Living Off the Land in the Living Off the Land in the RainforestRainforest

Lewis Zimmerman

Neotropical Rainforest Ecology

Global Studies in Plant Biology

French Guiana

2002

Questions to think about:Questions to think about:

How do indigenous people use the forest for How do indigenous people use the forest for agriculture?agriculture?

How does swidden work?How does swidden work? In addition to agriculture, how do indigenous In addition to agriculture, how do indigenous

people use the forest to meet their subsistence people use the forest to meet their subsistence needs?needs?

How does industrialized agriculture work?How does industrialized agriculture work? What are the ecological impacts of these What are the ecological impacts of these

practices?practices? What are some of the present ecological concerns What are some of the present ecological concerns

associated with shifting agriculture?associated with shifting agriculture? What is the future of shifting agriculture?What is the future of shifting agriculture?

The following variables contribute to the overall subsistence strategy of a group:

• use of wild plants

• soil fertility and exhaustion

• tillage practices

• introduction of novel crops

• production for the market (cash crops)

Subsistence strategy and Subsistence strategy and ecologyecology

Swidden (a.k.a. Shifting or Slash & Burn Swidden (a.k.a. Shifting or Slash & Burn agriculture)agriculture)

BurningBurning

•In contrast with monocultural mechanized agricultural systems, indigenous tropical forest agriculture, is characterized by a high degree of polyculture

•Similar in diversity to the forest itself and has little disturbance effect on the generalized ecosystem that surrounds native gardens

Swidden AgricultureSwidden Agriculture

Characteristics of Swidden Characteristics of Swidden (con’t)(con’t)

•A comparative study of four Central Brazilian Indian groups shows that while each of these groups practices polyculture to some extent, the crop mix found in their swidden plots is highly patterned (Werner, et. al., 1982)

•This patterning includes single crop stands at certain stages of garden life.

•Different crops are planted in the same plot from year to year, in accordance with variation in soil fertility within the swidden cycle.

Crop Successional Crop Successional PatternsPatterns

•The technology and local knowledge of shifting cultivation is both broad and complex

•Small farmers stagger, interplant and diversify their planting of crops (polyculture)

•They selectively weed, manipulate tree growth

•They reap a wide array of forest products; and they supplement their diet with forest game and fish

Swidden TechnologySwidden Technology

Rainforest GardenRainforest Garden

This garden patch is being left fallow, to be recolonized by the forest, but will yield longer term crops (e.g. fruits and nuts) for years to

come.

Succession patternsSuccession patterns

Swidden PlotsSwidden Plots

Ecological impactsEcological impacts

•The traditional forest-fallow farming system, because of the method, scale and the impermanence of clearing, is non-destructive and, in many instances, actually aids in the re-establishment of the forest (Warner 1991)

•Polyculture, being similar in diversity to the forest itself has little disturbing effect on the ecosystem surrounding the gardens (Werner 1982)

Manihot esculenta, Manihot esculenta, EuphorbiaceaeEuphorbiaceae

Primary staple for a majority of Amazonian indigenous peoples (Salick, Cellinese, and Knapp 1997).

Roots provide carbohydrates after processing: boiling, roasting, type of flour, or fermenting.

Tipiti

Processing CassavaProcessing Cassava

In addition to agriculture, how do In addition to agriculture, how do indigenous people use the forest to indigenous people use the forest to meet their subsistence needs?meet their subsistence needs?

•Gathering

•Fishing

•Hunting

In those societies in which gardening is highly productive, people can spend more time on hunting and fishing and improve the overall quality of their diet.

Hunting and FishingHunting and Fishing

•Swidden plots and fallows attract game animals

•Crop losses compensated by over planting

•Provides balance

•Poisons (Lonchocarpus nicou or Jaquine sp.)

•Ants and termites

•Palm grubs

CollectingCollecting•Long treks are taken to avoid over-hunting close to home

•Trailsides and campsites actually planted with numerous varieties of yams, medicinal plants and fruit trees (Dufour 1990)

•Deliberate attempt to increase the concentration of naturally occurring plants within the forest

The rainforest provides heat, The rainforest provides heat, shelter, clothing and shelter, clothing and transportationtransportation

Burning

Stretching

Characteristics of the in-Characteristics of the in-field gardenfield garden

•Multiple uses and functions•Trees bear fruits and seeds that serve as foods for subsistence and cash crops (e.g. coconuts)•Excess wood is used for construction material and fires•Increased diversity ensures a balanced diet rich in nutrients•Variability in harvest and flowering times•Ensures income sources throughout the year especially if there is crop failure

Capirona Capirona ((Calycophyllum spruceanum)Calycophyllum spruceanum)

Grows over 100 ft. tall, high enough to emerge above the main canopy

Fire WoodFire Wood

Calycophyllum spruceanum

•Capirona is a favored wood because it is very dense and burns hot and long

•Stands out in the canopy because of its smooth bark and lack of epiphytes

Traditional kitchenTraditional kitchenLife in a typical Amazon home is very simple. Food is cooked on an open fire, in a pot big enough to provide for the large family.

