@article {429, title = {Anthropology in Action (entire issue)}, volume = {16}, year = {1993}, month = {Autumn 1993}, abstract = {

Contents:

}, keywords = {aboriginal self-government, activism, Amazon, cultural survival, development, Ecuador, ethnic violence, Inuit, petroleum development, rainforests} } @book {294, title = {Alternatives to deforestation: Steps towards sustainable use of the Amazon rain forest}, year = {1990}, month = {July 1990}, pages = {281 pp.}, publisher = {Columbia University Press}, organization = {Columbia University Press}, address = {New York}, abstract = {Alternatives to Deforestation explores some of the possible sustainable uses of the world{\textquoteright}s largest rain forest, the Amazon. The collection by scientists, policy makers, and foundations presents innovative approaches and technologies that will permit simultaneous use and conservation of the rain forest, and will benefit the population of Amazonia as a whole, rather than just a small rural minority. By presenting sustainable land-use alternatives that are both economically viable and ecologically sound, this book represents a valuable contribution in the effort to end the tragic consequences of tropical deforestation. (author)}, keywords = {agroforestry, Amazon, deforestation, ecology}, isbn = {0-231-06892-1; 978-0-231-06892-5}, url = {http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/803206060}, editor = {Anthony B. Anderson} } @book {295, title = {Amazonia: Voices from the rainforest}, year = {1990}, month = {1990}, pages = {98}, publisher = {Rainforest Action Network and Amazonia Film Project}, organization = {Rainforest Action Network and Amazonia Film Project}, address = {San Francisco}, abstract = {This guide, based on information gathered from questionnaires and interviews with amazonian organizations,discusses the efforts of the indigenous people of the Amazon to defend their rain forests. It also discusses what these Amazonian organizations feel outside world needs to know about their fight and what hey can do to help.}, keywords = {Amazon, rainforests}, url = {http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/232654290}, author = {Monti Aguirre and Angela Gennio and Brent Milikan and Maria Amalia Souza and Glenn Switkes} } @article {598, title = {Iterative increase of economic tree species in managed swidden-fallows of the Amazon}, journal = {Agroforestry Systems}, volume = {11}, year = {1990}, month = {June 1990}, pages = {175-197}, abstract = {

Fallow utilization schemes are becoming increasingly popular in agroforestry designs. However little attention has been given to the fate of valuable fallow plants after the end of the initial fallow cycle, and over successive fallow cycles on a regional or inter-fallow level. Evidence is presented here for the spontaneous long-term community enrichment of an area with valuable plants in a cyclic or iterative fashion, in the context of an existing fallow utilization scheme in the Amazon. Review of the ecological processes which operate at microsite, field and community levels indicate that:

}, keywords = {agriculture, agroforestry, Amazon, fallow utilization, fruit trees, frugivores, spontaneous community enrichment}, doi = {10.1007/BF00838727}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00838727}, author = {Jon D. Unruh} } @inbook {863, title = {Costs and benefits of floodplain forest management by rural inhabitants in the Amazon estuary: A case study of Acai palm production}, booktitle = {Fragile lands of Latin America: Strategies for sustainable development}, year = {1989}, month = {1989}, pages = {114-129}, publisher = {Westview Press}, organization = {Westview Press}, address = {Boulder, CO}, abstract = {

This chapter is a case study of an economically productive and ecologically sustainable land use that has evolved among traditional inhabitants in the floodplain of the Amazon estuary. These river dwellers (\"ribeirinhos\"), typically mestizo in ethnicity, constitute a living bridge between indigenous Amerindian knowledge of the natural diversity and inherent productivity of the Amazon\&$\#$39;s floodplain resources and the modern world with its more limited view of the economic potential of natural ecosystems. The river dwellers of the Amazon estuary participate in the market economy, and are often mistakenly included in the economically marginal, rural population of lesser-developed countries that recent multi-lateral development programs have sought to advance. What prevailing development programs have failed to consider is how the river dwellers\&$\#$39; knowledge of their environment can contribute to a better use of fragile lands in the floodplain.

The present case study does not aspire to propose a comprehensive sustainable land-use strategy for the Amazon\&$\#$39;s floodplain (\"varzea\"). Rather, it focuses on the economic potential of one important natural resource element in the regional economy, the \"acai\" palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.). We report the findings of a field experiment designed to measure the effects of different management practices utilized by river dwellers on fruit yields in natural stands of acai. Although measurements of the effects of these practices on other floodplain forest species were not included in this experiment, our findings are important since acai is the foremost commercial floodplain forest resource for rural inhabitants over extensive areas of the estuary. The case study described in this chapter is particularly interesting because rural inhabitants of the Amazon estuary implement an extensive form of land use in a biotope generally considered to have the greatest potential for intensive agriculture in Amazonia: the varzea floodplain of sediment-rich rivers. Forest resources are the most fragile component of the floodplain, which has served as the principal location for agriculture in Amazonia since aboriginal times. The acai palm is an especially fragile resource, as it has been subjected to intensive exploitation in the form of palm heart extraction since the 1960\&$\#$39;s. In contrast to other floodplain areas however, river dwellers in the estuary we studied have largely maintained the native forest cover and have developed management practices that assure the sustained utilization of forest resources such as acai.

