Weedy fields and forests: interactions between land use and the composition of plant communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Fujisaka, Sam; Escobar, Germán; Veneklaas, Erik J.

doi:10.1016/s0167-8809(99)00122-x

Cited by 43 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This finding is consistent with other studies that have reported an increase in the density of herbs and arable weeds with shorter fallow periods (Illsley Granich 1984, Saxena and Ramakrishnan 1984, Staver 1991, de Rouw 1995, Fujisaka et al 2000. This occurs because the young fallows that are felled in short fallow cycles have high loads of these species in the seed bank (Young et al 1987, Staver 1991, Rico-Gray and Garcia-Franco 1992, Quintana-Ascencio et al 1996.…”

Section: Forage: Dynamics Of Resources In the Spontaneous Weed Vegetasupporting

confidence: 91%

“…see Pulido and Caballero 2006). Second, plant diversity, density, and composition in shifting cultivation fields and secondary forests have been reported to differ between short and long fallow management (Illsley Granich 1984, Saxena and Ramakrishnan 1984, Staver 1991, de Rouw 1995, Fujisaka et al 2000, and with repeated cycles of shifting cultivation (Lawrence 2004, Lawrence et al 2005. Therefore, such ecological changes could affect the availability and distribution of noncrop plant resources and the rural livelihoods that depend on them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shorter Fallow Cycles Affect the Availability of Noncrop Plant Resources in a Shifting Cultivation System

Dalle¹,

Blois²

2006

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Shifting cultivation systems, one of the most widely distributed forms of agriculture in the tropics, provide not only crops of cultural significance, but also medicinal, edible, ritual, fuel, and forage resources, which contribute to the livelihoods, health, and cultural identity of local people. In many regions across the globe, shifting cultivation systems are undergoing important changes, one of the most pervasive being a shortening of the fallow cycle. Although there has been much attention drawn to declines in crop yields in conjunction with reductions in fallow times, little if any research has focused on the dynamics of noncrop plant resources. In this paper, we use a data set of 26 fields of the same age, i.e., ~1.5 yr, but differing in the length and frequency of past fallow cycles, to examine the impact of shorter fallow periods on the availability of noncrop plant resources. The resources examined are collected in shifting cultivation fields by the Yucatec Maya in Quintana Roo, Mexico. These included firewood, which is cut from remnant trees and stumps spared at the time of felling, and 17 forage species that form part of the weed vegetation. Firewood showed an overall decrease in basal area with shorter fallow cycles, which was mostly related to the smaller diameter of the spared stumps and trees in short-fallow milpas. In contrast, forage species showed a mixed response. Species increasing in abundance in short-fallow milpas tended to be short-lived herbs and shrubs often with weedy habits, whereas those declining in abundance were predominantly pioneer trees and animal-dispersed species. Coppicing tree species showed a neutral response to fallow intensity. Within the cultural and ecological context of our study area, we expect that declines in firewood availability will be most significant for livelihoods because of the high reliance on firewood for local fuel needs and the fact that the main alternative source of firewood, forest patches, has also declined in shortfallow areas. Declines in some forage species can likely be compensated for by the use of other species or by adaptive responses such as managing declining species in home gardens. However, the loss of pioneer tree species in short-fallow milpas suggests that the regenerative capacity of the fallows may be reduced with implications for maintaining effective fallow cycles in this shifting cultivation system. Our findings indicate that the dynamics of noncrop plant resources and their implications for local livelihoods require further consideration in the debate over improving the productivity of shifting cultivation systems.

