Herb de Bray

Herb de Bray standing in the yet to be filled Olympic sized swimming pool.

An ethnolinguistic study of the Yanesha’ (Amuesha) language and speech community in Peru’s Andean Amazon, and the traditional role of Ponapnora, a female rite of passage

Thesis written in co-mentorship with Richard Chase Smith Ph.D, of El Instituto del Bien Comun (IBC) in Peru. The attached file is a pdf created in Word. The pdf file serves to preserve the accuracy of the many linguistic symbols found in the text.

Indigenous knowledges and power in friction with human rights and development discourses : the case of the Witoto Ethnic Safeguarding Plan in the Colombian Amazon

Cette thèse analyse les négociations interculturelles des Gens du Centre (groupe amazonien multi-ethnique) avec les discours universels de droits humains et de développement mobilisés par l’État colombien. L’analyse se concentre sur le Plan de sauvegarde ethnique Witoto chapitre Leticia (ESP), qui est un des 73 plans formulés et implémentés par l’État colombien pour reconnaître les droits des peuples autochtones en danger par le déplacement forcé causé par les conflits armés internes. J’analyse l’ESP à travers la notion de friction (Tsing, 2005) qui fait référence aux caractéristiques complexes, inégalitaires et changeantes des rencontres contemporaines entre les différences des savoirs locaux et globaux. Mon analyse se base aussi sur des approches foucaldiennes et/ou subalternes de pouvoir comme la recherche anticoloniale et de la décolonisation, les perspectives critiques et contre-hégémoniques des droits humains, le post-développement, et les critiques du féminisme au développement. L’objectif de la thèse est d’analyser les savoirs (concepts de loi, de justice et de développement); les logiques de pensée (pratiques, épistémologies, rôles et espaces pour partager et produire des savoirs); et les relations de pouvoir (formes de leadership, associations, réseaux, et formes d’empowerment et disempowerment) produits et recréés par les Gens du Centre au sein des frictions avec les discours de droits humains et du développement. La thèse introduit comment la région habitée par les Gens du Centre (le Milieu Amazone transfrontalier) a été historiquement connectée aux relations inégalitaires de pouvoir qui influencent les luttes actuelles de ce groupe autochtone pour la reconnaissance de leurs droits à travers l’ESP. L’analyse se base à la fois sur une recherche documentaire et sur deux terrains ethnographiques, réalisés selon une perspective critique et autoréflexive. Ma réflexion méthodologique explore comment la position des chercheurs sur le terrain influence le savoir ethnographique et peut contribuer à la création des relations interculturelles inclusives, flexibles et connectées aux besoins des groupes locaux. La section analytique se concentre sur comment le pouvoir circule simultanément à travers des échelles nationale, régionale et locale dans l’ESP. J’y analyse comment ces formes de pouvoir produisent des sujets individuels et collectifs et s’articulent à des savoirs globaux ou locaux pour donner lieu à de nouvelles formes d’exclusion ou d’émancipation des autochtones déplacés. Les résultats de la recherche suggèrent que les Gens du Centre approchent le discours des droits humains à travers leurs savoirs autochtones sur la « loi de l’origine ». Cette loi établit leur différence culturelle comme étant à la base du processus de reconnaissance de leurs droits comme peuple déplacé. D’ailleurs, les Gens du Centre approprient les discours et les projets de développement à travers la notion d’abondance qui, comprise comme une habileté collective qui connecte la spiritualité, les valeurs culturelles, et les rôles de genre, contribue à assurer l’existence physique et culturelle des groupes autochtones. Ma thèse soutient que, même si ces savoirs et logiques de pensée autochtones sont liés à des inégalités et à formes de pouvoir local, ils peuvent contribuer à des pratiques de droits humains et de développement plurielles, égalitaires et inclusives.

