Abstract
The Anthropocene concept raises awareness of human-induced planetary changes but is criticized for being ‘too global’. We examined the social–ecological memory that emerges from people-tree relationships in South American temperate territories, Chile. We integrated dendrochronology (analysis of tree rings of 35 memorial trees; 17 species) with dendrography (participant observation complemented with semi-structured and go-along interviews with 14 interviewees; six women, eight men). We found that assemblages of people–tree relationships reflect marked historical changes in the territory, associated with the historical clearing of forests, which may be imprinted in both tree growth rings and in the social meanings and practices associated with memorial trees. In devastated territories, practices of tree care emphasize interconnectedness, multispecies collaborations, and the blurring of boundaries between humans and other-than-humans. We discuss some of the interdisciplinary and relational insights of our study, which may prove valuable for future research, political agendas, and educational programs in South America and beyond.
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Acknowledgements
This work is dedicated to the memory of Juan Armesto, ecologist, professor, and advocate for the care and stewardship of native forests of southern South America. We are grateful to local participants for their generosity and willingness to participate in this research. We thank the Laboratorio de Dendrocronología y Estudios Ambientales from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso for its support with the analysis and interpretation of tree growth rings. We acknowledge the funding from ANID/Fondecyt Regular (1181575 and 1221057), the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research–CIIR (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), and the Center of Urban Sustainable Development CEDEUS (ANID/FONDAP 1523A0004). We thank the support of the project for Technological Centers of Excellence with Basal Financing ANID-Chile to the Cape Horn International Center–CHIC (ANID PIA/BASAL PFB210018) and the Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability–CAPES (ANID PIA/BASAL FB0002). JTI acknowledges the support of the European Union to the “Observatorio de Bosques y Políticas Forestales (NDICI CSO/2023/451-084).” The work of C. Bañales-Seguel was supported by Beca Doctorado Nacional, ANID 21190264 and work of W. Riquelme-Maulén was supported by Beca ANID Doctorado Nacional 2020 / 21202417.
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Ibarra, J.T., Riquelme-Maulén, W., Bañales-Seguel, C. et al. While clearing the forests: The social–ecological memory of trees in the Anthropocene. Ambio (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02008-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02008-5