Rainforest composition and histories of human disturbance in Solomon Islands.
On the basis of a Solomon Islands case study, we report that tropical rainforests hitherto perceived as untouched, pristine, virgin, etc., are actually sites of former settlement, extensive forest clearance, and irrigated/swidden agriculture. An unusually wide range of sources--rainforest ecology, forest classification and mapping, ethnobotany, land-use history, oral traditions, ethnographic and archaeological observations--supports our conclusions. These observations have bearings for contemporary perspectives on scenarios for rainforest regeneration after logging. They also force a revision of certain assumptions concerning Melanesian prehistory and historical demography, and indicate that interdisciplinary links between botany, archaeology and social anthropology are needed to achieve a better appreciation of rainforest dynamics.
Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK. tpb1001@hermes.cam.ac.uk
Tim
T
Bayliss-Smith
Edvard
E
Hviding
Tim
T
Whitmore
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001106:Archaeology; D001901:Botany; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000266:history; D003710:Demography; D004463:Ecology; D016468:Forestry / Q000266:history; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008542:Melanesia; D014197:Trees