Phylogenetic homogenization of Amazonian tree assemblages in forest islands after 26 years of isolation

In the more mesic savanna areas of West Africa, many areas of relatively tall and dense vegetation with a species composition more characteristic of forest than savanna are often found around villages areas. These ‘forest islands’ may be the direct action of human activity. To better understand these patches with relatively luxuriant vegetation, our study focused on how they influence soil aggregation in comparison with nearby areas and natural savanna vegetation across a precipitation transect in West Africa for which mean annual precipitation at the study sites ranges from 0.80 to 1.27 m a-1. Soil samples were taken from 0 to 5 cm and 5 to 10 cm depths and aggregate groups with diameters: > 500 μm, 500-250 μm and 250-53 μm (viz. “macroaggregates”, “mesoaggregates” and “microaggregates”) determined using the wet sieving method. The results showed significantly higher proportion of stable meso and macroaggregates in forest islands and natural savanna compared to agricultural soils (p <0.05). On the other hand, although there was no effect of land-use type on microaggregates stability, there was a strong tendency for the microaggregate fraction across all land use types to increase with increasing precipitation. Soil organic carbon and iron oxides contents are the most important factors influencing aggregate stability in West African ecosystems. By increasing soil structural stability, forest islands contribute to soil erosion reduction and the control of land degradation.

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Forest Islands and Kayapo Resource Management in Amazonia: A Reappraisal of the Apete

American Anthropologist ◽

10.1525/aa.1992.94.2.02a00090 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 94 (2) ◽

pp. 406-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Eugene Parker

Keyword(s):

Resource Management ◽

Forest Islands

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Forest islands in an agricultural sea.

Global forest fragmentation ◽

10.1079/9781780642031.0079 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 79-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. M. Klein ◽

V. Boreux ◽

J. Bauhus ◽

M. J. Chappell ◽

J. Fischer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Islands

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A phytogeographic survey of Southern Benin

Bothalia ◽

10.4102/abc.v14i3/4.1212 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 14 (3/4) ◽

pp. 579-585 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

G. Paradis

Keyword(s):

Fresh Water ◽

Soil Characteristics ◽

Deciduous Forests ◽

Human Influence ◽

The West ◽

Rainfall Gradient ◽

Floating Vegetation ◽

Lophira Lanceolata ◽

Southern Benin ◽

Forest Islands

Southern Benin has a dry subequatoriai climate with a rainfall gradient from 850 mm in the west to 1 500 mm in the east, the geomorphology is varied and the vegetation has been subjected to strong human influence. There are numerous plant formations, namely: 1, forest islands which are probably relics of the primitive vegetation and include (a) dense semi-deciduous forests of several types, (b) swamp forests of two types, (c) periodically flooded forest of two types, (d) Lophira lanceolata (Hutchinson Dalziel, 1954-72) woodlands and (e) mangrove swamps; 2, formations which are probably derived and include (a) thickets of several types, (b) tree savannas and shrub savannas, (c) grassy savannas and prairies varying according to soil characteristics and (d) halophytic grasslands; and 3, floating vegetation on fresh-water lakes.

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Habitat selection by arboreal termites in forest islands of a Neotropical floodplain

Acta Oecologica ◽

10.1016/j.actao.2020.103648 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 108 ◽

pp. 103648

Author(s):

Evaldo Benedito de Souza

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Neotropical Floodplain ◽

Forest Islands

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Persistent Early to Middle Holocene tropical foraging in southwestern Amazonia

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aav5449 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. eaav5449 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

José M. Capriles ◽

Umberto Lombardo ◽

Blaine Maley ◽

Carlos Zuna ◽

Heinz Veit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Production ◽

Environmental Stability ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Complex Societies ◽

Middle Holocene ◽

Tropical Landscapes ◽

Human Burials ◽

Tropical Lowlands ◽

Southwestern Amazonia ◽

Forest Islands

The Amazon witnessed the emergence of complex societies after 2500 years ago that altered tropical landscapes through intensive agriculture and managed aquatic systems. However, very little is known about the context and conditions that preceded these social and environmental transformations. Here, we demonstrate that forest islands in the Llanos de Moxos of southwestern Amazonia contain human burials and represent the earliest settlements in the region between 10,600 and 4000 years ago. These archaeological sites and their contents represent the earliest evidence of communities that experienced conditions conducive to engaging with food production such as environmental stability, resource disturbance, and increased territoriality in the Amazonian tropical lowlands.

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