Showing papers in "Human Ecology in 2009"
TL;DR: The use of food crops such as corn grain to produce ethanol raises major nutritional and ethical concerns as discussed by the authors, and the need for grains and other basic foods is critical, as nearly 60% of the world population is currently malnourished.
Abstract: The rapidly growing world population and rising consumption of biofuels intensify demands for both food and biofuels. This exaggerates food and fuel shortages. The use of food crops such as corn grain to produce ethanol raises major nutritional and ethical concerns. Nearly 60% of humans in the world are currently malnourished, so the need for grains and other basic foods is critical. Growing crops for fuel squanders land, water and energy resources vital for the production of food for human consumption. Using corn for ethanol increases the price of US beef, chicken, pork, eggs, breads, cereals, and milk more than 10% to 30%. In addition, Jacques Diouf, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, reports that using food grains to produce biofuels is already causing food shortages for the poor of the world. Growing crops for biofuel not only ignores the need to reduce fossil energy and land use, but exacerbates the problem of malnourishment worldwide.
399 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the FAO Staff through its forestry journal Unasylva issued an "appeal...to governments, research centers, associations and private persons who are in a position to help" (FAO Staff 1957).
Abstract: More than 50 years ago the FAO Staff through its forestry journal Unasylva issued an “appeal...to governments, research centers, associations and private persons who are in a position to help”. The plea was for information that would help the world overcome “...the greatest obstacle not only to the immediate increase of agricultural production, but also to the conservation of the production potential for the future, in the form of soils and forests... [N]ot only a backward type of agricultural practice...[but] also a backward stage of culture in general” (FAO Staff 1957). That impediment was shifting cultivation, or as we prefer to call it in this special issue, swidden cultivation. For centuries, swidden cultivation has been one of the most important land use systems in the tropics, including Southeast Asia. Numerous studies, including those of Conklin (1957, 1963), showed that in many situations it is in fact a rational economic and environmental choice for farmers in the humid tropical uplands (Fox 2000; Ickowitz 2006; Mertz 2002). While FAO did not succeed in its proposed research-driven “attack” on swidden cultivation, change in areas formerly dominated by swidden cultivation is now occurring at a rapid pace and, in much of Southeast Asia (and elsewhere), the system is being replaced by or transformed into other land uses. Change from swidden cultivation to other land uses may indeed be desirable for some farmers, but in other cases such factors as prohibitive legislation, land reform, logging, large-scale land development, exclusionary conservation zoning, and resettlement are driving change towards new land use systems with consequences that are still poorly understood. Do they, in all cases, represent an improvement, or is there a continuing rationale for swidden cultivation in the twenty-first century? Hum Ecol (2009) 37:259–264 DOI 10.1007/s10745-009-9245-2
280 citations
TL;DR: This paper identified six factors that have contributed to the demise or transformation of swidden systems, and support these arguments with examples from China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Abstract: For centuries swidden was an important farming practice found across the girth of Southeast Asia. Today, however, these systems are changing and sometimes disappearing at a pace never before experienced. In order to explain the demise or transitioning of swidden we need to understand the rapid and massive changes that have and are occurring in the political and economic environment in which these farmers operate. Swidden farming has always been characterized by change, but since the onset of modern independent nation states, governments and markets in Southeast Asia have transformed the terms of swiddeners’ everyday lives to a degree that is significantly different from that ever experienced before. In this paper we identified six factors that have contributed to the demise or transformation of swidden systems, and support these arguments with examples from China (Xishuangbanna), Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These trends include classifying swiddeners as ethnic minorities within nation-states, dividing the landscape into forest and permanent agriculture, expansion of forest departments and the rise of conservation, resettlement, privatization and commoditization of land and land-based production, and expansion of market infrastructure and the promotion of industrial agriculture. In addition we note a growing trend toward a transition from rural to urban livelihoods and expanding urban-labor markets.
262 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the major interactions between the transformation of swidden farming and the pursuit of rural livelihoods in the uplands of Southeast Asia are explored, drawing on selected literature, workshop reflections, and six case studies.
