The Garden in the Machine: An Environmental History of Brazil’s Tijuca Forest
Author(s)
Drummond, Jose
Abstract
Reviews the founding and development of the Tijuca National Forest in Rio de Janeiro. In the early 1800’s settlers cleared much of the original forest and established coffee plantations, which were largely abandoned by the 1820’s. As a result of deforestation, residents of Rio de Janeiro began experiencing water shortages. Beginning in the 1850’s the city government purchased land in the area, and Manuel Gomes Archer began replanting native trees. Replanting efforts stopped by the 1890’s as new sources of water were found. By then the combination of old growth, second growth, and replanted stands of native trees made the forest a unique laboratory for the study of tropical forests.
