Critically Endangered South American Forests Were Man Made

[Judi Lynn]

Campos da Serra y Floresta de Araucari. Credit: Copyright Jose Iriarte


May 27, 2018
By Eurasia Review

Critically endangered South American forests thought to be the result of climate change were actually spread by ancient communities, archaeologists have found.

Huge swathes of land in Chile, Brazil and Argentina are covered with millions of Araucaria, or monkey puzzle trees, thanks to people planting or cultivating them more than a thousand years ago, a new study shows. Recent logging means the landscape is now one of the world’s most at-risk environments.

It had been thought the forests expanded due to wetter and warmer weather. But the research shows the rapidly expanding pre-Columbian population of South America, Southern Jê communities, were really responsible.

New excavations and soil analysis shows the forests, still hugely culturally and economically important to people living in South America, expanded between 1,410 and 900 years ago because of population growth and cultural changes.

More:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/27052018-critically-endangered-south-american-forests-were-man-made/


Please take a peek at these images of the Araucaria Tree. I can't pick one to represent the entire group, and they are incredible:

https://tinyurl.com/ycbjdqb7