村人民生计和维护热带森林方面的作用进行越来越多的科学探索。项目的研究结果将通过详细分析世界上一个具有公认的环境、文化和政治重要性的地区的农业和生态过程，潜在地帮助环境和土地使用决策者，斯坦福大学博士生大卫吉尔伯特将在威廉达勒姆博士的指导下，研究林农如何克服对他们的林地的竞争压力，创造有人居住的农用林。该项目使用环境人类学方法，以更好地了解这类作业林，以及对农业商品作物生产的社会和环境可持续性的影响。作为全球重要的农业商品市场和数百万林农的所在地，苏门答腊是研究农林复合经营的理想地区。研究集中在苏门答腊Bukit Barisan山脉的两个森林农民定居点。这两个定居点都种植农林业，提供一系列有价值的商品。初步数据分析表明，农林复合生态系统使林农能够灵活地融入全球农业商品市场。为了更好地描述这种农林适应和做法，吉尔伯特先生将使用参与者观察，深入访谈和农业生态调查。通过建立土地利用地理信息系统数据库来描述生态变化。这项研究将有助于了解农村人民对政治和经济影响的反应方式，以及这些反应可能推动生态变化的方式。

Tropical rainforests are being transformed into many different kinds of agricultural production systems. As these forests are transformed so too are the livelihoods people obtain from them. This project explores what factors drive the rainforest cultivation through an agricultural practice known as agroforestry in light of various environmental pressures. This project trains a graduate student in rigorous techniques of scientific, mixed-methods environmental anthropology. This research will contribute to the growing scientific exploration of the role of agroforestry in the livelihood of rural people and maintenance of tropical forests. Project findings will potentially aid environmental and land use policy makers through detailed analysis of agricultural and ecological processes in a region of the world that is of recognized environmental, cultural and political significance.Stanford University doctoral candidate, David Gilbert, advised by Dr. William Durham, will examine how forest farmers have countered competing pressures on their forestlands to create inhabited agroforests. This project uses environmental anthropology methods to better understand this type of working forest, with implications for the social and environmental sustainability of agricultural commodity crop production more generally. As site of globally important agricultural commodity markets and millions of forest farmers Sumatra is an ideal region for the study of agroforestry. Research is focused in two forest farmer settlements in Sumatra's Bukit Barisan mountain range. Both settlements cultivate agroforests that provide a range of valuable commodities. Preliminary data analysis shows that the social ecology of agroforests allows forest farmers flexible integration into global agricultural commodities markets. To better characterize this agroforestry adaptation and practice, Mr. Gilbert will use participant observation, in-depth interviews and an agroecological survey. Ecological changes will be described by constructing a Geographic Informations Systems database of land use. This research will contribute to understanding of the ways rural people respond to political and economic influences, and the ways these responses may drive ecological change.