The general adoption of a less intensive form of land use in a biotope of high agricultural potential is frequently viewed as a sign of the inhabitants\&$\#$39; lack of industry, \"collecting mentality,\" Indian blood, and \"primitive\" land-use practices. However, this option is in fact a rational one from ecological, cultural, and economic perspectives. Elsewhere, the ecological and cultural bases for this option have been examined in detail. Here we shall examine this option from an economic perspective by conducting a cost-benefit analysis of various management practices carried out by local inhabitants in naturally occurring stands of the acai palm. (author)

}, keywords = {Amazon, ecology, palm production}, isbn = {0-8133-7705-6; 978-0-8133-7705-6}, url = {http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18351601}, author = {Anthony B. Anderson and M{\'a}rio Augusto G Jardim}, editor = {John O. Browder} } @article {827, title = {Los agricultores de Yurimaguas: Uso de la tierra y estrategias de cultivo en la selva peruana}, year = {1989}, note = {includes photographs, diagrams, maps, bibliography}, month = {[1989]}, institution = {Lima, Peru}, address = {Centro de Investigaci{\'o}n y Promoci{\'o}n Amaz{\'o}nica}, abstract = {

(trans.) The Farmers of Yurimaguas: Land Use and Cultivation Strategies in the Peruvian Jungle

This book is the result of a study conducted by the Center for Amazonian Promotion and Investigation. The book contains nine chapters examining traditional agricultural practices and rural domestic farms. The study is based on a perspective recently developed by agriculturists which is farmer-oriented instead of the traditional western development model. The principal objectives in the book are understanding the complex system of subsistence agriculture and the cultivation of commercial products in the Yurimaguas area. The book consists of an in-depth look at the results of the study conducted in the Yurimaguas. Some important areas of the study are the work force, ethnoecology, crops (such as rice, yucca, plantain and bananas, corn, beans, peanuts, sugar cane, pineapple, and sweet potatoes). The authors stress the importance of indigenous technology and emphasize the methods in which the peasants of Yurimaguas have regained their traditional techniques.

}, keywords = {Amazon, bananas, beans, corn, crops, ethnoecology, farmer participatory research, peanuts, peasants, pineapple, plantains, rice, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, technology, work force, yucca, Yurimaguas}, author = {Pedro Bidegaray and Robert E. Rhoades} } @inbook {916, title = {Succession management and resource distribution in an Amazonian rain forest}, booktitle = {Resource management in Amazonia: Indigenous and folk strategies}, series = {Advances in economic botany no. 7}, year = {1989}, month = {1989}, pages = {223-237}, publisher = {New York Botanical Garden}, organization = {New York Botanical Garden}, address = {Bronx, NY}, abstract = {

Many Amazonian peoples have a profound effect on rain forest structure and species composition through a process I call succession management. This article describes and examines the extent of such management in a Runa Indian community in Napo Province, Equador. The Runa live in dispersed settlements at low density, below 2 persons/km2. Unlike Amazonian people living in concentrated settlements, they are not under strong pressure to intensify succession management in order to concentrate forest resources. In order to assess the magnitude of such manipulation under low density conditions, I compare succession in two managed and two unmanaged five-year-old forest fallows. I found that management increases the species diversity of trees greater than 10 cm dbh (diameter at breast height). Planted tree crops accounted for between 8\% and 19\% of trees in this size class, and protected secondary species for between 6\% and 16\%. The distribution of many species, however, was not the result of conscious management decisions, although seedling establishment may have been altered by agriculture. It is possible that succession management in this Runa community could be further intensified to increase the proportion of useful planted and protected species. Nevertheless, resources present in Runa managed fallows provide significant amounts of food, construction material, and firewood as well as medicinal plants and other needed household items. (author)

