The Maya milpa: fire and the legacy of living soil

Abstract

Swidden is an agroforestry system in which woody vegetation is regenerated after a period of annual cropping. Associated with most forested areas of the tropical world, swidden is often blamed for deforestation but it also plays a role in forest conservation. Here, we examine the contemporary milpa, a type of swidden agriculture common to Latin America and historically used by the Maya people of the lowlands of southern Mexico and northern Central America; we focus on one group in particular, the Lakandon people of Chiapas. One element of milpa agriculture that receives a considerable amount of criticism is the burning of cut vegetation after clearing. Fire can have negative effects on ecosystems but swidden cultivators are often sophisticated managers of fire. Among the benefits of fire use in this setting is its contribution to nutrient flow and to long‐term soil fertility in the form of biochar, charcoal produced by low‐temperature pyrolysis in agriculture. When properly managed, the milpa cycle can result in long‐term carbon sequestration and an increasingly fertile anthrosol (soil that has been greatly modified by long‐term human activity) and enriched woodland vegetation.