•Capirona's rough outer bark peels readily.

•A smooth-surfaced inner bark remains.

•Epiphytes are prevented from colonizing - never have epiphytes on their branches.

•This remarkable adaptation saves the tree from the burden of extra weight and shade caused by epiphytes.

Capirona barkCapirona bark

KapokKapok •The Kapok (Ceiba petandra) is a rainforest giant

• It may grow to 150 feet high

•The abundance of epiphytes on upper branches and the long roots reaching down from the tree's crown show how other plants are dependent on these large trees

• Kapok is one of the few rainforest trees that are wind-pollinated

•It is widely used to make plywood and trees this large are becoming rare

Effects of a tree on Effects of a tree on surrounding surrounding agroceosystemagroceosystem

Much of the fiber used in local handicrafts comes from the Chambira Palm (Astrocaryum chambira).

Leaf buds are shredded, dried as shown, and then twisted into strings.

Palm fiberPalm fiber

Fig Bark Cloth Fig Bark Cloth Skirt Skirt (Ficus yaponensis)(Ficus yaponensis)

•Worn today for traditional performances

•Bark is partially stripped from portion of the trunk

•Fiber is moistened , laid flat, pounded with a heavy piece of wood

•End result is smooth supple materials used for headgear, painting canvas, small bags and clothing

Fig Bark used for Fig Bark used for Traditional DressTraditional Dress

Brazil nut treeBrazil nut tree •Brazil nuts come from a large rainforest tree (Bertholletia excelsa)

•The nuts, locally called "Castana", are cultivated throughout lowland Amazonia

•Important source of income for local people

• The nuts grow inside a large grapefruit-sized pod, arranged like segments of an orange, about 12 to a pod

• The flowers are pollinated by bats

•Rainforest rodents such as agoutis facilitate the tree's reproduction by burying the seeds and then forgetting where they were buried

Brazil nutsBrazil nuts

Important food and cash crop

Breadfruit Breadfruit (Artocarpus (Artocarpus altilis)altilis)

Breadfruit is Not NativeBreadfruit is Not Native

•Introduced from Tahiti from Captain Bligh

•Fruits look fuzzy but actually covered with tiny spines

•Not a favorite, but a faithful staple used when crops fail

CalabashCalabash

•Large green fruit is inedible but very useful

•Ranges in size from a plum to a watermelon

•Fruit is harvested, halved, and dried out to make an impermeable container

•Good for cups and bowls

•Carvers like to make intricate designs on the outside (Crescentia cujete)

Chili PepperChili Pepper

(Capsicum sp.)

Uses of ChilisUses of Chilis

•Highly valued for flavor

•Important to the in-field garden

•Usually planted close to the kitchen for ready availability

•Added to sauces and stews

•Numerous medicinal uses

Cocoa PodCocoa Pod

(Theobroma cacao)

•Provides the raw material for chocolate!

•Harvested from the seeds which are ground down to make cocoa

•Forms the basis for cocoa butter used in confectionery

•Highly valued cash crop

•Good understory tree for sustainable agroforestry

LemongrassLemongrass

•(Cymbopogon citratus) used for cooking

• Tea made from the leaves aids in digestion

•Widely grown in villages and around tourist lodges

MangoMango

•(Mangifera indica) is not native to the Amazon

•Asian origin

•Widely cultivated

•When ripe, the yellow fruit is eaten on its own orused to flavor drinks, or desserts such as ice-cream

PapayaPapaya

•Papaya, or Pawpaw (Carica papaya) grows from a small but fast growing tree

•Eaten for breakfast

•An extract of papaya (papain) is used as a meat tenderizer

Ice Cream Bean Ice Cream Bean (Inga (Inga edulis)edulis)

Inga edulisInga edulis

•Although called a bean because it belongs to the bean family, the fruit grows long and dangling from a tree

•The seeds commonly germinate while the fruit is still attached to the tree

Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) is an important staple, and cash crop. For many, it is the only source of sweetner and it is sold off at market for export or to local sugar factories. It is also used to make the local liquor, aguardiente.

