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From:
Amir Kassam <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Amir Kassam <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 1 Oct 2021 13:58:58 +0100
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*Global CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE*

*for sustainable agriculture, land use and ecosystem management*

Dear Subscribers,

Please see herebelow a self-explanatory communication from David Duthie of
Bioplan on *Deep roots of the 'Anthropocene' can be found in tropical
forests.*

Apologies for any cross-posting.



*Amir Kassam *

*Moderator*

*Global CA-CoP*

e-mail: [log in to unmask]

URL: http://www.fao.org/conservation-agriculture

URL: http://www.act-africa.org/

URL: https://ecaf.org/
URL: http://www.caa-ap.org/



The CA area data up to 2018/19 is available at:
https://www.ca-global.net/ca-stat


*Conservation Agriculture (CA) is an ecological approach to regenerative
sustainable agriculture and ecosystem management based on the practical
application of context-specific and locally adapted three interlinked
principles of: (i) Continuous no or minimum mechanical soil disturbance
(no-till seeding/planting and weeding, and minimum soil disturbance with
all other farm operations including harvesting);  (ii) permanent
maintenance of soil mulch cover (crop biomass, stubble and cover crops);
and (iii) diversification of cropping system (economically, environmentally
and socially adapted rotations and/or sequences and/or associations
involving annuals and/or perennials, including legumes and cover
crops).* *These
practices are complemented with other complementary good agricultural
production and land management practices to generate and sustain optimum
performance.*

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: David Duthie <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 30 Sept 2021 at 17:07
Subject: Deep roots of the 'Anthropocene' can be found in tropical forests
To: bioplan <[log in to unmask]>


Dear BIOPLANNERS,



As we move towards the first of the “twin peaks” of the CBD double CoP15 in
October in May next year, and the UNFCCC CoP26 in November, we can expect
another uptick in the use of “big words” from high-level officials – whom
Greta Thunberg lambasted at the YOUTH4CLIMATE Summit
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mite.gov.it%2Fpagina%2Fyouth4climate-driving-ambition-four-major-themes-center-discussion-among-young-protagonists&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249861896%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=gZsQ8T3F1y3OE8qHNCWodaUDyHsrZXJdbsbKKa1iy30%3D&reserved=0>
last week – see here
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2Fg90vJ3XrnaA&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249861896%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=wIxLuVgtNm0RwQluzLfEVQ%2F8dV5RMjc3ZvZHZYKuGIQ%3D&reserved=0>
.



“Anthropocene” is another of these big words which, as I have posted
previously, has spawned its own family of spin-off “-cenes”.  The word has
also taken on a number of different meaning which, if not treated carefully
could lead to much confusion and diminution of the term, which would be a
shame.



There are three main uses of the word (Anthropocene) in circulation. The
original use, as coined by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.igbp.net%2Fdownload%2F18.316f18321323470177580001401%2F1376383088452%2FNL41.pdf&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249871894%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=PLr8MlkfzCNs0xMlPpTMAppajHGPyIV%2BvcbpN5DS%2BJ4%3D&reserved=0>,
is as follows: *“Considering these and many other major and still growing
impacts of human activities on earth and atmosphere, and at all, including
global, scales, it seems to us more than appropriate to emphasize the
central role of mankind in geology and ecology by proposing to use the term
'anthropocene' for the current geological epoch*.”



From this initial proposal, two themes developed. The first is focused on
the Anthropocene as a time period where human activities and impacts become
so large that they are capable of initiating, and appear to be doing so,
state changes in “earth systems” – the fundamental surface components of
our planet – the geosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the
biosphere – and the flows of energy and chemicals between them.



The second theme has been focused much more of the geological definition of
a potential new Epoch to be formally adopted by the International
Commission on Stratigraphy
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FInternational_Commission_on_Stratigraphy&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249871894%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=r74NijxNDxxOivbQoy17Q4QE0tiIT2qMyDwQWfgjL1c%3D&reserved=0>
(ICS) and required agreement on a formally recognised start date and global
strati graphic marker – currently, still a work in progress – see here
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2F10.1029%2F2020EF001896&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249881882%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=NEDi3xMOq%2BgIRukml03wQTjW7a2RKePetHelxciPhDI%3D&reserved=0>
.



