Abstract
Describing vegetation types is critical for managing natural resources and assessing ecosystem risk. Vegetation maps are historically produced by "Western experts," often ignoring local-level groups critical to resource management. Indigenous hunters, as resource managers, have strong connections to their landscapes and their descriptions of vegetation within their homelands can be useful in the map-making process. This project examined the usefulness of vegetation descriptions from Rupununi, Southern Guyana Indigenous hunters in the map-making process and how their descriptions were influenced by biophysical environmental attributes. A Landsat TM and ASTER DEM merged imagery of the Rupununi was classified using Indigenous hunters' vegetation descriptions to train the classification and assess accuracy. Based on the hunters' vegetation descriptions an eleven-class map was produced that covered the main vegetation types they described. Whereas "expert" maps rely on organized forest inventory data, Indigenous hunters' vegetation classifications were influenced by their interactions with the biophysical environment. The final map shows that Indigenous hunters may be important partners in the map-making process and play key roles in tropical forest management decision-making processes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 118-142 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2015 |
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Keywords
- Amerindians
- Guyana
- Indigenous Hunters
- Process Cartography
- Rupununi
- Vegetation Map
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Geography, Planning and Development
Cite this
Utilizing Amerindian hunters' descriptions to guide the production of a vegetation map. / Cummings, Anthony R.; Read, Jane M; Fragoso, Jose M V.
In: International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, Vol. 6, No. 1, 01.01.2015, p. 118-142.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Utilizing Amerindian hunters' descriptions to guide the production of a vegetation map
AU - Cummings, Anthony R.
AU - Read, Jane M
AU - Fragoso, Jose M V
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Describing vegetation types is critical for managing natural resources and assessing ecosystem risk. Vegetation maps are historically produced by "Western experts," often ignoring local-level groups critical to resource management. Indigenous hunters, as resource managers, have strong connections to their landscapes and their descriptions of vegetation within their homelands can be useful in the map-making process. This project examined the usefulness of vegetation descriptions from Rupununi, Southern Guyana Indigenous hunters in the map-making process and how their descriptions were influenced by biophysical environmental attributes. A Landsat TM and ASTER DEM merged imagery of the Rupununi was classified using Indigenous hunters' vegetation descriptions to train the classification and assess accuracy. Based on the hunters' vegetation descriptions an eleven-class map was produced that covered the main vegetation types they described. Whereas "expert" maps rely on organized forest inventory data, Indigenous hunters' vegetation classifications were influenced by their interactions with the biophysical environment. The final map shows that Indigenous hunters may be important partners in the map-making process and play key roles in tropical forest management decision-making processes.
AB - Describing vegetation types is critical for managing natural resources and assessing ecosystem risk. Vegetation maps are historically produced by "Western experts," often ignoring local-level groups critical to resource management. Indigenous hunters, as resource managers, have strong connections to their landscapes and their descriptions of vegetation within their homelands can be useful in the map-making process. This project examined the usefulness of vegetation descriptions from Rupununi, Southern Guyana Indigenous hunters in the map-making process and how their descriptions were influenced by biophysical environmental attributes. A Landsat TM and ASTER DEM merged imagery of the Rupununi was classified using Indigenous hunters' vegetation descriptions to train the classification and assess accuracy. Based on the hunters' vegetation descriptions an eleven-class map was produced that covered the main vegetation types they described. Whereas "expert" maps rely on organized forest inventory data, Indigenous hunters' vegetation classifications were influenced by their interactions with the biophysical environment. The final map shows that Indigenous hunters may be important partners in the map-making process and play key roles in tropical forest management decision-making processes.
KW - Amerindians
KW - Guyana
KW - Indigenous Hunters
KW - Process Cartography
KW - Rupununi
KW - Vegetation Map
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84923090929&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4018/ijagr.2015010107
DO - 10.4018/ijagr.2015010107
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84923090929
VL - 6
SP - 118
EP - 142
JO - International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research
JF - International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research
SN - 1947-9654
IS - 1
ER -