Abstract: This paper explores the major interactions between the transformation of swidden farming and the pursuit of rural livelihoods in the uplands of Southeast Asia. The paper draws on selected literature, workshop reflections, and six case studies to describe the causal processes and livelihood consequences of swidden change. Household-level livelihood responses have included both the intensification and ‘dis-intensification’ of swidden land-use, the insertion of cash crops, the redeployment of household labour, and the taking on of broader (often non-rural) livelihood aspirations and strategies. At the community level there have been emerging institutional arrangements for management of land and forests, and varying degrees of participation in or resistance to government schemes and programs. Swidden change has led to the loss and also the reassertion, realignment, and redefinition of cultures and identities, with important implications for access to resources. The impacts of these changes have been varied. Cash crops have often improved livelihoods but complete specialisation for the market increases vulnerability. Thus swidden can still provide an important safety net in the face of market fluctuations. Improved access to markets and social provision of education and health care have mostly improved the welfare of previously isolated groups. However, growing differences within and between communities in the course of swidden transformations can leave some groups marginalized and worse off. These processes of differentiation can be accentuated by heavy-handed state interventions based on swidden stereotypes. Nevertheless, communities have not passively accepted these pressures and have mobilized to protect their livelihood assets and strategies. Thus swidden farmers are not resisting appropriate and supportive forms of development. They are adopting new practices and engaging with markets, but in many situations swidden is still important to their livelihood strategies, providing resilience in the face of turbulent change. Active involvement of local people is essential in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development and conservation programs in swidden lands. Positive market incentives and supportive government policies are better than standardised, top-down directives.
245 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of swidden cultivation on carbon storage and soil quality are outlined and compared to the effect of the intensified production systems that swidden systems of Southeast Asia transform into.
Abstract: The effects of swidden cultivation on carbon storage and soil quality are outlined and compared to the effects of the intensified production systems that swidden systems of Southeast Asia transform into. Time-averaged aboveground carbon stocks decline by about 90% if the long fallow periods of traditional swidden cultivation are reduced to 4 years and by about 60% if swidden cultivation is converted to oil palm plantations. Stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) in tree plantations are 0–40% lower than stocks in swidden cultivation, with the largest losses found in mechanically established oil palm plantations. Impacts of tree plantations on soil quality are to a large extent determined by management. Conversion of swiddening to continuous annual cropping systems brings about substantial losses of time-averaged aboveground carbon stocks, reductions of SOC stocks and generally leads to declining soil quality. Knowledge of carbon storage in belowground biomass of tree based systems of the tropics is sparse but failure to include this pool in carbon inventories may significantly underestimate the total biomass of the systems. Moreover, studies that consider the ecological reasons behind farmers’ land use decisions as well as spatial variability in biogeophysical and edaphological parameters are needed to evaluate the effects of the ongoing land use transitions in Southeast Asia.
196 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine actual and potential changes in the diversity of crops that characterize regional swidden systems, as well as that of the spontaneously occurring plants that appear in swidden fields and fallows.
Abstract: Swidden agriculture, once the dominant form of land use throughout the uplands and much of the lowlands of Southeast Asia, is being replaced by other land uses. While change and adaptation are inherent to swiddening, the current rapid and widespread transitions are unprecedented. In this paper we review some recent findings on changes in biodiversity, especially plant diversity at various scales, as swidden farming is replaced by other land uses. We focus particularly on two areas of Southeast Asia: northern Thailand and West Kalimantan. We examine actual and potential changes in the diversity of crops that characterize regional swidden systems, as well as that of the spontaneously occurring plants that appear in swidden fields and fallows. Severe declines in plant diversity have been observed in most areas and at most spatial scales when swidden is replaced by permanent land use systems. However, shifts away from swidden agriculture do not invariably result in drastic declines or losses of biological diversity, but may maintain or even enhance it, particularly at finer spatial scales. We suggest that further research is necessary to understand the effects of swidden transitions on biodiversity.
