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Odonne, G. ; van den Bel, M. ; Burst, M. ; Brunaux, O. ; Bruno, M. ; Dambrine, E. ; Davy, D. ; Desprez, M. ; Engel, J. ; Ferry, B. ; Freycon, V. ; Grenand, P. ; Jérémie, S. ; Mestre, M. ; Molino, J.-F. ; Petronelli, P. ; Sabatier, D. ; Hérault, B.Ecology, 2019 : e02806. ArticlePièces jointes : 2019_Odonne_Ecology.pdfTo decipher the long-term influences of pre-Columbian land occupations oncontemporary forest structure, diversity, and functioning in Amazonia, most of the previousresearch focused on the alluvial plains of the major rivers of the Amazon basin. Terra firme,that is, nonflooded forests, particularly from the Guiana Shield, are yet to be explored. In thisstudy, we aim to give new insights into the subtle traces of pre-Columbian influences on pre-sent-day forests given the archaeological context of terra firme forests of the Guiana Shield.Following archaeological prospects on 13 sites in French Guiana, we carried out forest inven-tories inside and outside archaeological sites and assessed the potential pre-Columbian use ofthe sampled tree species using an original ethnobotanical database of the Guiana Shieldregion. Aboveground biomass (320 and 380 T/ha, respectively), basal area (25–30 and30–35 m2/ha, respectively), and tree density (550 and 700 stem/ha, respectively) were all signifi-cantly lower on anthropized plots (As) than on nonanthropized plots (NAs). Ancient humanpresence shaped the species composition of the sampled forests with Arecaceae, Burseraceae,and Lauraceae significantly more frequent in As and Annonaceae and Lecythidaceae more fre-quent in NAs. Although alpha diversity was not different between As and NAs, the presenceof pre-Columbian sites enhances significantly the forest beta diversity at the landscape level.Finally, trees with edible fruits are positively associated with pre-Columbian sites, whereas treesused for construction or for their bark are negatively associated with pre-Columbian sites. Halfa millennium after their abandonment, former occupied places from the inner Guiana Shieldstill bear noticeable differences with nonanthropized places. Considering the lack of data con-cerning archaeology of terra firme Amazonian forests, our results suggest that pre-Columbianinfluences on the structure (lower current biomass), diversity (higher beta diversity), and com-position (linked to the past human tree uses) of current Amazonian forests might be moreimportant than previously thought.