Collaborative Research: Pre-Columbian Human Impacts on Amazonian ecosystems

亚马逊的森林有多自然？越来越多的人类学家和考古学家认为，在1492年欧洲人接触之前，土著人操纵了亚马逊河流域的大部分，也许是大部分。如果整个亚马逊流域都用火来清理土地用于农业，那么生态学家认为已经成熟的森林生态系统实际上可能只需要一代到几代人就可以摆脱集约化管理。 鉴于亚马逊是最大的热带雨林和无与伦比的生物多样性的家园，了解野生动物和人类在过去相互作用的程度对于有效的规划和管理至关重要。这场辩论的另一个方面是，如果亚马逊河流域的大部分地区确实是干扰的产物，那么森林必须被认为是相对年轻的，并且可能没有处于碳循环的平衡状态。为了检验广泛干扰的假设，该项目将对亚马孙土壤进行首次系统调查，以寻找木炭。亚马逊地区的火灾几乎都是人为引起的，每次燃烧都会留下灰烬和木炭，并融入土壤。将在亚马逊河流域的横断面上对300多个土坑进行取样，以确定埋藏木炭的分布和年代。之前的土壤描述也将用于确定其他科学家在哪里找到木炭，并将该项目中收集的数据与前哥伦布时期亚马逊定居点的新模型进行比较。通过这些分析，来自佛罗里达理工学院、维克森林大学、佛罗里达大学、国家历史博物馆和巴西瓜鲁柳斯大学的合作团队希望将真实的数据注入亚马逊河开发和保护的政策竞技场。

How natural are the forests of Amazonia? A growing case is being made among anthropologists and archaeologists that prior to European contact in 1492, native people manipulated much, perhaps most, of Amazonia. If fire was used across the Amazon basin to clear land for agriculture then forest ecosystems that ecologists have assumed were mature may in fact be only one to several generations removed from intensive management. Given that Amazonia is the largest rainforest and home to unparalleled biodiversity, understanding the extent to which wildlife and people have interacted in the past is vital for effective planning and management. A further aspect of this debate is that if much of Amazonia is truly the product of disturbance, the forest must be considered to be relatively young and is probably not at equilibrium with respect to carbon cycling. To test the hypothesis of widespread disturbance, this project will conduct the first systematic survey of Amazonian soils for charcoal. Fires in Amazonia are almost always human-induced, and each burn leaves ash and charcoal that become incorporated into soil. Over 300 soil pits will be sampled on transects across Amazonia, to determine the distribution and age of buried charcoal. Prior soil descriptions also will be used to determine where other scientists have located charcoal and compare data gathered in this project with a new model for pre-Columbian settlement of Amazonia. Through these analyses, the collaborating team from Florida Tech, Wake Forest, University of Florida, The National History Museum, and Guarulhos University, Brazil, will hope to inject real data into the policy arena of Amazonian development and conservation.