Forest Preservation in the Western Highlands of Guatemala

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4760799
AutoresThomas T Veblen (0000-0002-3037-640X, autor de correspondencia)
Año1978
Volumen68
Número4
Páginas417
Fecha de publicación1978-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGeographical Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846
EditorialJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/214215
OpenAlexW2317361281
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas17

HE rapid rate of human destruction of tropical forests and its ecological as well as social consequences is a theme of growing concern among both social and natural scientists. The implications of this massive landscape transformation in tropical America have been widely discussed with regard to the loss, or impending loss, of valuable forest genetic resources, accelerated soil erosion, and the destruction of wildlife habitats.' Geographers have contributed considerable historical perspective to the theme of contemporary vegetation modification in Latin America. Their studies have tended to focus on the influences of the aboriginal population on pre-Hispanic landscapes and on the landscape transformations that resulted from the demographic and technological impact of the European colonization of Middle America and South America. The long history of man's alteration of vegetation has been well established for numerous regions in Latin America.2 Although the magnitude of the deforestation problem should not be underestimated, vast areas in Latin America remain forest covered. Most of these forests lie in wet tropical lowland areas such as the Amazon Basin and the east coast of Central America, where population densities in the post-Conquest period have been relatively low. These tropical lowland landscapes are rapidly being deforested in association with both planned development projects and spontaneous colonization. In contrast, the highland areas of tropical America have been densely settled since pre-Hispanic times, and the forest cover either was removed long ago or is currently being destroyed. In the tropical highlands, forests generally persist only in the most remote and inaccessible areas.3 Most of highland Guatemala fits the norm of early and extensive forest destruction that has greatly accelerated over the past three or four decades.4 In several areas

Agroforestry · Archaeology · Biology · Geography · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Forestry