期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2003
卷号：100
期号：8
页码：4957-4962
DOI：10.1073/pnas.0630493100
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：This paper presents 2,000 years of settlement and land use within the Lake Patzcuaro Basin, Mexico. Three findings challenge the conclusions of previous research. We show (i) that initial land degradation was caused by settlement, not by agriculture; (ii) that population density inversely correlates with erosion; and (iii) that land degradation was associated with European Conquest but not from the introduction of the Euro-agro suite. Instead, demographic collapse caused by European-introduced disease prevented human-generated landscapes from being maintained, resulting in widespread degradation. These findings support the use of indigenous landscape technology for modern conservation if past failings can be resolved.
