Human-food feedback in tropical forests

Ancient interaction between humans and edible plants can boost tropical food security The image of tropical forests as harsh environments devoid of large human populations has held sway in Western minds for centuries. Since the 1980s, researchers began to learn how these landscapes have been transfo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2021-06, Vol.372 (6547), p.1146-1147
Main Authors: Flores, Bernardo M., Levis, Carolina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Food
Food production
Forest management
Forests
Harsh environments
Human populations
Indigenous peoples
Plant species
Tropical forests
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Summary:Ancient interaction between humans and edible plants can boost tropical food security The image of tropical forests as harsh environments devoid of large human populations has held sway in Western minds for centuries. Since the 1980s, researchers began to learn how these landscapes have been transformed by Indigenous peoples, who developed diverse forest-based food production systems. How did these apparently natural forests come to be dominated by plant species so closely associated with humans? Perhaps ancient societies decided to settle where forests were already abundant in food and medicine, or maybe they were the ones who enriched their homes ( 1 – 5 )—but it is probably a bit of both.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abh1806