Tropical forests are on the front line of climate change and human sustainability challenges, being key environments in discussions of the “Anthropocene” and some of the most threatened land-based habitats on the face of the Earth. However, while it has been acknowledged that 21st-century anthropogenic alterations to tropical forests have the potential to set off major earth systems feedbacks on regional to global scales, there has been less discussion on how past human activities may have had similar impacts. Indeed, difficult working conditions, poor preservation, and environmental determinism have traditionally led to these habitats being framed as “blanks” on the map of human history. In this Special Feature, we draw on multidisciplinary contributions from archaeology, history, paleoecology, climate science, and Indigenous traditional knowledge to explore our species’ interaction with tropical forests across space and through time. The contributions highlight that human societies have not only occupied and utilized these habitats over the long-term, but that they, in many cases, have also actively impacted them. This has often had persistent ramifications for local flora and fauna composition and biology, levels of biodiversity, landscape structure, and regional climate both before and after the industrial era. These deep-time perspectives provide insights for the development of more effective and just management practices in the present and future: ones that take into account the long and shifting cultural histories of these critical environments.

中文翻译：

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热带森林作为“人类世”的关键场所：过去和现在的观点[社会科学]

热带森林处于气候变化和人类可持续发展挑战的最前线，是“人类世”讨论中的关键环境，也是地球表面一些最受威胁的陆地栖息地。然而，尽管人们承认21世纪对热带森林的人为改变有可能在区域到全球范围内引发主要地球系统的反馈，但关于过去的人类活动如何产生类似影响的讨论却很少。事实上，艰苦的工作条件、不良的保护和环境决定论传统上导致这些栖息地在人类历史地图上被视为“空白”。在本专题中，我们利用考古学、历史学、古生态学、气候科学和土著传统知识的多学科贡献，探索我们的物种与热带森林在空间和时间上的相互作用。这些贡献强调，人类社会不仅长期占据和利用这些栖息地，而且在许多情况下还积极影响它们。在工业时代之前和之后，这往往对当地动植物组成和生物学、生物多样性水平、景观结构和区域气候产生持续的影响。这些深入的视角为当前和未来发展更有效和公正的管理实践提供了见解：这些实践考虑到了这些关键环境的悠久且不断变化的文化历史。