ecological engineering 28 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 205–212 available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoleng Lacandon Maya forest management: Restoration of soil fertility using native tree species Stewart A.W. Diemont a , Jay F. Martin a,∗ , Samuel I. Levy-Tacher b , Ronald B. Nigh c , Pedro Ramirez Lopez d , J. Duncan Golicher b a Ecological Engineering Group, Department of Food Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, 590 Woody Hayes Dr., Columbus, OH 43210-1057, USA b Division of Conservation and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Terrestrial Systems, El Colegio De La Frontera Sur, San Crist´ obal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico c Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social del Sureste, San Crist´ obal de Las Casas, Chiapas, M´ exico d Department of Agroecology, El Colegio De La Frontera Sur, San Crist´ obal de Las, Casas, Chiapas, Mexico article info Article history: Received 23 June 2005 Received in revised form 4 October 2005 Accepted 28 October 2005 Keywords: Rainforest restoration Indigenous knowledge Soil ecology Ochroma pyramidale Sapium lateriflorum abstract In southern Mexico, where rainforests are being degraded rapidly, the Lacandon Maya use an agroforestry system that both restores and conserves the rainforest. Their system cycles through field and fallow stages that produce food, medicines, and raw materials, and regen- erates tall secondary forest. This investigation identified plants managed by Lacandon to restore soil fertility during fallow. Through interviews, Lacandon identified 20 plants man- aged for forest restoration. Leaf litter measurements and soil samples were taken near two of these species, Ochroma pyramidale and Sapium lateriflorum. Leaf litter increased quicker beneath O. pyramidales compared to other tree species (R = 0.48, P = 0.004), and total nematode concentrations increased with distance from this tree (R = 0.71, P < 0.001). Together, these two findings indicated an inhibition of degradation that permits accelerated soil organic mat- ter accumulation. Available phosphorus (P) concentrations beneath S. lateriflorum were 16% higher than outside the canopy (P = 0.03), and increased with age of the tree, indicating P recovery from subsoil. Our research shows that the Lacandon are cognizant of the natural abilities of certain species to fulfill the restoration needs in their systems. It demonstrates that Maya agroforestry and local knowledge could contribute to efforts to conserve and restore rainforests, and reduce deforestation by accelerating fallow in tropical agriculture. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Land areas of southern Mexico are being deforested and losing productivity at alarming rates. In Chiapas, Mexico, deforestation is claiming 7% of the forest each year, and erosion has moderately degraded 10% to 25%, and severely degraded 5% of the arable soil (Howard and Homer-Dixon, 1996). These problems are endemic throughout the tropics, ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 614 247 6133; fax: +1 614 292 9448. E-mail address: 1130@osu.edu (J.F. Martin). as increasing population densities stress the environment through demands on agricultural land (Lal, 1995; Alvarez and Naughton-Treves, 2003). Because these areas are experiencing high population growth and movement (Ram, 1997), these problems will be magnified in future years. Displaced and migrant populations, in particular, have had a large effect on the ecological stability of this region (Nicholson et al., 1995; Atran, 1999; Mas and Puig, 2001). Land 0925-8574/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2005.10.012