163 citations
TL;DR: The negative impacts associated with these systems include changes in streamflow response, increased surface erosion, a higher probability of landslides, and the declination in stream water quality as mentioned in this paper, and these impacts result because of several factors: (1) large portions of upland catchments are cultivated simultaneously; (2) accelerated hydraulic and tillage erosion occurs on plots that are cultivated repetitively with limited or no fallowing to allow recovery of key soil properties, including infiltration; (3) concentrated overland flow and erosion sources are often directly connected with the stream network; root strength is
Abstract: The hydrological and geomorphological impacts of traditional swidden cultivation in Montane Mainland Southeast Asia are virtually inconsequential, whereas the impacts associated with intensified replacement agricultural systems are often much more substantial. Negative perceptions toward swiddening in general by governments in the region beginning half a decade ago have largely been based on cases of forest conversion and land degradation associated with (a) intensified swidden systems, characterized by shortened fallow and extended cropping periods and/or (b) the widespread cultivation of opium for cash after the Second World War. Neither of these practices should be viewed as traditional, subsistence-based swiddening. Other types of intensive agriculture systems are now replacing swiddening throughout the region, including semi-permanent and permanent cash cropping, monoculture plantations, and greenhouse complexes. The negative impacts associated with these systems include changes in streamflow response, increased surface erosion, a higher probability of landslides, and the declination in stream water quality. Unlike the case for traditional swiddening, these impacts result because of several factors: (1) large portions of upland catchments are cultivated simultaneously; (2) accelerated hydraulic and tillage erosion occurs on plots that are cultivated repetitively with limited or no fallowing to allow recovery of key soil properties, including infiltration; (3) concentrated overland flow and erosion sources are often directly connected with the stream network; (4) root strength is reduced on permanently converted hillslopes; (5) surface and ground water extraction is frequently used for irrigation; and (6) and pesticides and herbicides are used. Furthermore, the commercial success of these systems relies on the existence of dense networks of roads, which are linear landscape features renowned for disrupting hydrological and geomorphological systems. A new conservation focus is needed to reduce the impacts of these intensified upland agricultural practices.
161 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the extent of swidden in Southeast Asia is assessed on the basis of regional and national sources for nine countries, and determined the pattern of changes of swiddening on a basis of 151 cases culled from 67 articles, finding that a majority of the cases document swidden being replaced by other forms of agriculture or by other livelihood systems.
Abstract: Swidden systems consisting of temporarily cultivated land and associated fallows often do not appear on land use maps or in statistical records. This is partly due to the fact that swidden is a diverse and dynamic land use system that is difficult to map and partly because of the practice of grouping land covers associated with swidden systems into land use or land cover categories that are not self-evidently linked to swiddening. Additionally, in many parts of Southeast Asia swidden systems have changed or are in the process of changing into other land use systems. This paper assesses the extent of swidden on the basis of regional and national sources for nine countries, and determines the pattern of changes of swidden on the basis of 151 cases culled from 67 articles. Findings include (1) a majority of the cases document swidden being replaced by other forms of agriculture or by other livelihood systems; (2) in cases where swiddening is still practiced, fallow lengths are usually, but not always, shorter; and (3) shortened fallow length does not necessarily indicate a trend away from swidden since it is observed that short fallow swidden is sometimes maintained along with other more intensive farming practices and not completely abandoned. The paper concludes that there is a surprising lack of conclusive data on the extent of swidden in Southeast Asia. In order to remedy this, methods are reviewed that may lead to more precise future assessments.
143 citations
TL;DR: The role of home gardening in relation to political change and economic crisis was investigated in Trinidad de Cuba using standard ethnobotanical research methods as discussed by the authors, showing that major events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic crisis as well as frequently changing Cuban policies on agriculture, food security, religious freedom and healthcare, have had an impact on household decision-making, influencing home garden composition and management.
Abstract: Cuba’s political and economic isolation in today’s globalised world demands constant adaptation by its inhabitants. The Cubans’ capacity to adapt increases their ability to cope with change and to reshape local ecological and social systems, creating a more resilient system. Worldwide, home gardens are a community’s most adaptable and accessible land resource and are an important component in reducing vulnerability and ensuring food security. The role of Cuban home gardens in relation to political change and economic crisis was investigated in Trinidad de Cuba using standard ethnobotanical research methods. Major events, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic crisis as well as frequently changing Cuban policies on agriculture, food security, religious freedom and healthcare, have had an impact on household decision-making, influencing home garden composition and management. Social networking surrounding home garden produce plays an essential part in the continuous adaptation to change, aiming to increase a diversity of resources and strategies, hence resilience.
142 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide ethnographic and historical evidence for the existence, in time and space, of a network of well-established trails connecting most Inuit settlements and significant places across the Canadian Arctic.
