An intermediate level of disturbance with customary agricultural practices increases species diversity in Maya community forests in Belize

Across the planet, Indigenous societies control, use, and manage large tracts of tropical forest that are crucial for combating climate change. Here we investigate whether customary Indigenous agricultural practices can increase forest species diversity using swidden (aka, slash-and-burn) agriculture. We examine the community lands surrounding two Q'eqchi' Maya villages in southern Belize using high-resolution multispectral imagery that we collected with drones, ground truth data related to land use and history, and a plant and tree biodiversity survey. We use computational methods including simulation and Bayesian modeling to analyze the relationship between spectral diversity, forest diversity, and landscape disturbance. Our key result, replicated in both villages, is that the highest level of spectral diversity (a proxy for forest diversity) is associated with an intermediate level of forest disturbance. In conclusion, we suggest that concepts from complex adaptive systems can provide an important conceptual framework for understanding how ecosystem enhancement can emerge from customary Indigenous land use practices.