TY - CHAP
T1 - Ecological and ethnoecological classification of a forest landscape near Smangus village in the Tayal Mrqwang territories, Taiwan
AU - Berg, Kevan J.
AU - Lin, Yih-Ren
AU - Lahwy icyeh,
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Landscape is as much a cultural entity as it is biophysical, and people and place must be jointly considered to fully understand spatial pattern. This study explores the overlapping biophysical and human dimensions of landscape in the context of an ecological and ethnoecological classification on the local landscape of the Tayal Mrqwang indigenous people in Taiwan. The goal of the ecological classification was to determine the extent to which human action accounts for landscape heterogeneity. We used multivariate tools to relate vegetation patterns to environmental gradients and human modification across 76 sites. We identifiedeleven forest types, ranging from mixed coniferous forests at high elevations, topine, bamboo, alder, and laurel stands at low elevations. The impact of humanaction was particularly evident at low elevations, where patterns of forest and soilvariation were resonant of small-scale practices (e.g., shifting cultivation, terracefarming). The findings show that past land uses of the Tayal people play a keyrole in shaping forest. The ethnoecological classification did not conform to theecological classification. Results of interviews and free-listing exercises revealedan unsystematized classification that recognizes a continuum of forest variationthrough the intersection of three overlapping categories: history of disturbance,topography and substrate, vegetation. These categories are modified through landtenure and toponyms, generating variable characterizations of variation ratherthan formalized nomenclature. However, despite the lack of formalization, theTayal are nonetheless highly cognizant of how forest variation coincides with the environment and the activities of their ancestors. This knowledge representsimmense local expertise and must not be excluded from conservation and comanagement projects in the local area.
AB - Landscape is as much a cultural entity as it is biophysical, and people and place must be jointly considered to fully understand spatial pattern. This study explores the overlapping biophysical and human dimensions of landscape in the context of an ecological and ethnoecological classification on the local landscape of the Tayal Mrqwang indigenous people in Taiwan. The goal of the ecological classification was to determine the extent to which human action accounts for landscape heterogeneity. We used multivariate tools to relate vegetation patterns to environmental gradients and human modification across 76 sites. We identifiedeleven forest types, ranging from mixed coniferous forests at high elevations, topine, bamboo, alder, and laurel stands at low elevations. The impact of humanaction was particularly evident at low elevations, where patterns of forest and soilvariation were resonant of small-scale practices (e.g., shifting cultivation, terracefarming). The findings show that past land uses of the Tayal people play a keyrole in shaping forest. The ethnoecological classification did not conform to theecological classification. Results of interviews and free-listing exercises revealedan unsystematized classification that recognizes a continuum of forest variationthrough the intersection of three overlapping categories: history of disturbance,topography and substrate, vegetation. These categories are modified through landtenure and toponyms, generating variable characterizations of variation ratherthan formalized nomenclature. However, despite the lack of formalization, theTayal are nonetheless highly cognizant of how forest variation coincides with the environment and the activities of their ancestors. This knowledge representsimmense local expertise and must not be excluded from conservation and comanagement projects in the local area.
M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)
SN - 9789869239639
BT - Ethnos, geography and development: An interdisciplinary approach to human-environmental relations
A2 - Kuan, Da-wei
PB - Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
ER -