Abstract: This paper provides ethnographic and historical evidence for the existence, in time and space, of a network of well-established trails connecting most Inuit settlements and significant places across the Canadian Arctic. The geographic and environmental knowledge relating to trails (and place names associated with the trails) has been orally transmitted through many generations of Inuit. I use historical documents, ethnographic research, and new geographic tools such as GPS, GIS and Google Earth, to show the geographic extent of the network and its historical continuity. I particularly draw on a trip following Inuit along a traditional trail connecting the communities of Iglulik and Naujaat (Repulse Bay). Inuit have made systematic use of the Arctic environment as a whole and trails are, and have been, significant channels of communication and exchange across the Arctic. There are some types of oral history and knowledge that can be accurately transmitted through generations, and I propose that some aspects of Inuit culture are better understood in terms of moving as a way of living.
142 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed the processes, effects and facilitating elements of interaction related to social learning in the context of Swiss soil protection and the innovative "From Farmer - To Farmer" project.
Abstract: Social learning approaches have become a prominent focus in studies related to sustainable agriculture. In order to better understand the potential of social learning for more sustainable development, the present study assessed the processes, effects and facilitating elements of interaction related to social learning in the context of Swiss soil protection and the innovative ‘From Farmer - To Farmer’ project. The study reveals that social learning contributes to fundamental transformations of patterns of interactions. However, the study also demonstrates that a learning-oriented understanding of sustainable development implies including analysis of the institutional environments in which the organizations of the individual representatives of face-to-face-based social learning processes are operating. This has shown to be a decisive element when face-to-face-based learning processes of the organisations’ representatives are translated into organisational learning. Moreover, the study revealed that this was achieved not directly through formalisation of new lines of institutionalised cooperation but by establishing links in a ‘boundary space’ trying out new forms of collaboration, aiming at social learning and co-production of knowledge. It is argued that further research on social learning processes should give greater emphasis to this intermediary level of ‘boundary spaces’.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that in order to understand why some governance systems deliver while others do not, we need to assess contributions and limitations of governability, which is a measure of how governable a particular fisheries and coastal system is.
Abstract: In this article we argue that in order to understand why some governance systems deliver while others do not, we need to assess contributions and limitations of governability. Here, governability refers to a measure of how governable a particular fisheries and coastal system is. Such a system is always comprised of two parts: a system-to-be-governed and a governing system. Governability also depends on the interactions between these two systems. We provide key variables that must be assessed in order to determine governability related to these systems and their interactions. A governability assessment framework is proposed here to suggest that governance performance can only be judged from what is in the potential of the governing system, given the limitations of the governabiltiy of the system-to-be governed, the governing system itself, and their interactions. Such an assessment helps identify what exactly governing systems can and should do in order to enhance their performance.
TL;DR: This paper examines how indigenous Cree hunters in James Bay, subarctic Canada, understand and deal with ecological complexity and dynamics, and how their understanding of uncertainty and variability shape subsistence activities.
Abstract: Ecosystems are complex and difficult to predict and control. Western science-based societies have tended to simplify ecosystems to manage them. Some indigenous and other rural groups who interact closely with a given resource system seem to have developed practices that are adapted to live with complexity. This paper examines how indigenous Cree hunters in James Bay, subarctic Canada, understand and deal with ecological complexity and dynamics, and how their understanding of uncertainty and variability shape subsistence activities. The focus is the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) hunt which is adaptive to shifts and changes in local and regional conditions. Ecological understandings of Cree hunters allow them to account for and deal with a very large number of variables at multiples scales. The Cree deal with these variables qualitatively, an approach consistent with some scientific ways of dealing with complexity, such as adaptive management and fuzzy logic.
TL;DR: This article proposes an alternative approach for the description of landscape mosaics, which studied land cover mosaics at a meso-level of spatial scale and interpreted these in terms of human–environmental interactions.
Abstract: A key challenge for land change science in general and research on swidden agriculture in particular, is linking land cover information to human–environment interactions over larger spatial areas. In Lao PDR, a country facing rapid and multi-level land change processes, this hinders informed policy- and decision-making. Crucial information on land use types and people involved is still lacking. This article proposes an alternative approach for the description of landscape mosaics. Instead of analyzing local land use combinations, we studied land cover mosaics at a meso-level of spatial scale and interpreted these in terms of human–environmental interactions. These landscape mosaics were then overlaid with population census data. Results showed that swidden agricultural landscapes, involving 17% of the population, dominate 29% of the country, while permanent agricultural landscapes involve 74% of the population in 29% of the territory. Forests still form an important component of these landscape mosaics.