All this preamble brings me to a new collection of free access articles in
the USA Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) which aims
to “use *tropical forests as a lens for exploring the temporal, practical,
social, and cultural dimensions of the origins of the Anthropocene as a
long-term and varied process*”.  Whilst the collection is a really useful
contribution to highlighting the deep history of human (anthropogenic)
presence, this presence did not take us out of the Holocene, nor did it
impact earth systems at global level, or create new geological strata
measurable at a wide range of locations around the world – but it a set of
articles well worth exploring in the context of how even relatively small
human populations can have major influences on tropical ecosystems.



Here are the metadata for the articles in the collection and below my
signature is a short cover science news story.


*Tropical Forests as Key Sites of the Anthropocene Special Feature*



*Introduction*



Tropical forests as key sites of the “Anthropocene”: Past and present
perspectives
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2109243118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249881882%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=1o3A%2Fa%2FKOILCPDILTznjYC8l9qgditjujok8%2FcQ1AFk%3D&reserved=0>.
Patrick Roberts, Rebecca Hamilton, and Dolores R. Piperno; PNAS October 5,
2021 118 (40) e2109243118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2109243118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2109243118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249891877%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=9zV50fjXLGBDTVS99QVZL5eZtElf3CBewOM2uX42ST4%3D&reserved=0>



*Perspective*



Tropical islands of the Anthropocene: Deep histories of anthropogenic
terrestrial–marine entanglement in the Pacific and Caribbean
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022209118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249891877%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=nOQg7AW25pipKvas%2FBiOg%2FevMUknlrYcX%2BQXxNe%2FZCQ%3D&reserved=0>.
Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Christina M. Giovas PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40)
e2022209118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022209118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022209118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249901876%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=UulHc%2BL3A1OgH%2BqJr9LUjWracVDmV0FttRuseDEkkFQ%3D&reserved=0>



Historical socioecological transformations in the global tropics as an
Anthropocene analogue
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022211118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249901876%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=MIO2TLrtnCqgdd4aH2hvYFx%2F5XpN6LmynPYq2uzIKvE%3D&reserved=0>.
Dan Penny and Timothy P. Beach; PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2022211118;
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022211118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022211118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249901876%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=7tA7NFLjw6iVcqiCjX5KeQapSuhuWDRkfxs1%2FcQLiUE%3D&reserved=0>



Indigenous knowledge and the shackles of wilderness
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022218118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249911866%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=%2FXWaOaL%2BvPpfmiK%2B%2F9uRxz%2FNS8VovdwPIQMvs%2BwV9pI%3D&reserved=0>.
Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Rebecca Hamilton, Wolfram Dressler, and Lisa
Palmer; PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2022218118;
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022218118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022218118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249911866%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=tFT4XvWtZUCFbYiYIN1kKMI%2FeC9PnKdAIEcm0U48VdI%3D&reserved=0>



*Research Articles*



Anthropogenic impacts on Late Holocene land-cover change and floristic
biodiversity loss in tropical southeastern Asia
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022210118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249921864%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=8%2FhI4GiRUJlbWKkVxsZtfEmaJgBjZ1lUvFsVqwcgZQg%3D&reserved=0>.
Zhuo Zheng, Ting Ma, Patrick Roberts, Zhen Li, Yuanfu Yue, Huanhuan Peng,
Kangyou Huang, Ziyun Han, Qiuchi Wan, Yaze Zhang, Xiao Zhang, Yanwei Zheng,
and Yoshiki Satio; PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2022210118;
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022210118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022210118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249921864%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=hByDBeYlCgZbO0PNak4VyrnjB86U7fDA5Zyl3BWqOjU%3D&reserved=0>



