Centuries of compounding human influence on Amazonian forests

McMichael, Crystal N. H., Bush, Mark B., Ter Steege, Hans, Piperno, Dolores R., Gosling, William D., Nascimento, Majoi N., Lombardo, Umberto, de Souza Coelho, Luiz, Leão do Amaral, Iêda, de Almeida Matos, Francisca Dionízia, and others. (2025) Centuries of compounding human influence on Amazonian forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122 (47). Article Number e2514040122. ISSN 1091-6490. (doi:10.1073/pnas.2514040122) (KAR id:112167)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2514040122

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that the ecological footprints of pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples in Amazonia persist in modern forests. Ecological impacts resulting from European colonization c. 1550 CE and the Amazonian Rubber Boom c. 1850 to 1920 CE are largely unexplored but could be important additive influences on forest structure and tree species composition. Using environmental niche models, we show the highest probabilities of pre-Columbian and colonial occupation sites, and hence human-induced ecological influences, occurred in forests along rivers. In many areas, the predicted pre-Columbian and colonial distributions overlap spatially with the potential for superimposed ecological influences. Environmental gradients are known to structure Amazonian vegetation composition, but they are also strong predictors of past human influence, both spatially and temporally. Our comparisons of model outputs with relative abundances of Amazonian tree species suggest that pre-Columbian and colonial-period ecological legacies are associated with modern forest composition.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1073/pnas.2514040122
Uncontrolled keywords:	Forests, History, 20th Century, History, 18th Century, History, Ancient, hyperdominance, Trees, History, 16th Century, Humans, Rivers, History, 15th Century, ecological legacy, Ecosystem, History, 17th Century, tropical forest, colonization, Brazil, Indigenous land use, History, 19th Century
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Institutional Unit:	Schools > School of Natural Sciences > Conservation
Former Institutional Unit:	There are no former institutional units.
Funders:	Conseil européen de la recherche (https://ror.org/0472cxd90) National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (https://ror.org/03swz6y49)
SWORD Depositor:	JISC Publications Router
Depositing User:	JISC Publications Router
Date Deposited:	03 Feb 2026 11:43 UTC
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2026 10:43 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/112167 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Alexiades, Miguel N..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5674-5341
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