Transformation of traditional shifting cultivation into permanent cropping systems: a case study in Sarayaku, Ecuador

Schritt, Hannes; Beusch, Christine; Guayasamín, Pedro Ríos; Kaupenjohann, Martin

doi:10.5751/es-11252-250110

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In Ecuador, some Indigenous groups continue to maintain the traditional practice of slash-and-burn and cultural burning as tools for the establishment of new cultivation areas. This is corroborated by some studies that have demonstrated the use of these ancestral practices in the ecosystems of the Amazon basin of northeastern Ecuador (Messina and Cochrane 2007 ; Schritt et al 2020 ). In addition, a particularly important ecosystem that is burned in Ecuador is the paramo.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Likewise, the Pemon of Venezuela use fire to reduce fuel load, limiting the generation of large fires and also to prepare the soil for crops (shifting agriculture) (Rodríguez 2007 ). This is corroborated by studies that have shown that this method, known as traditional burning in Ecuadorian forests, generates ecosystem benefits among cultivated areas (Messina and Cochrane 2007 ; Schritt et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Indigenous use of fire in the paramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador: a case study using remote sensing methods and ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa Saraguro people

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The Indigenous Kichwa Saraguro people of southern Ecuador have long relied on traditional burning to manage their environment. However, their traditional use of fire in one of the most important ecosystems in southern Ecuador, the herbaceous paramo, is not well known. This lack of knowledge does not allow for the improvement of local regulations related to integrated fire management, which is a shortcoming compared to other regulations applied in South America. In this context, and to understand the impacts of the Indigenous use of fire, a climatic analysis of the area was carried out, generating a historical climograph (period: years 1981–2021) and four annual climographs that were contrasted with a remote sensing study of fire severity over 4 years (years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021). In addition, traditional fire use was determined through the application of semi-structured interview questionnaires applied to 61 women and 89 men, whose data were analyzed with the level of information fidelity (LIF), informant consensus factor (ICF), and principal component analysis (PCA). Therefore, in this study, we argue that it is important to incorporate the concepts of (i) wildfire severity and (ii) cultural burning in wildfire policies and regulations in southern Ecuador. Results The results indicate that low-severity fires occur within the Saraguro territory and that fire use knowledge is transmitted to new generations incorporating both how and where to perform traditional burning. They also know when to burn using the burning calendar that is generally applied during the climatic phenomenon known as “Veranillo del Niño” (VdN). Conclusions These results can help decision-makers design policies, regulations, and proposals for the correct use of fire as a tool for the management of ecosystems in southern Ecuador affected by wildfires. In addition, the results can be used to improve the National Strategy for Integrated Fire Management 2021–2025 promoted by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Indigenous use of fire in the paramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador: a case study using remote sensing methods and ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa Saraguro people

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since yam production is still below its potential [ 26 ] due to edaphic constraints [ 2 ], it is imperative to find a more sustainable approach to eliminating these constraints. In a case study on the transformation of traditional shifting cultivation into sedentary systems in Ecuador, Schritt et al [ 27 ] assessed household nutrient input and output and concluded that ecological sanitation and the application of ADEs principle could create sedentary farming systems. Arroyo-Kalin [ 28 ] states that the formation of ADEs represents a positive feedback loop between sedentariness and soil fertility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Terra Preta Model soil for sustainable sedentary yam production in West Africa

Neina

Agyarko-Mintah

2023

Heliyon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In a study about terra preta practice in a tropical rain forest, Schritt et al (2020) outlined the potential of biochar and clay addition to soils and composts to close nutrient cycles. All these meliorations of soil properties may have contributed to the increase of yield and the improvement of yield quality after clay addition that was reported in several studies (e.g., Al-Omran et al 2005;Hall et al 2010;Mi et al 2020;Reuter 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amending a tropical Arenosol: increasing shares of biochar and clay improve the nutrient sorption capacity

Beusch

Melzer

Cierjacks

et al. 2022

Biochar

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tropical Arenosols may be challenging for agricultural use, particularly in semi-arid regions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the addition of increasing shares of biochar and clay on the nutrient sorption capacity of a tropical Arenosol. In batch equilibrium experiments, the sorption of ammonium-N ($$\hbox {NH}_{4}^{+}{\text{-N}}$$ NH 4 + -N ), nitrate-N ($$\text {NO}_{3}^{-}{\text{-N}}$$ NO 3 - -N ), potassium ($$\text {K}^{+}$$ K + ), and phosphate-P ($$\text {PO}_{4}^{3-}{\text{-P}}$$ PO 4 3 - -P ) was quantified for mixtures of an Arenosol with increasing shares of biochar and clay (1%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, 100%) and the unmixed Arenosol, biochar, and clay. The mid-temperature biochar was produced from Prosopis juliflora feedstock; the clayey material was taken from the sedimentary parent material of a temporarily dry lake. Only the Arenosol–biochar mixture with 10% biochar addition and the biochar increased the $$\text {NH}_{4}^{+}{\text{-N}}$$ NH 4 + -N maximum sorption capacity ($$q_{max}$$ q max ) of the Arenosol, by 34% and 130%, respectively. The $$q_{max}$$ q max of $$\text {PO}_{4}^{3-}{\text{-P}}$$ PO 4 3 - -P slightly increased with ascending biochar shares (1–10%) by 14%, 30%, 26%, and 42%, whereas the undiluted biochar released $$\text {PO}_{4}^{3-}{\text{-P}}$$ PO 4 3 - -P . Biochar addition slightly reduced $$\text {NO}_{3}^{-}{\text{-N}}$$ NO 3 - -N release from the Arenosol but strongly induced $$\text {K}^{+}$$ K + release. On the other hand, clay addition of 10% and clay itself augmented $$q_{max}$$ q max of $$\text {NH}_{4}^{+}{\text{-N}}$$ NH 4 + -N by 30% and 162%; ascending clay rates (1–100%) increased $$q_{max}$$ q max for $$\text {PO}_{4}^{3-}{\text{-P}}$$ PO 4 3 - -P by 78%, 130%, 180%, 268%, and 712%. Clay rates above 5% improved $$\text {K}^{+}$$ K + sorption; however, no $$q_{max}$$ q max values could be derived. Sorption of $$\text {NO}_{3}^{-}{\text{-N}}$$ NO 3 - -N remained unaffected by clay amendment. Overall, clay addition proved to enhance the nutrient sorption capacity of the Arenosol more effectively than biochar; nonetheless, both materials may be promising amendments to meliorate sandy soils for agricultural use in the semi-arid tropics.

show abstract

Transformation of traditional shifting cultivation into permanent cropping systems: a case study in Sarayaku, Ecuador

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

Indigenous use of fire in the paramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador: a case study using remote sensing methods and ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa Saraguro people

Indigenous use of fire in the paramo ecosystem of southern Ecuador: a case study using remote sensing methods and ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa Saraguro people

The Terra Preta Model soil for sustainable sedentary yam production in West Africa

Amending a tropical Arenosol: increasing shares of biochar and clay improve the nutrient sorption capacity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About