*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 **************** *Bioplan is a list server run jointly by UNDP and UNEP. To join / leave bioplan, email: **[log in to unmask]* <[log in to unmask]>* with "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Please note: If you wish to reply to the sender only you must create a new message addressed only to that individual, or forward the message to that individual. Using the "reply" or "reply all" option delivers your response to the list administrator.* **************** *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> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link: &*TICKET_URL(CA-Cop-L,SIGNOFF);