Mutualism between Chenopodium, Herd Animals, and Herders in the South Central Andes

The ecology of human, animal, and plant mutualism is examined as it occurs in an Andean herding system. Highly favored forage species, especially species of the genus Chenopodium, exist in unusually high concentrations in corrals. Herd animals transport these forage species to pastoral campsites where the plants thrive in the organic corral soils. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship where certain plant species become camp followers of pastoral campsites. The mutualism involving Chenopodium may serve as a model for the domestication of quinua (C. quinoa) in the Andes. Prehistoric pastoralism may have led to camp following by wild Chenopodium that in turn led to the domestication of this plant. The dynamic relationship between herd animals and forage species has further implications for understanding the role of pastoralism in forming present-day Andean landscapes as well as future changes Andean environments may experience. The ability of modern herding to alter plant communities indicates the fragile nature of montane environments.