Methods for short-term control of Imperata grass in Peruvian Amazon

The traditional control of Imperata brasiliensis grasslands used by farmers in the Peruvian Amazon is to burn the grass. The objective of this study was to compare different methods of short-term control. Biological, mechanical, chemical and traditional methods of control were compared. Herbicide spraying and manual weeding have shown to be very effective in reducing above- and below-ground biomass growth in the first 45 days after slashing the grass, with effects persisting in the longer term, but both are expensive methods. Shading seems to be less effective in the short-term, whereas it influences the Imperata growth in the longer term. After one year shading, glyphosate application and weeding significantly reduced aboveground biomass by 94, 67 and 53%; and belowground biomass by 76, 65 and 58%, respectively, compared to control. We also found a significant decrease of Imperata rhizomes in soil during time under shading. Burning has proved to have no significant effect on Imperata growth. The use of shade trees in a kind of agroforestry system could be a suitable method for small farmers to control Imperata grasslands.

Cooking with Herb, the vegetarian dragon : a cook book for kids.

En el bosque de Nogard, el dragón Meathooh y sus compinches piensan que nada es mejor que el sabor crujiente de caballeros con armadura hasta que un dragón vegetariano los tienta con otras recetas alternativas. Este no es un libro de recetas que puede ser utilizado por los niños sin la ayuda de adultos. Prácticamente la totalidad de las recetas requieren cortar con un cuchillo afilado y el uso del horno.

Simulating SOC changes in 11 land use change chronosequences from the Brazilian Amazon with RothC and Century models

Land use and land cover changes in the Brazilian Amazon have major implications for regional and global carbon (C) cycling. Cattle pasture represents the largest single use (about 70%) of this once-forested land in most of the region. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the RothC and Century models at estimating soil organic C (SOC) changes under forest-to-pasture conditions in the Brazilian Amazon. We used data from 11 site-specific 'forest to pasture' chronosequences with the Century Ecosystem Model (Century 4.0) and the Rothamsted C Model (RothC 26.3). The models predicted that forest clearance and conversion to well managed pasture would cause an initial decline in soil C stocks (0-20 cm depth), followed in the majority of cases by a slow rise to levels exceeding those under native forest. One exception to this pattern was a chronosequence in Suia-Missu, which is under degraded pasture. In three other chronosequences the recovery of soil C under pasture appeared to be only to about the same level as under the previous forest. Statistical tests were applied to determine levels of agreement between simulated SOC stocks and observed stocks for all the sites within the 11 chronosequences. The models also provided reasonable estimates (coefficient of correlation = 0.8) of the microbial biomass C in the 0-10 cm soil layer for three chronosequences, when compared with available measured data. The Century model adequately predicted the magnitude and the overall trend in delta C-13 for the six chronosequences where measured 813 C data were available. This study gave independent tests of model performance, as no adjustments were made to the models to generate outputs. Our results suggest that modelling techniques can be successfully used for monitoring soil C stocks and changes, allowing both the identification of current patterns in the soil and the projection of future conditions. Results were used and discussed not only to evaluate soil C dynamics but also to indicate soil C sequestration opportunities for the Brazilian Amazon region. Moreover, modelling studies in these 'forest to pasture' systems have important applications, for example, the calculation of CO, emissions from land use change in national greenhouse gas inventories. (0 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predicted soil organic carbon stocks and changes in the Brazilian Amazon between 2000 and 2030

