Doctoral Dissertation: Ese'eja Signatures: A Systematic Assesment of the Effects of Indigenous Agricultural Practices on Rainforest Diversity in the Amazon

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract 0001538 Durham/Ocampo-Raeder This project examines the impact of indigenous resource management on the creation and maintenance of rainforest diversity in the Peruvian Amazon. The researcher will analyze the range of variation in agricultural practices among three Ese'eja communities, and measure the impact of different types of agricultural practices on tree species diversity in the primary forest. Methods include botanical transects, ecological analysis, and ethnography. The project will document how variation in agricultural practices across communities (the human impact) causes identifiable variability in the number and richness of tree species. The research will contribute to our understanding of the human ecology of rainforest communities.