TL;DR: In this paper, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to investigate how home gardens are integrated into local farming practices and how these influence biodiversity, finding that home gardens harbour high levels of biodiversity, which are maintained and enriched by farmers' practices, particularly plant and seed exchange.
Abstract: Home gardens are land use units embedded in a larger land use system, in this case in Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we investigated how home gardens are integrated into local farming practices and how these influence biodiversity. Our findings suggest that home gardens harbour high levels of biodiversity, which are maintained and enriched by farmers’ practices, particularly plant and seed exchange. Plant diversity is higher in younger home gardens and in home gardens where owners actively exchange plant material with other people. Through plant exchange, seed storage, and the dispersion of seeds and plants in different land uses, farmers encourage plant diversity and consequently increase the resilience of their farming system in changing climatic, demographic and economic conditions. Both men and women participate in the establishment, care and management of home gardens, but they are responsible for different plants and home garden functions. For economic reasons, the inhabitants of Candelaria Loxicha are increasingly engaging in international migration. Migrants, upon their return bring new ideas and plants that might transform the rural landscape.
TL;DR: The data show an accelerated nutrition transition, with significant weight and BMI increases for males and females between 1962 and 2006, and it is argued that parallels between Xavante health perspectives and epidemiological interpretations demonstrate the potential for proactive interchange between native and scientific health discourses.
Abstract: High prevalence rates of overweight and obesity are increasingly common among indigenous Amazonian societies experiencing greater involvement in market economies. An important factor in such nutritional transition is internal socioeconomic differentiation, which partially accounts for fatness frequencies. We report the results of a diachronic anthropometric comparison and cross-sectional anthropometric and socioeconomic survey of Xavante adults from a single, large community. Our data show an accelerated nutrition transition, with significant weight and BMI increases for males and females between 1962 and 2006. We also found income and wealth to be significantly associated with fatness measures for both sexes combined and for females separately. We interpret the observed gender differences as reflecting differences between male and female social dietary practices. Comparison with other studies in the Amazon region suggests that the relationships between internal socioeconomic differentiation and dietary health vary between cultural and economic settings. We also argue that parallels between Xavante health perspectives and epidemiological interpretations demonstrate the potential for proactive interchange between native and scientific health discourses.
University of Copenhagen1, Colorado State University2, University of Bern3, Chiang Mai University4, Mahasarakham University5, University of Queensland6, Hanoi University of Science7, Asian Institute of Technology8, Center for International Forestry Research9, New York Botanical Garden10, Australian National University11
TL;DR: The authors assess available, published data from nine countries in Southeast Asia and conclude that on this basis it is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the number of swidden cultivators in the region.
Abstract: Swidden cultivators are often found as a distinct category of farmers in the literature, but rarely appear in population censuses or other national and regional classifications. This has led to a worldwide confusion on how many people are dependent on this form of agriculture. The most often cited number of 200–300 million dates back to the early 1970s, but the source is obscure. We assess available, published data from nine countries in Southeast Asia and conclude that on this basis it is not possible to provide a firm estimate of the number of swidden cultivators in the region. A conservative range of 14–34 million people engaged in swidden cultivation in the region is suggested, however. We argue that along with improved knowledge of swidden livelihoods, there is an urgent need to develop techniques that will allow for better estimates of swidden populations in order to secure appropriate rural development and poverty reduction in swidden areas.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of Tarangire National Park (TNP) on local perceptions of risk and how these perceptions may influence behavioral responses was examined and data were collected during 2004-2005 through household surveys and participatory risk mapping (PRM) in eight villages east of TNP.
Abstract: In this study, we examine the effect of Tarangire National Park (TNP) on local perceptions of risk and how these perceptions may influence behavioral responses. Data were collected during 2004-2005 through household surveys and participatory risk mapping (PRM) in eight villages east of TNP. By identifying and rank-ordering respondents' perceived risks, PRM enhances understanding of the nature and variation of risks faced within a population by distinguishing between the incidence and severity of subjective risk perceptions. Results indicate that proximity to the park has a strong effect on the type and severity of perceived risks. Within villages close to the park, however, behavioral response to perceived risks varies considerably. This study contributes to an apprecia- tion of how behavioral response to environmental and socioeconomic factors is mediated by human perception.
