The discipline of Human Ecology is described as the relationship between man and nature
from different cultures. We examine this through the Maya culture and its cropping system.
The techniques they incorporated for the Copan Valley were known as the fallow system.
This system was essential to agriculture because it ensured that the soil had time to restore its
fertility for new generations. To regulate these systems, “land-use rights were held by
community members that had regulated access by the leader or leaders” (228). As the
populations began to expand, the fallow systems fell short, and the access control increased
the rights to those who owned the land. Soon after, there was a collapse in human influence
on the soil. The Copan Valley suffered malnutrition, resulting in a 40% loss of the population
(231). After the decline of the population, a shift in settlement patterns changed control of
the land and moved to subregions. This rise and fall of populations show how essential
human-environment relationships have on a culture. Humans need to value the environment
since it has the ability to change biological, economic, and sociological aspects of the future.