Sugar CaneSugar Cane

Sugar cane is grown primarily for the juice which is extracted and then fermented to make "aguardiente," a type of rum. The extraction methods vary.

Cane Juice Cane Juice PressersPressers

•Amazon farmers cultivate the land quite differently than farmers in industrialized countries

• There is no mechanization, and few chemicals are used

•Farming practices adapt to nature rather than attempt to control it

•Garden patchs are left fallow, to be recolonized by the forest

•Fallow plots yield longer term crops (e.g. fruits and nuts) for years to come

•The land will take about 150-200 years to become indistinguishable from surrounding forest

Rainforest Gardening Rainforest Gardening PracticesPractices

Ecological Impact of Ecological Impact of Swidden Swidden

•The traditional forest-fallow farming system is less destructive because of the method, scale and clearing

•Shifting will actively aid in the re-establishment of the forest

•Burning is integral, essential, and generally beneficial

•A few hectares of clearing represent a temporary intervention in the forest ecosystem, farmers are knowledgeable managers of the landscape

•All of this is contingent on the forest-fallow system and if fallow periods are long enough for regeneration

Characteristics of Characteristics of MonocultureMonoculture•Less genetic diversity than polyculture

•Increases soil depletion/erosion

•Highly mechanized and therefore costly

•Many chemical applications needed (e.g., pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers)

•Lacks sustainability

•Increases productivity (for the short term)

New banana plantings

Rubber

plantation

MonocultureMonoculture

Predominantly associated with cash crops

Citrus plantationCitrus plantation

•Shifting cultivators are often held responsible for the deforestation of the humid tropics

•Misdirected due to the fact that shifting cultivation is a complex agricultural system that is well-adapted, under certain conditions, to the environmental limitations of the tropics

•It requires in-depth knowledge of the tropical environment and a high degree of managerial skills to succeed

Ecological ControversiesEcological Controversies

•Comparisons are made between commercial industrialized monoculture farming practices and shifting cultivators

•Extractive commercial industries and recent "dislocated migrants" or "pioneer swiddeners", drawn to the land but lacking generations of local knowledge, contribute most greatly to degrading the environment

Who is blamed for large Who is blamed for large scale deforestation?scale deforestation?

Variation in swiddenVariation in swidden plots plots

• Given increases in population densities and cumulative pressures on the resource base of the tropical forests, traditional shifting cultivators in many areas have already been forced to shorten the fallow and extend the periods of cultivation

• While there is much to learn from the shifting cultivator, there is ample evidence that it would be short-sighted for governments to attempt to phase out shifting cultivation without providing local people with sustainable and economically viable alternatives

•Presently, integral swidden cannot serve as a model for the future of tropics

What is the future of What is the future of shifting cultivation?shifting cultivation?

REFERENCES:  Dufour, D.L. 1990. Use of tropical rainforests by native Amazonians. Bioscience 40: 652-659. Hames, R., Vickers, W., 1983. Adaptive Responses of Native Amazonians. New York: Academic Press. Johnston, M., Colquhoun, A., 1995. Preliminary ethnobotanical survey of Kurupukari: An Amerindian Settlement of Central Guyana. Economic Botany 50(2) 182-194. Kricher, J., 1997. A neotropical companion. Second edition. Princeton University Press. Paoletti, M., Buscardo, E., Dufour, D., 2000. Edible invertebrates among Amazonian Indians: A critical review of disappearing knowledge. Environment, Development ans Sustainability 2: 195-225.

Plotkin, M.J. 1993. Tales of a shaman’s apprentice: An ethnobotanist searches for new medicines in the Amazon rain forest. New York: Viking. Salick, J., Cellinese, N., Knapp, S., 1997. Indigenous Diversity of Cassava: Generation, Maintenance, Use and Loss Among The Amuesha, Peruvian Upper Amazon. Economic Botany 51(1) 6-19. Warner, K., 1991. Shifting cultivators: and natural resource management in the humid tropics. FAO Community Forestry Note No. 8. Rome, FAO. Werner, D., 1982. Variation in Swidden Practices in Four Central Brazilian Indian Societies. Human Ecology 10(2): 203-217. -------------- 1979. Subsistence Productivity and Hunting Effort in Native South America. Human Ecology 7(4): 303-315. -------------- 1979. Ecology and Acculturation among Native Peoples of Central Brazil. Science 206(4422): 1043-1050.

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