O processo de domesticação de paisagens nas savanas tropicais sul americanas

Abstract

Small-scale societies have been transforming their landscapes for thousands of years, through diverse processes. One is known as domestication of landscapes, which results in changes in the structure, composition and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. Several studies have documented how this process occurs in the tropical humid regions. However, little is known about how the process occurs in South American savannas, environments with specific dynamics and ecological patterns. In this study, we aim to elucidate temporal and spatial dimensions of the domestication process in typical tropical savanna landscapes. To achieve this goal we proposed a multifaceted strategy, using the following approaches: (1) a systematic review, which allowed us to know what are the management patterns of landscape units carried out by the people who inhabit the South American tropical savannas and how these strategies are related to different cultures and different landscapes; (2) an ethnoecological investigation in a Brazilian savanna region, Serra do Espinhaço (MG), using different participatory methods, which allowed us to understand how the apanhadores de sempre vivas manage the current landscapes and their perceptions of the consequences of the repression of their activities; and (3) temporal and spatial analyses to assess the changes in the landscapes in the traditional territory of the apanhadores de sempre vivas in the Serra do Espinhaço in the last two decades and their relationship with the presence and absence of traditional management, which allowed us to expose that after a period of strong repression of traditional management, driven by restrictive environmental policies, significant changes occurred in the landscapes and these brought ecological and social effects to the study region. With this, we discuss the importance of traditional management in structuring savannas landscapes and highlighted the need to recognize, resume and encourage traditional management for the conservation of South American savannas.