Lacandon Maya Ecosystem Management: Sustainable Design for Subsistence and Environmental Restoration

background

This study examines swidden agroforestry used by the Lacandon Maya, an indigenous group living in Chiapas, Mexico, linking soil ecology to previous studies on plant communities. 

Research Goals & Methods

Methods included: i. describing the plant community in each successional stage of the Lacandon agroecosystem using traditional Lacandon Maya stage distinctions; ii. quantifying differences in plant community in terms of diversity among successional stages of the Lacandon agroecosystems; and iii. evaluating the soil ecology in each successional stage.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The study results suggesst that the Lacandon method of successional agrroforestry was structurally and categorically similar to the secondary forest of the same age classes, demonstrating that biodiversity can be maintained and restored in systems while maintaining subsistence agricultural production. In this case, traditional ecological knowledge supported the successional development of plant communities to accelerate soil restoration during fallows, and to provide soil organic material for later successional species- ultimately acclerating faster forest recovery and improving soil fertility for agricultural use.  This should be applied toward large-scale ecological conservation efforts to meet both conservation and agricultural needs of rural peoples. Applying this study to large-scale conservation efforts includes: (1) planting and protecting species that are useful to the farmer during the fallow, (2) planting and protecting trees in the fallow that enhance soil fertility recovery, (3) clearly distinguishing fallow developmental stages in terms of species composition for both production and fertility recovery, and (4) conserving primary forest to provide seeds and animal refuge.