WQXR's Artist Propulsion Lab talks to UC biologist

Lentz told WQXR that the ancient Maya initially used slash-and-burn agriculture. But over time and as their population increased, these farming methods created problems such as erosion that the ancient Maya had to address.

"They developed more sustainable agriculture and agri-forestry techniques to control erosion and intensify food production," Lentz said.

"They protected forest tracts to maintain major amounts of tree cover and conserve habitat," Lentz said.

These forests contained important medicinal plants and sources of timber, he said.

Joining Lentz on the program are composer Layale Chaker and pianist Fabian Alamazan for a discussion on music and environmental stewardship.

Lentz told WQXR that the ancient Maya protected sacred groves and planted parks around their reservoirs in some cities. But they also converted some tropical rainforest to pine savanna through continual use of slash-and-burn methods.

But Lentz said these rainforests recovered over time, giving him hope for deforested rainforests around the world today.

"There is some hope that even though some of that land in Amazonia has been degraded, if we can leave it alone long enough, these forests will return," Lentz said.

Listen to the WQXR story.

• Ancient Maya used sustainable farming, forestry for millennia

• BBC: Maya's ingenious secret to survival

• Did the ancient Maya have parks?

• WaPo: Ancient Maya beat the heat by planting trees

• UC experts' Maya research featured in Cincinnati Museum Center exhibit

• Smithsonian: UC researchers uncover ancient Maya water filtration

• AP: Study details environmental impacts of early Chaco residents

• UC researchers find ancient Maya farms in Mexican wetlands

• Surviving climate change: UC researchers discover how ancient species survived