Abstract
The tropical South American savannas have been occupied and manipulated by humans since the late Pleistocene. Ecologists consider that soils, hydrology, and seasonal precipitation influence the structure and composition of plants and the fire-proneness of savannas. However, the human influence on these dynamics remains uncertain. This is because little is known about human activities and what influence they have on the diversity of ecosystems. Considering this, our study sought to synthesize the management practices used by small-scale societies of the South American savannas, compile the species that are the focus of direct management, and demonstrate the role of this management in maintaining the diverse ecosystems that make up the savannas. We also set out to test the hypotheses that forms of management differ depending on the ecosystem and cultural matrices. To do so, we conducted a systematic review, in which we collected 51 articles with information about the management carried out by small-scale societies. From this, we categorized 10 management practices directed to ecosystems: protection of the ecosystem, enrichment of species, topographic changes, increased soil fertility, cleaning, prevention of fire, resource promotion, driving of game, swidden-fallow, and maintenance of ecosystem structure. We identified 19 native plant species whose populations are managedin-situ. These management practices have proven capable of keeping savanna and grassland ecosystems open and increasing the occurrence of forest ecosystems in the mosaic, as well as favoring plants of human interest in general. We note that there is a relationship between management practices with ecosystems and cultures, which suggests that both factors influence the management of landscapes. We conclude that management practices of small-scale societies are responsible for domesticating South American tropical savannas and that these savannas are composed of a mosaic of culturally constructed niches. The small-scale societies that inhabit these environments have important traditional ecological knowledge and strategies that enable the use, conservation, and restoration of savannas, extremely threatened by agribusiness today.Systematic Review Registration: [website], identifier [registration number].
Highlights
Humans across the planet evolved in different ecosystems and their activities influenced these habitats, as well as the evolution of populations in numerous taxonomic groups (Cooke, 1998; Boivin et al, 2016; Roberts, 2019)
Within the diversity of environments in the Neotropical region, savannas were a key part of early occupations (Lombardo et al, 2020), either because of their diversity of ecosystems and resources, or because of the evolutionary preferences inherited from Pleistocene hominids (Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois, 1967; Eiten, 1972; Orians, 1980; Harris and Hillman, 2014; Roberts, 2019)
The prevailing ecological thinking considers that the ecosystems that make up tropical savannas are mainly influenced by soils, hydrology, and seasonal precipitation, as these factors determine the structure and composition of plants and their propensity to fire (Staver et al, 2011; Hoffmann et al, 2012; Silva et al, 2013)
Summary
Humans across the planet evolved in different ecosystems and their activities influenced these habitats, as well as the evolution of populations in numerous taxonomic groups (Cooke, 1998; Boivin et al, 2016; Roberts, 2019). Within the diversity of environments in the Neotropical region, savannas were a key part of early occupations (Lombardo et al, 2020), either because of their diversity of ecosystems and resources, or because of the evolutionary preferences inherited from Pleistocene hominids (Ellenberg and Mueller-Dombois, 1967; Eiten, 1972; Orians, 1980; Harris and Hillman, 2014; Roberts, 2019). Human influences on environments occur from the moment humans settle in new territories (Lombardo et al, 2020), and tropical South American savannas have a diverse occupation history (Denevan, 1966; Morey, 1976; Bueno and Isnardis, 2018). But make clear that the savannas were inhabited in the late Pleistocene and that, in this period, human activities were characterized by a dynamic of high mobility and initial recognition of environments (Bocanegra and Mora, 2012; Bueno and Dias, 2015; Vialou et al, 2017). In the Holocene, there is a greater number of archaeological records, which suggests sedentarization associated with population growth and diversification of strategies to adapt to the temperature oscillations and rainfall variations common in the period (Erickson, 1995; Gassón, 2002; Mayle et al, 2004; Rostain, 2008; Bueno and Dias, 2015; Bueno and Isnardis, 2018; Lombardo et al, 2020; Stier et al, 2020)
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