Article
Biology
Rachel K. Sales, Crystal N. H. McMichael, Suzette G. A. Flantua, Kimberley Hagemans, Jesse R. Zondervan, Catalina Gonzalez-Arango, Warren B. Church, Mark B. Bush
Summary: A study reconstructs the spatial patterns of pre-Columbian people in the Tropical Andes using an ensemble species distribution model. It identifies environmental variables closely related to human occupancy and suggests that 11.04% of the study area may have been occupied by pre-Columbian people.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Thomas W. Lee, John H. Walker
Summary: This study uses a landscape approach to interpret the settlement patterns of pre-Columbian raised-field farmers in the Llanos de Mojos of the Bolivian Amazon. The results reveal two distinct regional patterns in terms of farming community distribution and landscape networks.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Charles R. Ortloff, Alan L. Kolata
Summary: This study focuses on the function of raised fields associated with the Tiwanaku society located in Bolivia. It finds that Tiwanaku utilized solar radiation, surrounding swale water, and multi-layered moist soil to enhance the heat storage capacity of raised fields, protecting crops from freezing damage.
Article
Forestry
Jakelyne S. Bezerra, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Juan Manuel Dupuy-Rada, Inara R. Leal, Marcelo Tabarelli
Summary: Agricultural activities, such as slash-and-burn farming, pose a threat to the recovery potential of forests in human-modified landscapes. This is due to the disruption of critical sources of forest regeneration, including seed rain. The hypothesis that slash-and-burn agriculture promotes seed source and seed dispersal limitation remains poorly tested.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Jakelyne S. Bezerra, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Jonathan M. Tavares, Adrielle Leal, Inara R. Leal, Marcelo Tabarelli
Summary: Forest ecosystems are threatened by unsustainable agricultural practices, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, which can negatively impact the soil seed bank and limit forest resilience. A study in a tropical dry forest in Brazil showed that fire from slash-and-burn agriculture decreased seed viability, diversity, and composition, leading to homogenization of seed assemblages. This highlights the low resistance of the soil seed bank to this farming method, suggesting that other processes like seed dispersal and resprouting are crucial for the recovery of species-rich tropical forests exposed to slash-and-burn agriculture.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Patrick M. Senga, Julie Talbot, Steeve Bonneville
Summary: The discovery of the world's largest known peat deposit in the Central African Basin calls for a realistic national assessment of peat carbon in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study examined the physicochemical properties of two peat deposits in Sud-Kivu Province and estimated their carbon stocks. Land use change has significantly altered the vegetation and carbon accumulation at these sites.
Article
Humanities, Multidisciplinary
Arnau Garcia-Molsosa, Hector A. A. Orengo, Cameron A. A. Petrie
Summary: Alluvial floodplains have played a significant role in the development and transformation of agrarian-based societies. Due to their dynamic nature and geomorphological processes, accessing the archaeological record of these floodplains can be challenging. Additionally, the expansion of urban and agricultural areas poses threats to cultural heritage and the environment. This study combines Historical Cartography and Remote Sensing sources to identify archaeological sites and study the hydrological history of the Indus River basin. The integration of computational methods and analysis of datasets provides insights into settlement patterns and the potential implications for future research, heritage documentation, and preservation.
Article
Anthropology
Doyle McKey, Leonor Rodrigues, Javier Ruiz-Perez, Rumsais Blatrix, Stephen Rostain
Summary: Despite attempts at intercontinental synthesis, studies of agricultural raised fields in the Neotropics and in Africa and New Guinea are separate research traditions. This review suggests that the purpose of building raised fields is to concentrate topsoil and organic matter to create fertile patches in infertile grassland environments.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shyama Vermeersch, Simone Riehl, Britt M. Starkovich, Jens Kamlah
Summary: Archaeological faunal and botanical remains are often treated and published separately to understand past subsistence practices, but by integrating these data, we can improve our knowledge of subsistence and agriculture, providing a context to better understand social and political changes in past societies.
Review
Infectious Diseases
Joseph A. Ngatse, Gilbert Ndziessi, Francois Missamou, Rodrigue Kinouani, Marlhand Hemilembolo, Sebastien D. Pion, Kirsten A. Bork, Ange A. Abena, Michel Boussinesq, Cedric B. Chesnais
Summary: This article investigates the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases (PC-NTDs) in the Republic of the Congo, revealing that PC-NTDs other than trachoma are still endemic in specific areas of the country. To eliminate these diseases, further studies and investment in scientific research are required.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Archaeology
E. Meylemans, J. Bastiaens, F. Bogemans, T. Clerbaut, S. Debruyne, K. Deforce, A. Ervynck, A. Lentacker, Y. Perdaen, A. Storme, N. Vanholme, W. Van Neer
Summary: The Wijmeers site in Wichelen, Belgium, is a rare exception to the poor preservation of ecological proxies in rural Roman settlements in the Low Countries. It provides unique insights into the subsistence economy of a Roman rural household and the exploitation of the Lower Scheldt valley and river environments.
ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Lynne M. Rouse, Paula N. Doumani Dupuy, Elizabeth Baker Brite
Summary: This study examines the archaeological context of agro-pastoralism through three case studies and argues that central Eurasian archaeology has reached a turning point where deeper anthropological questions can be explored. It advocates for a self-reflective discussion about the process of archaeological inquiry and knowledge reproduction.
JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Jan-Hendrik May, Anna Plotzki, Leonor Rodrigues, Frank Preusser, Heinz Veit
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Geography, Physical
Sandra O. Brugger, Erika Gobet, Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen, Marie -Pierre Ledru, Daniele Colombaroli, W. O. van der Knaap, Umberto Lombardo, Katerine Escobar-Torrez, Walter Finsinger, Leonor Rodrigues, Alena Giesche, Modesto Zarate, Heinz Veit, Willy Tinner
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2016)
Article
Geography, Physical
Leonor Rodrigues, Umberto Lombardo, Elisa Canal Beeby, Heinz Veit
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2017)
Article
Geography, Physical
Umberto Lombardo, Sebastian Denier, Jan-Hendrik May, Leonor Rodrigues, Heinz Veit
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2013)
Article
Geography, Physical
Umberto Lombardo, Javier Ruiz-Perez, Leonor Rodrigues, Adrien Mestrot, Francis Mayle, Marco Madella, Soenke Szidat, Heinz Veit
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Leonor Rodrigues, Tobias Sprafke, Carine Bokatola Moyikola, Bernard G. Barthes, Isabelle Bertrand, Marion Comptour, Stephen Rostain, Joseph Yoka, Doyle McKey
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Archaeology
Leonor Rodrigues, Umberto Lombardo, Heinz Veit
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS
(2018)
Article
Soil Science
Leonor Rodrigues, Umberto Lombardo, Mareike Trauerstein, Perrine Huber, Sandra Mohr, Heinz Veit