Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun
Prior to the pre-colonial period in Central Africa, human populations were dispersed throughout the forests, where they engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture. Starting in the 19th century, they gradually established permanent settlements in villages, resulting in vast areas of abandoned forest. In p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Institut des Mondes Africains
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Afriques |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/3837 |
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| author | Achille B. Biwolé Olivier J. Hardy Jean-Louis Doucet |
| author_facet | Achille B. Biwolé Olivier J. Hardy Jean-Louis Doucet |
| author_sort | Achille B. Biwolé |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prior to the pre-colonial period in Central Africa, human populations were dispersed throughout the forests, where they engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture. Starting in the 19th century, they gradually established permanent settlements in villages, resulting in vast areas of abandoned forest. In present-day southern Cameroon, the forest canopy is primarily composed of large emergent trees, which are often attributed to past human activities. The aim of this study is to assess the significance of past human activities on the current floristic composition. Throughout the study area, there were shards of pottery, burnt palm nuts, and charcoal, indicating widespread human occupation and fire. This human occupation dates back to 2200 to 1500 BP, and more recently, three centuries ago. The frequent occurrence of fire and the presence of oil palm, both of recent origin, suggest the use of slash-and-burn agricultural practices. This coincides with the age of the large emergent trees and the dry climate phases recorded in the early 17th century. Therefore, these findings support the hypothesis that these activities have influenced the current floristic composition of the Central African forest. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-88df47534188431d8df0bbae7ef47a89 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2108-6796 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Institut des Mondes Africains |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Afriques |
| spelling | doaj-art-88df47534188431d8df0bbae7ef47a892025-08-20T02:47:28ZdeuInstitut des Mondes AfricainsAfriques2108-67962024-01-011410.4000/afriques.3837Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du CamerounAchille B. BiwoléOlivier J. HardyJean-Louis DoucetPrior to the pre-colonial period in Central Africa, human populations were dispersed throughout the forests, where they engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture. Starting in the 19th century, they gradually established permanent settlements in villages, resulting in vast areas of abandoned forest. In present-day southern Cameroon, the forest canopy is primarily composed of large emergent trees, which are often attributed to past human activities. The aim of this study is to assess the significance of past human activities on the current floristic composition. Throughout the study area, there were shards of pottery, burnt palm nuts, and charcoal, indicating widespread human occupation and fire. This human occupation dates back to 2200 to 1500 BP, and more recently, three centuries ago. The frequent occurrence of fire and the presence of oil palm, both of recent origin, suggest the use of slash-and-burn agricultural practices. This coincides with the age of the large emergent trees and the dry climate phases recorded in the early 17th century. Therefore, these findings support the hypothesis that these activities have influenced the current floristic composition of the Central African forest.https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/3837charcoalpast human activitiesoil palmspottery shardsforestssouthern Cameroon |
| spellingShingle | Achille B. Biwolé Olivier J. Hardy Jean-Louis Doucet Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun Afriques charcoal past human activities oil palms pottery shards forests southern Cameroon |
| title | Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun |
| title_full | Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun |
| title_fullStr | Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun |
| title_full_unstemmed | Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun |
| title_short | Histoire récente de la forêt littorale du sud du Cameroun |
| title_sort | histoire recente de la foret littorale du sud du cameroun |
| topic | charcoal past human activities oil palms pottery shards forests southern Cameroon |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/afriques/3837 |
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