TL;DR: This paper conducted a survey among foresters and households living adjacent to a wildlife sanctuary in India in a period following a ban of human use activities and found that noncompliance with conservation restrictions is nearly universal, that forest use is highly specialized, that available village resource assets do not offset forest use, and that rule-breakers prefer current governance arrangements.
Abstract: While wildlife conservation efforts have become increasingly aggressive around the world, illicit use of resources in conservation areas has not subsided, raising questions about the ecological character of noncompliance activities. This paper reviews the results of research conducted amongst foresters and households living adjacent to a wildlife sanctuary in India in a period following a ban of human use activities. Using a formal survey supplemented by interviews and participant observation, the research sought to determine the intensity of illicit use, the demographics of resource users, and the attitudes of rulebreakers. The results suggest that noncompliance with conservation restrictions is nearly universal, that forest use is highly specialized, that available village resource assets do little to offset forest use, and that rule-breakers prefer current governance arrangements. These results paint a picture of deeply institutionalized forest use that suggests serious barriers to any simple enforcement solutions or governance reforms.
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of socioecological transformations such as climate change, the collapse of the Soviet empire, and civil war are examined for 14 villages in the valleys of the Pamir Mountains in the historical Badakhshan region, now divided between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Abstract: The effects of socioecological transformations such as climate change, the collapse of the Soviet empire, and civil war are examined for 14 villages in the valleys of the Pamir Mountains in the historical Badakhshan region, now divided between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Preliminary findings indicate concern for food sovereignty, evidence of biocultural impacts of climate change, an increasing burden on women, debilitating opium addiction, the ecological importance of sacred sites, and other priorities related to sustainable livelihoods, such as energy needs (for fuel and lighting) and physical and social infrastructure in the form of roads and schools. In the complex setting of the Pamir Mountains, characterized by both cultural and ecological diversity and marked by artificial political boundaries, the creative and pragmatic interaction between indigenous and scientific knowledge sustains the best hope for survival. Applied research must combine communities of inquirers (research institutions) with communities of social practitioners (farmers, pastoralists, and civil society institutions) to facilitate indigenous participation in generating context-specific knowledge. The goal of such research is practical outcomes that will meet the urgent priorities of village communities. This paper establishes a baseline from which undertake applied human ecological research related to livelihood security.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine patterns of wealth accumulation and their influence on deforestation among smallholders at Uruara and Redencao, in the state of Para in the Brazilian Eastern Amazon.
Abstract: In this paper, I examine patterns of wealth accumulation and their influence on deforestation among smallholders at Uruara and Redencao, in the state of Para in the Brazilian Eastern Amazon. I argue that the development of the smallholder economy has not been a linear process, and the diversity of smallholder farming systems and their patterns of wealth accumulation have varied implications for the rate and magnitude of deforestation. However, whilst there are differential impacts of farming practices on deforestation—cattle ranching has a greater impact than cash cropping or subsistence agriculture—the stronger correlate of deforestation is the wealth of the farmers. Wealthier farmers not only tend to deforest more in absolute terms, but also show a slightly greater propensity to deforest whatever their production system. Though cattle production is a key driver of wealth accumulation and thus deforestation, a significant number of smallholders adopt diversified production systems. The main factors explaining the relationship between the farming systems and deforestation were years of residence on the lot, distance of the lot to main market and the amount of day labor hired—and not variables describing household structure.
