Maya cultural practices in Yucatecan homegardens: An ecophysiological perspective

Tamara Jo Benjamin, Purdue University

Abstract

Intensive agroforestry systems have played important roles in the survival of numerous indigenous populations throughout the world. In Latin America, homegardens, a multi-strata and diverse system maintained close to a family's home, have provided food, medicinal plants, construction materials, religious items, forage, and fiber for centuries. As the population of this region continues to increase, pressure will be placed on the land to produce more goods and more farmers will be forced to seek employment from other sources. Intensive agroforestry systems such as homegardens are a means for lessening land pressure while at the same time providing cash crops that could improve the income of the landowners. Maya cultural homegarden practices and soil chemical and physical properties found within the homegarden were examined in the study. Their knowledge is believed to be based on learned principles that maximize microenvironmental conditions for successful plant propagation and are passed on to future generations through the oral transfer of knowledge. Soils collected from the Maya homegardens had high soil water potentials (more than 30% for some soil types) at high pressures (1.5 MPa). The ashing of leaf litter, weeding around and irrigation of desired plants are the most common cultural practices used. Seven arboreal species were examined for changes in photosynthetic rates, sap flow, and leaf nitrogen contents due to the effects of irrigation, weeding, and fertilization. Photosynthetic rates increased four to nine fold for a number of species when irrigated. Some of the species native to the Peninsula did not show increases, possibly because they are adapted to the natural soil-limiting conditions and are able to seek out water in other areas of the soil profile. Weeding and fertilizing improved photosynthetic rates and leaf N for some species however the majority of species did not show significant differences. Irrigation and weeding significantly improved sap flow rates in nearly all of the species, whether they had improvements in photosynthetic rates or not. Increasing a plant's productivity and survival is probably dependent upon the attention it receives from the Maya farmer. The determination of practices that ultimately improve yields or better formulate management practices could help in the survival of the homegarden system.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Gillespie, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Forestry|Agronomy|Botany

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