Ecological and Ethnoecological Classification of a Forested Landscape in the Tayal Mrqwang Territories, Taiwan (ROC) by Kevan James Berg A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Biology Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Kevan J. Berg, May 2013 ABSTRACT ECOLOGICAL AND ETHNOECOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF A FORESTED LANDSCAPE IN THE TAYAL MRQWANG TERRITORIES, TAIWAN (ROC) Kevan James Berg Advisor: University of Guelph, 2013 Dr. Steven G. Newmaster In landscape ecology, it is widely acknowledged that landscape is as much a social and cultural entity as it is biophysical, and that people and place must be jointly considered to fully understand the evolution of spatial pattern. This thesis explores the overlapping biophysical and human dimensions of landscape in the context of an (i) ecological and (ii) ethnoecological classification on the local landscape of the Tayal Mrqwang indigenous people in north central Taiwan. The goal of the ecological classification was to identify ecosystem types for a ~3000 acre landscape by relating vegetation patterns to gradients of physiography, soil, humidity, light, pixel brightness, and human modification across 76 transect sample plots. Using multivariate analyses, seven ecosystem types were identified, ranging from xeric through submesic pine, bamboo, alder, and laurel forests to mesic evergreen broadleaved and mixed coniferous forests. At the broad scale, ecosystems were distributed along gradients of elevation, soil, humidity and human modification, while factors related to local variability in physiography and soil development were more important at the fine scale (i.e., within elevational ecoregions). Within lower elevation sites in particular, patterns of forest variation and soil development were resonant of ancestral practices, including shifting cultivation, terrace farming, arboriculture, and selective extraction. The objective of the ethnoecological classification was to explore whether the Mrqwang people categorize landscape variation according to systematic or multidimensional knowledge structures. Results of interviews and free-listing exercises revealed an unsystematized classification that recognizes a continuum of forest variation through the intersection of three overlapping categories: history of disturbance, topography and substrate, vegetation. These categories are modified through land tenure and toponyms. The classification appears accommodating of personal experience, and it is theorized that this flexibility results in dynamic knowledge that evolves with time, generating variable characterizations of forest variation rather than formalized categories. The thesis concludes that despite the lack of formalization, the Tayal are nonetheless highly cognizant of how current forest variation coincides with the environment and the activities of their ancestors. This knowledge represents immense local expertise and must not be excluded from conservation and co-management projects in the local area. iv This work is dedicated to Mrhuw Icyeh Sulung, the former chief of Qalang Smangus, a tireless keeper of land and forest, community and family. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of numerous people and organizations. My endless gratitude goes first and foremost to the families of Qalang Smangus. Thank you for welcoming Jodi and me into your community, accepting us as family, and putting us to work. A special thanks to the families who gave us a room and food: (in sequence) Yaba Icyeh and Yaya Giwas, Batu and Atay, Masay and Lawa, Amin and Umao, Ikwang and Kyomi, and Ikit and Ami. Thank you for your tremendous hospitality and generosity, for opening your homes and lives to us, for teaching and sharing what you have and know with us, and for your incredible patience with us – your slow learning pupils. Special thanks also to Lahuy Icyeh – this research would not have materialized without his understanding, interest, enthusiasm, and translation. And to Yaba Icyeh, who spent countless hours coaching me in language and in the ways of the forest. Thank you, Yaba, for your patience, prayers, and your finely crafted hats. We will forever miss you. Many thanks to my advisor, Dr. Steven Newmaster, for his guidance and support throughout the course of this research. Thank you for your encouragement and insight, for your enthusiasm, and for being approachable and understanding. Thank you also for your questions and criticisms, your generosity, and for initially planting the idea to broaden my scope of study and explore landscape. Where this has gone has become a profound interest for me, and for this I am very grateful. To my supervisor in Taiwan, Dr. Yih-Ren Lin of Taipei Medical University, thank you for inviting Jodi and me to come to Taiwan, and thank you for your direction, advice, and insight with regard to the project. Much appreciation also for your care, concern and support with more practical matters and for helping us feel at home in Taiwan. