Forestry: between a rock and a hard place
Pottery and CharcoalAt the Gembloux laboratory we know that this difficult context - poaching, corruption, lack of human resources - does not help to restore the image of logging in European countries. That it is why it is important to boost awareness of the efforts of companies involved in sustainable management and FSC certification. In particular this involves demolishing a cliché: that of a more or less 'virgin' African forest invaded by devastating logging activities. The presence of fragments of pottery shows that, on the contrary, the forests of the whole Cameroon-Gabon area, with just a few exceptions, have been regularly occupied by man for the last two millennia. Although this occupation was not without having an impact on the current layout of the forest, it is also interesting to think about how the forestry of today could contribute to the structure of the forest that will prevail in one hundred or two hundred years.
'The multidisciplinary aspect of this type of work is exciting, adds Jean-Louis Doucet. And rare in the scientific world when it comes to the Congo Basin! We are indeed here at the crossroads of disciplines as varied as climatology, archaeology, anthracology, botany, genetics and so on. By analysing and dating the charcoal, the vegetal community that lived in this place in different periods can be determined according to various factors: human activity, topography, soil type, the dispersal mode of species and so on. But this type of hypothesis is only possible if the ecology of the species in question is sufficiently understood. We already know, for example, that, although a species such as Afrormosia, which is highly sought after on the European market, has difficulty regenerating naturally, this is not due to supposed over-exploitation but because it can no longer benefit from rays of light related to the type of roaming human activity that was practised over the last two centuries (read the article Protect the African Forest: yes, but not blindly!). Paradoxically, perhaps the future of other species also depends on the type of human activities carried out in the forest...' |
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© 2007 ULi�ge
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