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Section: Forage: Dynamics Of Resources In the Spontaneous Weed Vegetasupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shorter Fallow Cycles Affect the Availability of Noncrop Plant Resources in a Shifting Cultivation System

Dalle¹,

Blois²

2006

E&S

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“…However, during the last decade, the region experienced an increase in palm oil and cacao plantations (Salisbury and Fagan, 2013). The mean annual rainfall in Ucayali ranges from 1,800 to 3,000 mm (Fujisaka et al, 2000), whereas the mean annual temperature is 25.7 • C with 80% of relative humidity (Lojka et al, 2008).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Management and Motivations to Manage “Wild” Food Plants. A Case Study in a Mestizo Village in the Amazon Deforestation Frontier

Cruz-García

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Human management of anthropogenic environments and species is tightly linked to the ecology and evolution of plants gathered by humans. This is certainly the case for wild food plants, which exist on a continuum of human management. Given alarming deforestation rates, wild food plant gathering is increasingly occurring in anthropogenic ecosystems, where farmers actively manage these species in order to ensure their availability and access. This study was conducted in a mestizo village in the Peruvian Amazon deforestation frontier, with the objective of documenting the management practices, including the human-induced movement of wild food plant species across the forest-agriculture landscape, and the motivations that farmers have to manage them using a qualitative ethnobotanical approach. The results of focus group discussions showed that 67% of the 30 "wild" food plant species reported for the village were managed, and almost all plants that were managed have been transplanted. The strongest flow of transplanted material was from forest to agricultural field (11 species), followed by market to field (five species), and field to home garden (four species). Farmers argued that the main reason for transplanting "wild" food plants was to have them closer to home, because they perceived that the abundance of 77% of these species decreased in the last years. Conversely, the most important reason for not transplanting a "wild" plant was the long time it takes to grow, stated for 67% of the species that have not been transplanted. Remarkably, more than half (57%) of the "wild" food plant species, including 76% of the species that are managed, have been classified as weeds by scientific literature. Finally, the "wild" food plant species were classified in six mutually exclusive groups according to management form and perceived abundance. The study concluded that "wild" food plant management, including management of species classified as weeds by scientific literature, is a crucial adaptation strategy of farmers aimed at ensuring their food security in scenarios of increasing deforestation. Finally, the article reflects on the major implications of human management on the ecology and evolution of food plant species.

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“…Our study sites were located at Campo Verde in Pucallpa, along the eastern tributaries of the Ucayali River, including the Aguaytia River. Deforestation in this region stands at 30,787 ha annually, and is the most intensive in Federico Basadre, Nueva Requena (along the Aguayia River), Tournavista (along the Pachitea River), and in areas near the Neshuya River (Fujisaka et al, 2000). The land was formed from residual material and old alluvial deposits during the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary succession of mixed plantations established to rehabilitate abandoned pasture in the Peruvian Amazon

Kobayashi

Soudre

Ricse

2014

Tropics

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Secondary succession or facilitation processes carried out at sites established for rehabilitating abandoned pastures and degraded forests (prurmas) are instrumental in their return to original forest status. An understanding of these secondary succession processes contributes to the rehabilitation of degraded forest ecosystems and to the livelihoods of local communities, and aids in conserving biodiversity. We studied secondary succession in mixed species plantations that were established to rehabilitate abandoned land. The initial vegetation in these abandoned pastures and croplands was grassland composed of three dominant species: Rottboellia exaltata, Imperata brasiliensis, and Brachyaria decumbens. After tree planting and weeding had been carried out, the site was first invaded by R. exaltata and Baccharis floribunda. These two species, which depend solely on sexual and not vegetative reproduction, facilitated secondary succession and elevated species diversity by enabling subsequent invasion by several species. By contrast, B. decumbens, I. brasiliensis, and Hyparrhenia rufa depend mainly on vegetative reproduction involving rhizomes and tillers, and subsequent invasion by other species was relatively less in stand types dominated by these three species. We found that further adequate rehabilitation techniques were necessary for the respective vegetation types.

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Weedy fields and forests: interactions between land use and the composition of plant communities in the Peruvian Amazon

Cited by 43 publications

References 13 publications

Shorter Fallow Cycles Affect the Availability of Noncrop Plant Resources in a Shifting Cultivation System

Shorter Fallow Cycles Affect the Availability of Noncrop Plant Resources in a Shifting Cultivation System

Management and Motivations to Manage “Wild” Food Plants. A Case Study in a Mestizo Village in the Amazon Deforestation Frontier

Secondary succession of mixed plantations established to rehabilitate abandoned pasture in the Peruvian Amazon

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