The Nutrient Cycle - Soil: Reflections on the Basis of our Existence - page 83

Our guide was Meyer, a descendant of Spanish colonists and an employee at the
research station on the north bank of the Tiputini River in the Ecuadorian interior
close to the border with Peru. On the southern bank is Yasuni National Park, one of
the areas of richest biodiversity in the world, with more than one-and-a-half thousand
species of tree, five hundred and twenty species of bird and countless insect species.
Yasuni National Park is also home to the Huaorani people, an isolated tribe of indig-
enous people who speak a language unrelated to any other known tongue. Meyer
was well acquainted with their customs and traditions and had learnt many secrets of
rainforest life from them. Little escaped his eagle eyes during our treks in the jungle.
On our first hike, Meyer tried to get us to creep quietly forward, listening to the
jungle soundtrack and picking up the scent of a jungle pig that had just crossed our
path. Most animals fled as soon as they detected our scent, but occasionally Meyer
managed to pick up a scent before the animal caught ours. The monkeys were less
shy as they swung around in the treetops, and brilliantly coloured parrots shrieked
hoarsely as they flew overhead. The dense rainforest enveloped us in a warm and
humid embrace, though every now and then the undergrowth would thin out and the
ground might even be laid bare. I fantasised about these clearings being places
where rainforest dwellers held councils and where their footsteps had kept the vege-
tation at bay. On one occasion we stopped at a glade with just a few straggly trees
and Meyer drew our attention to the swollen tips of the branches. When he cut one
with his knife, an army of ants came swarming out. He asked if anyone wanted to
have a taste, and when no one volunteered he stuck his tongue into the branch until it
turned black with ants. Meyer sucked up the acidic juice with a mischievous smile.
Scraped bare . Look up into the rainforest canopy and you will see many insect-ravaged leaves.
Plants have developed various strategies to deal with this problem. Some produce toxins to
reduce insect attacks; others focus their resources on producing many leaves to offset foliage loss