Doctoral Dissertation Research in Geography and Regional Science

人类的活动受到了很大的关注， 热带地区在过去的半个世纪。 热带干旱 森林占据了地球上 就像热带雨林一样， 森林，它们的面积急剧减少。 移位 种植业，主要的自给农业活动， 热带森林在热带干旱地区的研究较少 比在热带雨林中更大。 这 博士论文项目将调查转移 种植系统，因为它在不同的环境中运作， 在墨西哥的格雷罗的热带干燥森林中。 将特别注意栽培的多样性，休耕， 环境影响和可持续性 生产战略。 实地研究将包括 观察种植活动和生物物理条件 和过程。 定量评估 近几十年来的种植系统也将提供一个 检验有关形式、时间和位置的假设的基础 种植业的转变。 该项目将产生有价值的信息， 受气候变化影响的热带干旱森林生态系统 农业实践。 这些信息将有助于 基本理解了 环境、文化和经济条件。 项目 将提供与解决一些主要问题有关的信息， 发展中国家面临的与农业有关的问题 国家 这也将为一个 有前途的年轻学者继续独立发展 研究技能。

Much attention has been given to human activities in tropical regions during the past half century. Tropical dry forests occupy a roughly equivalent proportion of the earth's surface as do tropical rain forests, and like the tropical rain forests, they are decreasing dramatically in area. Shifting cultivation, the principal subsistence agricultural activity in tropical forests, has been less well studied in tropical dry forests than it has been in the tropical rain forests. This doctoral dissertation project will investigate the shifting cultivation system as it operates in diverse environmental settings within the tropical dry forests of Guerrero, Mexico. Specific attention will be given to cultigen diversity, fallow characteristics, environmental impacts, and the sustainability of the production strategies. Field research will include observation of cultivation activities and biophysical conditions and processes. Quantitative assessment of changes in the cultivation system in recent decades also will be used provide a basis for testing hypotheses about the form, timing, and location of shifting cultivation. This project will generate valuable information about tropical dry forest ecosystems that have been affected by the practice of agriculture. The information will contribute to fundamental understanding of the relationships between environmental, cultural, and economic conditions. The project will provide information relevant to addressing some of the major problems associated with agriculture encountered by developing countries. It also will provide an excellent opportunity for a promising young scholar to continue to develop independent research skills.