Dataset Information

The legacy of 4,500?years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

ABSTRACT: The legacy of pre-Columbian land use in the Amazonian rainforest is one of the most controversial topics in the social1-10?and natural sciences11,12.?Until now, the debate has been limited to discipline-specific studies, based purely on archaeological data8, modern vegetation13, modern ethnographic data3 or a limited integration of archaeological and palaeoecological data12.?The lack of?integrated?studies to connect past land use with modern vegetation has left questions about the legacy of pre-Columbian land use?on the modern vegetation composition in the Amazon, unanswered11. Here, we show that persistent anthropogenic landscapes for the past 4,500?years have had an enduring legacy on the hyperdominance of edible plants in modern forests in the eastern Amazon. We found an abrupt enrichment of edible plant species in fossil lake and terrestrial records associated with pre-Columbian occupation. Our results demonstrate that, through closed-canopy forest enrichment, limited clearing for crop cultivation and low-severity fire management, long-term food security was attained despite climate and social changes. Our results suggest that, in the eastern Amazon, the subsistence basis for the development of complex societies began ~4,500?years ago with the adoption of polyculture agroforestry, combining the cultivation of multiple annual crops with the progressive enrichment of edible forest species and the exploitation of aquatic resources. This subsistence strategy intensified with the later development of Amazonian dark earths, enabling the expansion of maize cultivation to the Belterra Plateau, providing a food production system that sustained growing human populations in the eastern Amazon. Furthermore, these millennial-scale polyculture agroforestry systems have an enduring legacy on the hyperdominance of edible plants in modern forests in the eastern Amazon. Together, our data provide a long-term example of past anthropogenic land use that can inform management and conservation efforts in modern Amazonian ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Maezumi SY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6119467 | biostudies-other | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

Maezumi S Yoshi SY Alves Daiana D Robinson Mark M de Souza Jonas Gregorio JG Levis Carolina C Barnett Robert L RL Almeida de Oliveira Edemar E Urrego Dunia D Schaan Denise D Iriarte José J

Nature plants 20180723 8

The legacy of pre-Columbian land use in the Amazonian rainforest is one of the most controversial topics in the social1-10 and natural sciences11,12. Until now, the debate has been limited to discipline-specific studies, based purely on archaeological data8, modern vegetation13, modern ethnographic data3 or a limited integration of archaeological and palaeoecological data12. The lack of integrated studies to connect past land use ...[more]

PMID: 30038410

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Project description:Conservation biologists have increasingly used translocations to mitigate population declines and restore locally extirpated populations. Genetic data can guide the selection of source populations for translocations and help evaluate restoration success. Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are a managed big game species that suffered widespread population extirpations across western North America throughout the early 1900s. Subsequent translocation programs have successfully re-established many formally extirpated bighorn herds, but most of these programs pre-date genetically informed management practices. The state of Nevada presents a particularly well-documented case of decline followed by restoration of extirpated herds. Desert bighorn sheep (O. c. nelsoni) populations declined to less than 3,000 individuals restricted to remnant herds in the Mojave Desert and a few locations in the Great Basin Desert. Beginning in 1968, the Nevada Department of Wildlife translocated ~2,000 individuals from remnant populations to restore previously extirpated areas, possibly establishing herds with mixed ancestries. Here, we examined genetic diversity and structure among remnant herds and the genetic consequences of translocation from these herds using a genotyping-by-sequencing approach to genotype 17,095 loci in 303 desert bighorn sheep. We found a signal of population genetic structure among remnant Mojave Desert populations, even across geographically proximate mountain ranges. Further, we found evidence of a genetically distinct, potential relict herd from a previously hypothesized Great Basin lineage of desert bighorn sheep. The genetic structure of source herds was clearly reflected in translocated populations. In most cases, herds retained genetic evidence of multiple translocation events and subsequent admixture when founded from multiple remnant source herds. Our results add to a growing literature on how population genomic data can be used to guide and monitor restoration programs.

Dataset Information

The legacy of 4,500?years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

Publications

The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.

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