Currently we have little understanding of the impacts of land use change on soil C stocks in the Brazilian Amazon. Such information is needed to determine impacts'6n the global C cycle and the sustainability of agricultural systems that are replacing native forest. The aim of this study was to predict soil carbon stocks and changes in the Brazilian Amazon during the period between 2000 and 2030, using the GEFSOC soil carbon (C) modelling system. In order to do so, we devised current and future land use scenarios for the Brazilian Amazon, taking into account: (i) deforestation, rates from the past three decades, (ii) census data on land use from 1940 to 2000, including the expansion and intensification of agriculture in the region, (iii) available information on management practices, primarily related to well managed pasture versus degraded pasture and conventional systems versus no-tillage systems for soybean (Glycine max) and (iv) FAO predictions on agricultural land use and land use changes for the years 2015 and 2030. The land use scenarios were integrated with spatially explicit soils data (SOTER database), climate, potential natural vegetation and land management units using the recently developed GEFSOC soil C modelling system. Results are presented in map, table and graph form for the entire Brazilian Amazon for the current situation (1990 and 2000) and the future (2015 and 2030). Results include soil organic C (SOC) stocks and SOC stock change rates estimated by three methods: (i) the Century ecosystem model, (ii) the Rothamsted C model and (iii) the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) method for assessing soil C at regional scale. In addition, we show estimated values of above and belowground biomass for native vegetation, pasture and soybean. The results on regional SOC stocks compare reasonably well with those based on mapping approaches. The GEFSOC system provided a means of efficiently handling complex interactions among biotic-edapho-climatic conditions (> 363,000 combinations) in a very large area (similar to 500 Mha) such as the Brazilian Amazon. All of the methods used showed a decline in SOC stock for the period studied; Century and RothC simulated values for 2030 being about 7% lower than those in 1990. Values from Century and RothC (30,430 and 25,000 Tg for the 0-20 cm layer for the Brazilian Amazon region were higher than those obtained from the IPCC system (23,400 Tg in the 0-30 cm layer). Finally; our results can help understand the major biogeochemical cycles that influence soil fertility and help devise management strategies that enhance the sustainability of these areas and thus slow further deforestation. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Robust dynamics of Amazon dieback to climate change with perturbed ecosystem model parameters

Climate change science is increasingly concerned with methods for managing and integrating sources of uncertainty from emission storylines, climate model projections, and ecosystem model parameterizations. In tropical ecosystems, regional climate projections and modeled ecosystem responses vary greatly, leading to a significant source of uncertainty in global biogeochemical accounting and possible future climate feedbacks. Here, we combine an ensemble of IPCC-AR4 climate change projections for the Amazon Basin (eight general circulation models) with alternative ecosystem parameter sets for the dynamic global vegetation model, LPJmL. We evaluate LPJmL simulations of carbon stocks and fluxes against flux tower and aboveground biomass datasets for individual sites and the entire basin. Variability in LPJmL model sensitivity to future climate change is primarily related to light and water limitations through biochemical and water-balance-related parameters. Temperature-dependent parameters related to plant respiration and photosynthesis appear to be less important than vegetation dynamics (and their parameters) for determining the magnitude of ecosystem response to climate change. Variance partitioning approaches reveal that relationships between uncertainty from ecosystem dynamics and climate projections are dependent on geographic location and the targeted ecosystem process. Parameter uncertainty from the LPJmL model does not affect the trajectory of ecosystem response for a given climate change scenario and the primary source of uncertainty for Amazon 'dieback' results from the uncertainty among climate projections. Our approach for describing uncertainty is applicable for informing and prioritizing policy options related to mitigation and adaptation where long-term investments are required.

A pilot randomised, open, uncontrolled, clinical study of two dosages of St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) herb extract (LI-160) as an aid to motivational/behavioural support in smoking cessation

There is an association between smoking and depression, yet the herbal antidepressant St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.: SJW) herb extract has not previously been investigated as an aid in smoking cessation. In this open, uncontrolled, pilot study, 28 smokers of 10 or more cigarettes per day for at least one year were randomised to receive SJW herb extract (LI-160) 300mg once or twice daily taken for one week before and continued for 3 months after a target quit date. In addition, all participants received motivational/behavioural support from a trained pharmacist. At 3 months, the point prevalence and continuous abstinence rates were both 18%, and at 12 months were 0%. Fifteen participants (54%) reported 23 adverse events up to the end of the 3-month follow-up period. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of adverse events for participants taking SJW once or twice daily (p > 0.05). Most adverse events were mild, transient and non-serious. This preliminary study has not provided convincing evidence that a SJW herb extract plus individual motivational/behavioural support is likely to be effective as an aid in smoking cessation. However, it may be premature to rule out a possible effect on the basis of a single, uncontrolled pilot study, and other approaches involving SJW extract may warrant investigation.

