Anthropogenic transitions from forested to human-dominated landscapes in southern Macaronesia
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Anthropogenic transitions from forested to human-dominated landscapes in southern Macaronesia. / Castilla-Beltrán, Alvaro; de Nascimento, Lea; Fernández-Palacios, José María; Whittaker, Robert J.; Willis, Kathy J.; Edwards, Mary; Nogué, Sandra.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 118, No. 40, e2022215118, 2021.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Anthropogenic transitions from forested to human-dominated landscapes in southern Macaronesia
AU - Castilla-Beltrán, Alvaro
AU - de Nascimento, Lea
AU - Fernández-Palacios, José María
AU - Whittaker, Robert J.
AU - Willis, Kathy J.
AU - Edwards, Mary
AU - Nogué, Sandra
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The extinction of iconic species such as the dodo and the deforestation of Easter Island are emblematic of the transformative impact of human colonization of many oceanic islands, especially those in the tropics and subtropics. Yet, the interaction of prehistoric and colonial-era colonists with the forests and forest resources they encountered can be complex, varies between islands, and remains poorly understood. Long-term ecological records (e.g., fossil pollen) provide the means to understand these human impacts in relation to natural change and variability pre- and postcolonization. Here we analyze paleoecological archives in forested landscapes of the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde, first colonized approximately 2,400 to 2,000 and 490 y ago, respectively. We demonstrate sensitivity to regional climate change prior to human colonization, followed by divergent but gradual impacts of early human settlement. These contrast with more rapid transformation in the colonial era, associated with significant increases in anthropogenic pressures. In the Canary Islands, at least two native tree taxa became extinct and lowland thermophilous woodlands were largely converted to agricultural land, yet relictual subtropical laurel forests persisted with limited incursion of nonnative species. In Cabo Verde, in contrast, thermophilous woodlands were depleted and substituted by open landscapes and introduced woodlands. Differences between these two archipelagos reflect the changing cultural practices and societal interactions with forests and illustrate the importance of long-term data series in understanding the human footprint on island ecosystems, information that will be critically important for current and future forest restoration and conservation management practices in these two biodiversity hotspots.
AB - The extinction of iconic species such as the dodo and the deforestation of Easter Island are emblematic of the transformative impact of human colonization of many oceanic islands, especially those in the tropics and subtropics. Yet, the interaction of prehistoric and colonial-era colonists with the forests and forest resources they encountered can be complex, varies between islands, and remains poorly understood. Long-term ecological records (e.g., fossil pollen) provide the means to understand these human impacts in relation to natural change and variability pre- and postcolonization. Here we analyze paleoecological archives in forested landscapes of the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde, first colonized approximately 2,400 to 2,000 and 490 y ago, respectively. We demonstrate sensitivity to regional climate change prior to human colonization, followed by divergent but gradual impacts of early human settlement. These contrast with more rapid transformation in the colonial era, associated with significant increases in anthropogenic pressures. In the Canary Islands, at least two native tree taxa became extinct and lowland thermophilous woodlands were largely converted to agricultural land, yet relictual subtropical laurel forests persisted with limited incursion of nonnative species. In Cabo Verde, in contrast, thermophilous woodlands were depleted and substituted by open landscapes and introduced woodlands. Differences between these two archipelagos reflect the changing cultural practices and societal interactions with forests and illustrate the importance of long-term data series in understanding the human footprint on island ecosystems, information that will be critically important for current and future forest restoration and conservation management practices in these two biodiversity hotspots.
KW - Anthropogenic impacts
KW - Islands
KW - Macaronesia
KW - Subtropical forests
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2022215118
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2022215118
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34580208
AN - SCOPUS:85115945645
VL - 118
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
SN - 0027-8424
IS - 40
M1 - e2022215118
ER -
ID: 282942620