}, keywords = {agroforestry, Amazon, Ecuador, fuelwood, rainforests, resource management, Runa, South America, succession}, isbn = {0-89327-340-6; 978-0-89327-340-8}, url = {http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19623957}, author = {Dominique Irvine}, editor = {Darrell Addison Posey and William L. BaleĢe} } @article {484, title = {Brazil{\textquoteright}s jungle blackboard: A test for conservation deep in Amazonas}, volume = {276}, year = {1988}, month = {March 1988}, pages = {65-70}, abstract = {This report discusses an Amazonian conservation project called the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project, which is the brainchild of Tom Lovejoy. This project examines an island biogeography ? the fragmentation of ecosystems into patches that resemble islands that are insulated from the original ecosystem. This project seeks the answers to such questions as "What is the numerical relationship between insularization and doom?" "How big must a rain forest be to remain a rain forest?" "If one hectare of this ecosystem is too small to sustain itself, if ten hectares is also too small, then how much is enough?" and "What is the minimum critical size of a piece of Amazon jungle?"}, keywords = {Amazon, Brazil, ecosystem, ecosystem decay, fauna, faunal collapse, jungle, Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems project, rainforests, relaxation to equilibrium, South America}, author = {David Quammen} } @book {372, title = {People of the tropical rain forest}, year = {1988}, month = {1988}, pages = {231}, publisher = {University of California Press}, organization = {University of California Press}, address = {Berkeley, CA}, abstract = {A compilation of writings some of which are incomplete. Beginning with chapter five this is an incomplete book about the specific people of the rain forest. It starts with the Indian National Resource management, Hill People of Northern Thailand, Hunters and Farmers of the African Forest, and people of the floodplain and forest. Not only does this excerpt discuss the Indians of Amazonia, but also discusses the regions. It also discusses the way each of the tribes make their living and how they use the resources around them. The last thing the chapter talks of is the ribere{\~n}os{\textquoteright} lives beyond the village. The excerpt includes many pictures and a few graphs.}, keywords = {Amazon, boats, Brazil, canoes, Central America, fallow, Native Americans, rainforests, slash and burn, smallholders, South America, swiddens, tribal peoples, tropical forests}, isbn = {0-520-06295-7; 0-520-06351-1}, url = {http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59892476}, editor = {Julie Sloan Denslow and Christine Padoch} } @article {561, title = {Farming, fishing, and fire in the history of the upper R{\'\i}o Negro region of Venezuela}, journal = {Human Ecology}, volume = {15}, year = {1987}, month = {March 1987}, pages = {1-26}, abstract = {Studies of R{\'\i}o Negro subsistence farming and fishing activities are used to estimate the human carrying capacity for the region and the likely pattern of human land-use during prehistory. Ceramic evidence suggests human presence in the region more than 3,000 years ago. Traditional farming is labor intensive and relatively unproductive. Nevertheless, farmers achieve an energy return of 15.2:1, and produce 2,600 kcal per work hour. Fish are the major protein source, but fish catch per unit of effort and fish yield per hectare of floodplain are very low; fishermen are probably exploiting local fish resources very close to their limit. The low human population density would suggest that the R{\'\i}o Negro forest has been relatively undisturbed. Nevertheless, charcoal is widespread and abundant in forest soils. This charcoal is probably from anthropogenic or natural wildfires. These results suggest a much more complex history for Amazonia than previously thought. (author)}, keywords = {agriculture, Amazon, energetics, fire, fishing, subsistence agriculture, Venezuela, wildfires}, doi = {10.1007/BF00891369}, url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/4602829}, author = {Kathleen Clark and Christopher Uhl} } @article {523, title = {Bora Indian agroforestry: An alternative to deforestation}, journal = {Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine}, volume = {6}, year = {1982}, month = {June 1982}, pages = {15-16}, abstract = {

Native cultivators in the Amazon have developed efficient and ecologically sound methods for making the tropical forest yield useful products. Their principal form of agriculture - shifting cultivation [swidden agriculture] - has evolved into a system of land management with features worthy of careful study. (author)

This document looks at how shifting cultivation is linked to agroforestry - another kind of system of land use which is currently recommended for the tropics. It also describes the methods the researchers used to collect data on a Bora swidden field.

}, keywords = {Amazon, Bora, deforestation, ecology, land management, methodology, Peru, tropical forests}, url = {http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/bora-indian-agroforestry-an-alternative-deforestation}, author = {John M. Treacy} } @article {700, title = {The tropical rain forest}, journal = {Scientific American}, volume = {229}, year = {1973}, month = {December 1973}, pages = {58-67}, abstract = {

This paper addresses the scarcity of nutrients. This effects the food crops, rainforest, and the rest if the ecosystem. The recycling of the minerals is very rapid. Fungi and the decomposition of rocks help in adding nutrients to the ground. The primary rainforest is surviving, but barely.

The idea of a substitute or secondary forest is what is to replace the primary forest. These are phases to the growth of the secondary forest. These are grasses, including herbaceous dicotyledons, vines, shrubs, etc. Next is trees, soft-wooded, fast-growing, and short lived. After that is a cycle, the primary forest begins to form. In order for the primary forest to take shape, the secondary forest must be undistributed.

}, keywords = {Amazon, Borneo, homeostatic mechanisms, mineral-transport system, rainforests, swiddens, tropical forests}, doi = {10.1038/scientificamerican1273-58}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1273-58}, author = {Paul W. Richards} }