TL;DR: This paper examined potential climatic influences on historical agrarian populations in Finland by means of historical weather diaries, rye phenology, and rye and barley grain-figure (ratio between sown and harvested grain) data from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
Abstract: This study examines potential climatic influences on historical agrarian populations in Finland by means of historical weather diaries, rye phenology, and rye and barley grain-figure (ratio between sown and harvested grain) data from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Crops exhibited great temporal variation. During the poorest years, the amount of harvested grain was less than that sown whereas during the better years the sown grain was harvested more than tenfold. Depending on the locality, 37–84% of this variability could be explained by monthly variables of growing season temperature and precipitation over the latter half of the eighteenth century. Although the grain-figure data showed clear spatial synchrony, it was found that this synchrony was much weaker than that of temperature, precipitation or rye phenology. Consequently, individual crop failure years should not be extrapolated over widely extended areas from spatially restricted data. Further, it was found that the desertion of farms in the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries occurred coterminously with long-term summer temperature cooling, indicating that the desertion may have resulted from climatic deterioration that significantly impeded agriculture as a means of subsistence.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the changes that emigration brought about related to tifey, and the processes that determined these changes, and use this as a case study.
Abstract: Ethnobotanical knowledge and practices are dynamic and they change as they are transferred and appropriated by people who are adapting to new surroundings and changing environments. Using tifey, a multispecies drink, as a case study, we discuss the changes that emigration brought about related to tifey, and the processes that determined these changes. Tifey is a Haitian drink prepared by soaking Artemisia absinthium and other plants in rum or aguardiente. It probably had its origin in the adoption of the absinthe-based liquor used by French settlers and troops during the colonial period. Haitians progressively added culturally relevant flavorings and medicinal plants to this drink, and differentiated its production and use for medicinal, medicinal food, ritual (religious and social), and economic purposes. When Haitians migrated to Cuba, they brought tifey with them, but over the course of the twentieth century its use declined and its composition changed due to sociocultural factors such as the dissolution of Haitian settlements, and to ecological factors such as difficulty in cultivation and/or procurement of A. absinthium in the new environment.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the efficacy of three different methods related to herder assessments and monitoring of land degradation; herder knowledge and ecological methods of assessing impacts of livestock grazing along gradients of land use from settlement and joint monitoring of selected marked transects to understand long-term vegetation changes in southwestern Marsabit northern Kenya.
Abstract: The world-wide debate on land degradation in arid lands, usually linked to local land use practices, does not reflect methodological advancements in terms of assessments and monitoring that integrate local communities’ knowledge with ecological methods. In this paper, we evaluated the efficacy of three different methods related to herder assessments and monitoring of land degradation; herder knowledge and ecological methods of assessing impacts of livestock grazing along gradients of land use from settlement and joint monitoring of selected marked transects to understand long-term vegetation changes in southwestern Marsabit northern Kenya. The performance of each method was carefully evaluated and interpreted in terms of the indicators used by herders and ecologists. Herder interpretations were then related to ecologists’ empirical analysis of land degradation. The Rendille nomads have a complex understanding of land degradation which combines environmental and livestock productivity indicators, compared to conventional scientific approaches that use plant-based indicators alone. According to the herders, the grazing preference of various livestock species (e.g., grazers versus browsers) influences perceptions of land degradation, suggesting degradation is a relative term. The herders distinguished short-term changes in vegetation cover from long-term changes associated with over-exploitation. They attributed current environmental degradation around pastoral camps, which shift land use between the alternating wet and dry seasons, to year-round grazing. We deduced from long-term observation that herders interpret vegetation changes in terms of rainfall variability, utilitarian values and intensification of land use. Long-term empirical data (23 years) from repeated sampling corroborated herder interpretations. Land degradation was mostly expressed in terms of declines in woody plant species, while spatial and temporal dynamics of herbaceous species reflected the effects of seasonality. The efficacy of the three methods were inferred using explanatory strengths of ecological theory; insightfulness of the methods for describing land degradation and the likelihood of using the methods for promoting local community participation in the implementation of the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (CCD) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
TL;DR: In this article, in-depth interview and questionnaire data about resolution of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in Uttarakhand, India are examined from both qualitative and quantitative approaches (n = 70).
Abstract: Understanding local attitudes towards human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is key to developing successful conflict mitigation strategies. In this paper, in-depth interview and questionnaire data about resolution of HWC in Uttarakhand, India are examined from both qualitative and quantitative approaches (n = 70). Responses are differentiated between and within three subgroups: gender, literacy status, and relative wealth. Overall, the plurality of respondents said that fencing is the best solution, that the Forest Department should take leadership, and that villagers would be willing to participate in a cooperative management institution. However, cooperative action was only actively supported by 27.4% of respondents, suggesting that comanagement of this protected area will require significant capacity building and trust building activities. Intragroup differences show that all three factors are significant, and underscore the importance of addressing gender differences in attitudes about HWC in particular. Women were less likely than men to support compensation, more likely to prefer that the village take leadership, and less willing to participate in a cooperative management institution. The study illustrates the value of mixed-method research, and suggests a number of specific entry points for action.
