1231334 (Diemont). Despite increasing evidence that traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can be successfully integrated into ecological engineering for ecosystem restoration, few investigations have explored the mechanisms and relative benefits of TEK-informed ecological engineering over conventional ecological engineering. Due to Westernization, traditional knowledge systems in Mesoamerica and in most parts of the world are in decline, and our opportunity to understand this integration is at a critical point. In some cases millennia of knowledge acquisition is at the brink of being lost. The goal of this project is to investigate the integration of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and ecological engineering through comparison of TEK and conventional ecological engineering for tropical forest ecosystem restoration in Chiapas, Mexico. To meet this goal, the project objectives are to: 1) Create experimental forest restoration plots to establish a framework for long-term comparison of TEK and ecological engineering for forest restoration in a Maya village, working closely with Lacandon Maya farmers; and 2) Determine the soil and plant community mechanisms beneficial for restoration (e.g. nutrient accumulation, organic matter establishment, and plant species richness) associated with both TEK-established tree species and government-established tree species (conventional forest restoration ecological engineering). TEK could be an important part of ecosystem restoration, particularly in settings where traditional knowledge systems remain in place, making this a potentially high impact project. Furthermore, it is vitally important to understand these systems while they are still intact. This research is expected to contribute in-depth understanding of the mechanisms at work in these systems, and to contribute to the evaluation of how lessons learned from TEK could help to restore ecosystem function and conserve landscapes. This research will reveal links between indigenous plant community management and restoration, which could generate tools that are useful for farmers, ecological engineers, and restoration ecologists throughout Mesoamerica, and elsewhere, who are actively working to restore and conserve rapidly degrading biodiversity hotpots. SUNY-ESF graduate and undergraduate students will have an international field experience that will be partly sponsored by this project. They will learn soil and plant community sampling methodology while participating in this research, working with indigenous Maya farmers in a rural, Latin American setting. One doctoral student will be trained in restoration ecology, ecological engineering, and spatial analysis for this project. Spanish speaking Hispanic students would be well suited and will be highly recruited for this international research position. The soil ecology research will improve the soils laboratory at El Colegio de La Frontera Sur in Mexico. The results from this research will be disseminated broadly in the US, Mesoamerica, and internationally through peer-reviewed articles in Spanish and English; it will be presented at US, Mesoamerican, and international conferences. Results from this research could improve restoration and conservation of forest ecosystems throughout the tropics.
