Abstract
The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient Maya "forest gardens"—tree-dominated home gardens containing a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs—on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize. The central hypothesis is that due to centuries of intensive management, forest gardens built by the ancient Maya altered the tree species composition and that alteration can still be detected today. I hypothesized species composition will be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (High density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (Low density). Sixty three 400 m2 plots (31 High density and 32 Low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological reserve in northwestern Belize. All trees greater than 2.5 cm DBH were marked, measured, and identified and their x-y coordinates within each plot mapped. The species composition of High and Low density forest areas was significantly different. There was a greater abundance of forest garden species (species identified from previous studies of useful plants in the region) found in the High density forest. Subsequent edaphic analyses revealed that while there were significant edaphic differences between High density and Low density, this only explained 5% of the species composition differences. ^ The persistence of ancient forest garden tree communities suggests that ancient Maya forest gardeners may have recognized and exploited ecological characters that enhanced the stability of the garden community—synergisms. Using the mapping data, a randomization method for spatial analysis was developed to investigate potential synergistic relationships between forest garden species. The analysis revealed that 58 pairs of species tended to "cluster" together significantly more often in the High density areas than would be expected in a random distribution. In Low density plots, only 12 pairs of species exhibited a significant "clustered" spatial relationship. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans. ^
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Tree species composition of High density and Low density forest areas differs significantly
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize”
e1“The species composition of High and Low density forest areas was significantly different”
Claim · model-written summary
Forest garden species are more abundant in the High density forest
Verbatim
e0“on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize”
e1“There was a greater abundance of forest garden species (species identified from previous studies of useful plants in the region) found in the High density forest”
Claim · model-written summary
Edaphic differences between High density and Low density areas are significant
Verbatim
e0“on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize”
e2“revealed that while there were significant edaphic differences between High density and Low density”
Claim · model-written summary
Edaphic differences explain only 5% of the tree species composition differences
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize”
e2“revealed that while there were significant edaphic differences between High density and Low density”
e3“this only explained 5% of the species composition differences”
Claim · model-written summary
Pairs of tree species cluster together more often in High density areas than expected at random
Verbatim
e0“on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize”
e4“The analysis revealed that 58 pairs of species tended to "cluster" together significantly more often in the High density areas than would be expected in a random distribution”
Claim · model-written summary
Only 12 pairs of tree species show significant clustering in Low density plots
Verbatim
e0“on the tree species composition of the extant forests of Northwestern Belize”
e5“In Low density plots, only 12 pairs of species exhibited a significant "clustered" spatial relationship”
Claim · model-written summary
Ancient Maya forest gardeners may have exploited ecological characters that enhanced the stability of the garden community through synergisms
Verbatim
e6“The persistence of ancient forest garden tree communities”
e7“may have recognized and exploited ecological characters that enhanced the stability of the garden community—synergisms”