TL;DR: Research in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, showed that medicinal plants were frequently used by villagers and contributed to their ability to cope with health problems, and conservation policies aimed to restrict access should be differential and potentially not include local consumption.
Abstract: Indigenous medicine is important to rural livelihoods, but lay knowledge and use of medicinal plants has not been extensively studied. Research in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, showed that medicinal plants were frequently used by villagers and contributed to their ability to cope with health problems. Knowledge of plants and household remedies was extensive and varied in that households often held different knowledge. Villagers mainly relied on common species, and were generally aware of alternative species for a certain ailment. People were flexible in their use of indigenous and western health care, which were both perceived as beneficial. Improved cooperation between health care systems could improve health standards. Extraction of medicinal plants has been described as unsustainable in the region—a situation not found in the study area. It is argued that conservation policies aimed to restrict access should be differential and potentially not include local consumption, since this may be ecologically unnecessary and entail local hardships.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted ethnobotanical studies in the Phlegraean Fields Regional Park in southern Italy and recorded 962 use-reports of 69 species belonging to 35 families.
Abstract: The Phlegraean Fields Regional Park in southern Italy has an especially long history of human exploitation. For our ethnobotanical studies we interviewed 39 people native to the area and recorded 962 use-reports. For each species, we provide scientific and vernacular names, plant parts used, and preparation and administration processes. In all, 69 species belonging to 35 families were classified. The species most frequently mentioned were Citrus limon, Chamomilla recutita, Malva sylvestris, Parietaria judaica, Ficus carica, Foeniculum vulgare and Laurus nobilis. The commonest plant use recorded is medicinal, followed by culinary and domestic; for 26% of the species inventoried, more than one use was recorded. The present study confirms the persistence of traditional plant use in regions of central and southern Italy.
TL;DR: Correa et al. as mentioned in this paper pointed out that epifaunal species contribute about 80% of the carbon in mangrove ecosystems, and noted that the abundance of burrowing forms enhances oxygenation of soil and drainage of sediments, and that the land crab Ucides cordatus is particularly important in the biogeocycling of nutrients.
Abstract: Mangroves are complex coastal ecosystems situated in tropical and subtropical zones, utilized by a wide range of plants, invertebrate (crustacean, molluscan and others) and some vertebrate species for all or specific stages of their life cycles (Hatcher et al 1989; Robertson et al. 1992; Twilley et al 1996). Crustaceans are important faunal components of mangrove ecosystems because of their abundance and participation in the food chain (Alves and Nishida 2004; Diele and Smith 2007). Crabs are the most conspicuous and abundant components of epibenthic macrofauna in mangrove ecosystems, and they carry out several ecological functions assimilating a large amount of carbon (Robertson 1986, 1991; Micheli et al 1991). The predominance of burrowing forms enhances oxygenation of soil and drainage of sediments (Jones 1984). The land crab Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus 1763), known in Brazil as 'caranguejo-uca', is particularly important in the biogeocycling of nutrients in mangrove ecosystems (Correa et al 2000). Koch and Wolff (2002) point out that epifaunal species contribute about
TL;DR: Cultural keystones are defined, according to their systemic function, as having essential roles in maintaining any level of complexity within a social–ecological system, and are both essential at one level of systemic reproduction.
Abstract: The concept of the keystone species has a long history in ecological analysis, although its validity remains controversial. Anthropological researchers have recently coined the term cultural keystone species, but have not demonstrated any significant differences from existing treatments of culturally important species. We define cultural keystones according to their systemic function, as having essential roles in maintaining any level of complexity within a social–ecological system. Examples include bitter cassava consumption among lowland South American groups such as the Wapishana in Guyana, and commercial cultivation of carrots in Rurukan Village in Minahasa, Indonesia. These examples are both essential at one level of systemic reproduction: within the domestic and village economy in the cassava case, and carrots within regional markets. While each is centred upon a single biological species, the cultural keystone itself is not this species, but a complex incorporating several material and non-material system elements.