Three Hypotheses Concerning the Human Dimension of the Atlantic Forest´s Biodiversity

Abstract

The environmental legacy of contemporary ecosystems is the product of the historical relation of past population with the environment. We propose three hypotheses of the human dimensions of biodiversity of the Atlantic Coastal Forest: 1) hunting, as a consequence of the low palatability of existing plant biomass, caused significant historical landscape modifications; 2) shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn) consists in an important source of structural and compositional change of the Atlantic Coastal Forest and 3) the use of forest biomass to produce charcoal as an important source of energy, starting in the XVII century, is an important factor determining species diversity of the Atlantic Coastal Forest. These hypotheses do not necessarily stand by themselves. Other explanations can be superimposed to the factors of human induced historical forest modification. The time scale that we used for this discussion was fairly broad, spanning from hunter-gatherer population of about 8.000 years ago, to more modern ethnic groups that practiced slash-and-burn agriculture, all the way up to the post-colonial period of increasing population and urbanization. Keywords: Landscape; Traditional Populations; Pre-Colonial Populations; Forest Dynamics.