Using learning networks to understand complex systems: a case study of biological, geophysical and social research in the Amazon

Developing high-quality scientific research will be most effective if research communities with diverse skills and interests are able to share information and knowledge, are aware of the major challenges across disciplines, and can exploit economies of scale to provide robust answers and better inform policy. We evaluate opportunities and challenges facing the development of a more interactive research environment by developing an interdisciplinary synthesis of research on a single geographic region. We focus on the Amazon as it is of enormous regional and global environmental importance and faces a highly uncertain future. To take stock of existing knowledge and provide a framework for analysis we present a set of mini-reviews from fourteen different areas of research, encompassing taxonomy, biodiversity, biogeography, vegetation dynamics, landscape ecology, earth-atmosphere interactions, ecosystem processes, fire, deforestation dynamics, hydrology, hunting, conservation planning, livelihoods, and payments for ecosystem services. Each review highlights the current state of knowledge and identifies research priorities, including major challenges and opportunities. We show that while substantial progress is being made across many areas of scientific research, our understanding of specific issues is often dependent on knowledge from other disciplines. Accelerating the acquisition of reliable and contextualized knowledge about the fate of complex pristine and modified ecosystems is partly dependent on our ability to exploit economies of scale in shared resources and technical expertise, recognise and make explicit interconnections and feedbacks among sub-disciplines, increase the temporal and spatial scale of existing studies, and improve the dissemination of scientific findings to policy makers and society at large. Enhancing interaction among research efforts is vital if we are to make the most of limited funds and overcome the challenges posed by addressing large-scale interdisciplinary questions. Bringing together a diverse scientific community with a single geographic focus can help increase awareness of research questions both within and among disciplines, and reveal the opportunities that may exist for advancing acquisition of reliable knowledge. This approach could be useful for a variety of globally important scientific questions.

A review of Holocene rainforest ecotonal dynamics at opposite ends of the Amazon - Bolivia versus Colombia

In this review paper, the aim is to compare and contrast fossil pollen evidence for Holocene rainforest ecotonal dynamics at opposite ends of the Amazon basin – the southern ecotone in NE lowland Bolivia versus the northern ecotone in lowland Colombia. During the Holocene, tropical South America experienced major changes in precipitation (Silva Dias et al. 2009). Consideration of Amazonian rainforest dynamics over this time-frame may therefore provide important insights into rainforest responsiveness to climate change.

Pre-Columbian raised-field agriculture and land use in the Bolivian Amazon

We present an integrated palaeoecological and archaeobotanical study of pre-Columbian raised-field agriculture in the Llanos de Moxos, a vast seasonally inundated forest–savanna mosaic in the Bolivian Amazon. Phytoliths from excavated raised-field soil units, together with pollen and charcoal in sediment cores from two oxbow lakes, were analysed to provide a history of land use and agriculture at the El Cerro raised-field site. The construction of raised fields involved the removal of savanna trees, and gallery forest was cleared from the area by AD 310. Despite the low fertility of Llanos de Moxos soils, we determined that pre-Columbian raised-field agriculture sufficiently improved soil conditions for maize cultivation. Fire was used as a common management practice until AD 1300, at which point, the land-use strategy shifted towards less frequent burning of savannas and raised fields. Alongside a reduction in the use of fire, sweet potato cultivation and the exploitation of Inga fruits formed part of a mixed resource strategy from AD 1300 to 1450. The pre-Columbian impact on the landscape began to lessen around AD 1450, as shown by an increase in savanna trees and gallery forest. Although agriculture at the site began to decline prior to European arrival, the abandonment of raised fields was protracted, with evidence of sweet potato cultivation occurring as late as AD 1800.