Legacies of intensive management in forests around pre-columbian and modern settlements in the Madeira-Tapajós interfluve, Amazonia

ABSTRACT Amazonian peoples use and manage plant populations in previously domesticated landscapes, but the extent of landscape transformation remains uncertain, especially in interfluvial areas. We tested the hypothesis that useful plant communities vary in richness, abundance and basal area around pre-Columbian and current settlements independent of the distance to a major river. Nine plots were established at different distances from settlements in the Humaitá National Forest and the Jiahui Indigenous Land, where trees and palms with DBH ≥ 10 cm were sampled. Interviews were used to ident...