Frogley Michael R, Chepstow-Lusty Alex, Thiele Graham, Chutas Constantino Aucca
Department of Geography, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK.
CGIAR Research Program On Roots Tubers and Banana (RTB), International Potato Center, Lima, Peru.
Ambio. 2025 May;54(5):793-807. doi: 10.1007/s13280-024-02121-5. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
The Inca and their immediate predecessors provide an exceptional model of how to create high-altitude functional environments that sustainably feed people with a diversity of crops, whilst mitigating erosion, protecting forestry and maintaining soil fertility without the need for large-scale burning. A comparison is provided here of landscape practices and impacts prior to and after the Inca, derived from a unique 4200-year sedimentary record recovered from Laguna Marcacocha, a small, environmentally sensitive lake located at the heart of the Inca Empire. By examining ten selected proxies of environmental change, a rare window is opened on the past, helping to reveal how resilient watershed management and sustainable, climate-smart agriculture were achieved. We contend that, in the face of modern environmental uncertainty, a second climate-smart agricultural revolution is necessary, but one that accounts for the significant social capital of highland communities whilst still leaning heavily on native crops, trees and livestock.
印加人及其直系祖先提供了一个非凡的典范，展示了如何创造高海拔功能环境，以可持续地为人们提供多种作物，同时减轻侵蚀、保护森林并保持土壤肥力，而无需大规模焚烧。本文比较了印加人到来前后的景观实践和影响，这些比较源自从马尔卡科查湖（Laguna Marcacocha）获取的一份独特的4200年沉积记录，该湖是一个位于印加帝国中心的小型、对环境敏感的湖泊。通过研究十个选定的环境变化指标，一扇通向过去的罕见窗口被打开，有助于揭示如何实现有复原力的流域管理以及可持续的、适应气候的农业。我们认为，面对现代环境的不确定性，第二次适应气候的农业革命是必要的，但这次革命要考虑到高地社区的重要社会资本，同时仍严重依赖本地作物、树木和牲畜。
