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| Ethnobotany | ||||
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BOLIVIA |
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Bolivia has one of the highest percentages
of indigenous inhabitants among the countries of Latin America. It comprises
four biogeographical regions: Amazon, Brasileņo-Paranense, Andean, and
Chaco. Recent data show that there has Although studies of the diversity, structure, and biomass of secondary forests have been conducted recently in Bolivia, little is known about the role these forests play for indigenous people; little is know about how the forests are managed. Santa Cruz, the largest department of Bolivia and located in the eastern half of the country, has a wide variety of forests straddling the four Bolivian biogeographical regions. For indigenous people that still maintain a strong relationship with the land, these forests provide a variety of forest products. One of these indigenous groups,
the Guarayos, live in northern Santa Cruz where for generations they
have
cultivated the land following a complex Bibliography:Brown, S. and A.E. Lugo. 1990. Tropical
Secondary Forests. J Trop Ecol 6:1–32.
Chazdon, R.L. and F. Coe. 1999. Ethnobotany
of Woody Species in Second-Growth, Old-Growth, and Selectively Logged
Forests of Costa Rica. Conserv Biol 13:1312–1322.
Denevan, W.M. and C. Padoch, eds. 1988.
Swidden-Fallow Agroforestry in the Peruvian Amazon. Advances in Economic
Botany 5:8-46.
Finegan, B. 1996. Pattern and Process in
Neotropical Secondary Rain Forests: The First 100 Years of Succession.
TREE 11(3):119–124.
Navarro, G. and M. Maldonado. 2002. Geografía
Ecológica de Bolivia: Vegetación y Ambientes Acuáticos.
Fundación Simón I. Patiño. Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Toledo, M. In prep. Diversity, Structure
and Management of Different-Aged Secondary Forest in a Guarayo Community
in Eastern Bolivia. Master’s Thesis, Univ. of Missouri, St.
Louis.
Toledo, M. and J. Salick 2006. Secondary Succession and Indigenous Management in Semi-deciduous Forest Fallows of the Amazon Basin. Biotropica 38:161-170.
Toledo, M., J. Salick, B. Loiselle, and P.
Jorgensen. 2005. Composicion floristica y usos de bosques secundarios
en la provincia Guarayos,
Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Ecologia y Conservacion Ambiental 18:1-16.
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| © 1995-
Missouri Botanical Garden, All Rights Reserved |
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Swidden,
or slash and burn, agriculture is commonly employed by indigenous people
in South America. Forest patches are cleared, burned, and cultivated
for a short time and then to varying extent allowed to lie fallow,
depending
on the locals' needs. As a result, in the areas where this form of agriculture
is practiced, the vegetation is a mosaic made up of small agricultural
fields, secondary and mature forests. Ecological studies show that the
diversity, structure, and floristic composition of secondary forests
differ
according to age. Ethnobotanical studies in the Neotropics show that
secondary forests are utilized more intensively by traditional peoples
than old-growth
forests, and hence are potentially of great importance for rural development,
biodiversity conservation and reforestation efforts in the tropics;
more
study of these forests is needed.
been an expansion of secondary forest in the eastern lowlands, primarily
as a result of commercial agriculture, and to a lesser extent logging.
The total area of secondary forest following in the wake of swidden agriculture
practiced by indigenous communities is relatively small
swidden-fallow
cycle. A study (Toledo in prep.) of successional forests of varying
age
(1 to 36 years) was carried out in a Guarayo community of the lowlands
of Santa Cruz. This research assesses the changes of the plant community
by comparing species diversity, floristic composition, and forest structure
in different-aged fallows, as well as mature forests. It also examines
the Guarayo’s use and management of their secondary forests, and
correlates the data with forest age. In an ethnobotanical initiative,
final results will be printed in an illustrated brochure and distributed
to the Guarayos to help them maintain their traditional knowledge.