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Phytolith assemblages reflect variability in human land use and the modern environment.
Witteveen, Nina H; White, Cheryl; Sanchez Martinez, Barbara A; Booij, Roemer; Philip, Annemarie; Gosling, William D; Bush, Mark B; McMichael, Crystal N H.
Afiliación
  • Witteveen NH; Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • White C; Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Anton de Kom University, Universiteitscomplex, Gebouw 7, Leysweg 86, Paramaribo, Suriname.
  • Sanchez Martinez BA; Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Booij R; Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Philip A; Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Gosling WD; Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Bush MB; Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 USA.
  • McMichael CNH; Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Veg Hist Archaeobot ; 33(2): 221-236, 2024.
Article en En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38404455
ABSTRACT
Phytoliths preserved in soils and sediments can be used to provide unique insights into past vegetation dynamics in response to human and climate change. Phytoliths can reconstruct local vegetation in terrestrial soils where pollen grains typically decay, providing a range of markers (or lack thereof) that document past human activities. The ca. 6 million km2 of Amazonian forests have relatively few baseline datasets documenting changes in phytolith representation across gradients of human disturbances. Here we show that phytolith assemblages vary on local scales across a gradient of (modern) human disturbance in tropical rainforests of Suriname. Detrended correspondence analysis showed that the phytolith assemblages found in managed landscapes (shifting cultivation and a garden), unmanaged forests, and abandoned reforesting sites were clearly distinguishable from intact forests and from each other. Our results highlight the sensitivity and potential of phytoliths to be used in reconstructing successional trajectories after site usage and abandonment. Percentages of specific phytolith morphotypes were also positively correlated with local palm abundances derived from UAV data, and with biomass estimated from MODIS satellite imagery. This baseline dataset provides an index of likely changes that can be observed at other sites that indicate past human activities and long-term forest recovery in Amazonia. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00334-023-00932-2.
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