Anthropogenic transitions from forested to human-dominated landscapes in
southern Macaronesia
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022215118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249931863%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=%2Bjood7NNXYnLYK%2BkjnGl7oHflwyxB9Khuh9Yg4wym8A%3D&reserved=0>.
 Alvaro Castilla-Beltrán, Lea de Nascimento, José-María Fernández-Palacios,
Robert J. Whittaker, Kathy J. Willis, Mary Edwards, and Sandra Nogué; PNAS
October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2022215118;
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022215118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022215118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249931863%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=XDuczK6LRcp02O9o%2FY7NBcyoCedll8%2BNZ6wOMxhdq5M%3D&reserved=0>



Human impacts and Anthropocene environmental change at Lake Kutubu, a
Ramsar wetland in Papua New Guinea
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022216118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249941856%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=9WRIFOyu87pR9S6tpT%2F2P2AGtRXYtpnUJRpVlBLFq18%3D&reserved=0>.
Kelsie E. Long, Larissa Schneider, Simon E. Connor, Niamh Shulmeister,
Janet Finn, Georgia L. Roberts, Atun Zawadzki, T. Gabriel Enge, John P.
Smol, Chris Ballard, and Simon G. Haberle; PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40)
e2022216118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022216118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022216118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249941856%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=z8Rrtbzkamu3WN1MG1Q7Sqjn5kisY35FmeX7g8kK30E%3D&reserved=0>


Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene sites in the montane forests of New Guinea
yield early record of cassowary hunting and egg harvesting
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2100117118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249951848%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=yB5D7VjPmQBra9EylJE6xqJQS2b4xj3AmuOL3CaPOCE%3D&reserved=0>.
Kristina Douglass, Dylan Gaffney, Teresa J. Feo, Priyangi Bulathsinhala,
Andrew L. Mack, Megan Spitzer, and Glenn R. Summerhayes; PNAS October 5,
2021 118 (40) e2100117118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2100117118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2100117118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249951848%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=ZJEYh3eq5esL4QLphDKbhADWE1X0sZKRRLlY84mEwd0%3D&reserved=0>



A 5,000-year vegetation and fire history for *tierra firme* forests in the
Medio Putumayo-Algodón watersheds, northeastern Peru
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022213118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249961842%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=ZZ3HnboxwQbd3SLs2RcBS4ybql5yO5DRe1EJ8PE3oTU%3D&reserved=0>.
Dolores R. Piperno, Crystal H. McMichael, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Juan Ernesto
Guevara Andino, Marcos Ríos Paredes, Britte M. Heijink, and Luis A.
Torres-Montenegro; PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2022213118;
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022213118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022213118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249961842%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=tdLGuBuQOgZ%2BRFr24xdVG97%2Butif7QshcQy6FZxO3Cw%3D&reserved=0>



Pre-Columbian fire management and control of climate-driven floodwaters
over 3,500 years in southwestern Amazonia
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pnas.org%2Fcontent%2F118%2F40%2Fe2022206118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249961842%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=hAVa%2BHhWuLKCQTj2%2FDrNCyWeonrHoowIa6z5PwVuxBQ%3D&reserved=0>.
Neil A. Duncan, Nicholas J. D. Loughlin, John H. Walker, Emma P. Hocking,
and Bronwen S. Whitney; PNAS October 5, 2021 118 (40) e2022206118;
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022206118
<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2022206118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249971832%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=cJMt10u3ozVuboNgZWaQtVe1uavvj7zU%2FgC3ibu6B6Q%3D&reserved=0>



Best wishes



David Duthie



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*Deep roots of the 'Anthropocene' can be found in tropical forests*

*Date*:               September 27, 2021



*Source*:            Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History



*Summary*:       *A new special edition of the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences showcases multidisciplinary approaches to exploring
human impacts on *

*tropical forests and their associated Earth systems*.


Tropical forests regularly appear in the news as the front line of climate
change and human sustainability challenges. They are some of the most
threatened land-based habitats on the planet and are therefore key to
discussions of the Anthropocene -- the period in which human activities
became major impactors of Earth systems.

In a new set of high-impact articles edited by researchers from the Max
Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Smithsonian
Research Institute, researchers from different fields and backgrounds show
that if we are to better plan for the future, we must look deep into the
past for the roots of the Anthropocene in the tropics.


