Abstract
Historical ecology is an important tool in deciphering human–environment interactions imprinted on landscapes throughout time. However, gaps of knowledge still remain regarding the land use legacies hidden in the current Atlantic Forest landscape; and also regarding how this information can help management of the remaining forest cover. The social-ecological systems framework was applied to understand charcoal production in the urban forests of Rio de Janeiro, from the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, and their current social-ecological legacies. Charcoal production carried out by former enslaved populations, allowed for rapid forest regeneration. Forest thinning instead of forest felling was carried out by small groups in these urban remnant forests, sparing large native trees and facilitating natural regeneration. Currently, more than one thousand former charcoal production sites are accounted for hidden underneath the forest cover. The forest landscape of today is a result of novel forest successional trajectories that recovered structural and functional attributes of the forest ecosystem. However, this came at the cost of social invisibility and marginalization of these populations. The management practices of charcoal production dispersed in the landscape is one of Rio de Janeiro's most important, albeit hidden, land use legacies. Currently, the forested landscape is comprised of regenerated forests, both structurally and functionally sound, though with significant changes in species composition including the introduction of exotic species throughout recent centuries. These urban forests are today a complex mosaic of novel ecosystems, with rich biocultural diversity, and together with managed lands and well conserved forest tracts, provide not only livelihood and sustenance for forest dwelling families, but also important ecosystem services for the entire population of Rio de Janeiro. We believe that these concepts and frameworks can offer practical solutions for urban forest management, taking into account the biocultural diversity of Rio de Janeiro, increasing awareness of sustainability and promoting food security.
Highlights
It is widely accepted that it is impossible to understand society without nature, and nature without society
The main goal of this paper is to investigate the practices of the charcoal workers and the legacies derived from their work, since the social invisibility at that time has become an invisibility of their memory, their legacies in the forest and their crucial participation in the supply of energy for the city 5 of Rio de Janeiro
After almost two centuries of regeneration, the legacies of past human activities are observable in the structure, composition and functionality of the forest
Summary
It is widely accepted that it is impossible to understand society without nature, and nature without society. The biophysical conditions of the landscape in which species adapt to and interact have been modified in their most basic structure and composition, changing the evolutionary trajectories of biological communities and affecting ecosystem processes in their biotic and abiotic components. This could potentially lead to changes never seen before [2,3]
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