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Sally Humphries and Dr. Rebecca Ellis for the advise and direction they provided as advisory committee members, and for pressing me towards the right questions to ask and creative ways to answer them. Thanks also to Dr. Jeanine Rhemtulla, Dr. Merritt Turetsky, and Dr. Cortland Griswold for their reviews of this thesis, and for their useful comments and criticisms. Sincere thanks to Arnold Janz, my uncle, and my mentor in all things soil. Thank you so much for taking the time to come to Taiwan to coach me on how to read the soil, as well as on the finer points – the art – of digging a soil pit. I don’t think I’ll ever match your precision with a shovel, but I’ll try. Your emphasis on soils as ‘pages’ in the history of a landscape and on bridging soil evidence with local knowledge has changed the way that I understand landscape. Getting at “what happened” rather than only “what is.” This research would not be the same without your insights and unique perspective. And to Steve and Diane Janz, thanks for always being there for us. You set us up when we arrived in Taiwan, stored our boxes and shuttled us around when we moved, and gave us a bed and food when we were in the city. You two are truly amazing, your generosity is humbling. Our time in Taiwan just wouldn’t have been the same without you guys. vi Many thanks also for the help and support of the team at the Herbarium of the Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei (HAST). In particular, I am grateful to HAST Director Dr. Ching-I Peng for inviting me to HAST and putting me in touch with knowledgeable experts, to Dr. Shih-Wen Chung and Shin-Ming Ku for their numerous specimen identifications and confirmations, and to Tsui-Ya Liu for putting up with my innumerable questions, coordinating my visits to HAST, and for managing the documentation and shipment of our plant collection from Taiwan to Canada. I would also like to express my appreciation to Guo-Ming (國銘哥) of Shei-Pa National Park for his help with numerous plants identifications, and to Dr. Shih-Yuan Lin of National Chengchi University for providing aerial images and GIS support. Many thanks also to the past and present staff and students at Research Center for Austronesian Peoples (RECAP), Providence University, for your friendship and support. Particular thanks to Yi-Ling Huang for her tireless, impeccable and timely translation work on this project, to Hsin-Han Wang (Yumin) for providing GIS support, to Daniel Rau for coordinating our arrival in Shalu, and to Sarah Lin (洪惠音), Ya-Hsin Lai (賴雅歆) (and of course Yi-Ling) for managing documentation for our numerous “visa runs”. Thanks also to Hsiang-Pei, Nequo and Grace Soqluman, and Hsi-Ling Chang for your friendship. My deepest gratitude to the many people who helped out with the seemingly endless task of survey work in the forest, enduring long days often dawn until dusk on steep slopes: thanks to Lahuy and Rangaw Icyeh, Cumu, Moto and Benux (Dong-Dong) Masay, Pehu Ikwang, and Koyung … and of course Jodi, and my dad, Harley Berg – thanks for coming out again the second time to help us complete our soil surveys. Thanks also to Lesa Sulung (Ikit) and Sangas Icyeh for leading our initial reconnaissance treks, to Yuraw Icang for building our quadrat frames and for logistical (and legal!) advice and encouragement, and to Uli Isinkawnan and Yungi Batu for their administration and translation work. Also, a special thanks to Ikwang, Ikit, Kyomi, and “Dr. Lin” for the many wonderful hours and evenings of tea and conversation in the firehouse. To all the good folks at the BIO Herbarium – Jose Maloles, Dr. Troy McMullin, Neil Webster, Thomas Henry, Dr. Ragupathy Subramanyam, Carole Ann Lacroix, Royce Steves, Cara Bulger, and others: thank you all for your friendship, feedback, and support. My deepest gratitude to my family and friends for sticking by me through these varied and harried years. To Thomas Dyck and Anne Marie Wetter, I’m so grateful for your friendship, encouragement, and close proximity during these last five years. To my parents Harley and Esther and sisters Joleen and Vicky, thank you for believing in me, and for your unwavering love and encouragement. To Jodi, the love and patience you have shown me is unbelievable and I thank you for your endless encouragement and understanding, and for standing with me and pushing me to the end – these last five years have been an incredible journey, and I’m so happy to have shared it all with you. To Silas Benjamin, your cheery smile has brought me joy and inspiration to drive this to the end. Finally, acknowledgements to the National Science and Engineering Research Council and to the Government of Ontario for their financial assistance for this project.