*Tropical forests and the Anthropocene -- present and past*


When considering the Anthropocene, we often think of the human activities
with obvious ecosystem impacts: fossil fuel burning, nuclear fallout, or
increasing plastic manufacture and pollution from the 20th century onwards.

However, we also now know that because tropical forests host over half of
the planet's biodiversity, generate large amounts of rainfall, anchor soils
in place, and store massive amounts of carbon, human alteration of these
environments can actually kick off a whole series of feedbacks -- processes
that reverberate across regions, continents, and even the Earth.


One of the editors of the new volume, Patrick Roberts, points out that
human alteration of tropical forests "probably isn't only a recent
phenomenon."

"Although tropical forests are often seen as pristine 'wildernesses' prior
to industrial activities, we now know that hunter-gatherers, food
producers, and even city-dwellers have inhabited -- and modified -- these
environments for a long, long time," continues Roberts. "Given that these
habitats are embedded in a variety of earth systems, this opens up the
potential to find very early roots for the Anthropocene."


*A variety of managed tropical landscapes*


The new *PNAS* special feature, titled 'Tropical Forests as Key Sites of
the Anthropocene,' shows the vast array of methods researchers are now
using, from high power microscopes to sediment cores, from archaeological
excavation to airborne laser scanning, to explore the different ways people
have interacted with tropical ecosystems, climates and soils across space
and time.


As Rebecca Hamilton, another of the feature editors, puts it, "the papers
in this volume investigate a variety of human-forest interactions,
including the exploitation of giant bird eggs in New Guinea, the impacts of
paddy rice agriculture on ancient, threatened conifers in southeastern
China, and a comparison of tropical urban life in the Classic Maya world
and Greater Angkor."


Dolores Piperno, the third editor of the volume, highlights how detailed
reconstructions of human-environment interactions such as these are
essential for modern conservation approaches.


"Human engagement with tropical forests took many forms, with local
populations adapting to local scenarios. In the Medio Putumayo-Algodón
reserve in Peru, for example, we highlight how Indigenous societies managed
forest cover and biodiversity over 5,000 years, conserving it through
periods of major political, economic, and social change."


*From a global 'Anthropocene' to more just practices in tropical
conservation *


Understanding the origins of the Anthropocene in the tropics is not only
important for modern biodiversity and ecosystem protection, however. It
also reveals the imbalanced historical processes that laid the groundwork
for how people interact with the tropics, and earth systems more widely,
today.


Articles focusing on the Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, and tropical New
Guinea, for example, highlight the ways in which the arrival of European
colonialism, followed by industrialization, disrupted the socio-ecologies
of tropical systems through the conversion of land (e.g. to plantations)
and marginalization of Indigenous activities.


"The term the 'Anthropocene' can suggest that our current sustainability
plight was caused equally by all human societies and, in turn, impacts them
all equally.


However, contributors to this volume show that, particularly over the last
500 years, it has been an unequal and often-imbalanced process," says
Roberts.


"Indigenous populations of tropical regions have often been the most
marginalized in recent human history," Hamilton continues. "This collection
shows that it is high time to recognize the long-term significance of
traditional Indigenous land management in the tropics."


Overall, the researchers hope that the papers of this special feature will
encourage further engagement of policy makers and ecologists with
Indigenous groups and scholars from the palaeo- and social sciences.


"In this way, we have the best chance of developing more fair, sustainable,
and resilient futures for human-environment interactions in these critical,
often misunderstood, environments," concludes Roberts.


****************

*Journal Reference*:

   1. Patrick Roberts, Rebecca Hamilton, Dolores R. Piperno. *Tropical
   forests as key sites of the 'Anthropocene': Past and present perspectives*.
   *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*, 2021; 118 (40):
   e2109243118 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109243118
   <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1073%2Fpnas.2109243118&data=04%7C01%7Cbioplan%40groups.undp.org%7C544a24f88df24e64b12b08d984258b07%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C637686120249971832%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=h9graQBR84MAAWP%2BogASDP6kD1KE3CjuPOwzJMINkaA%3D&reserved=0>

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