Fallow utilization schemes are becoming increasingly popular in agroforestry
designs. However little attention has been given to the fate of valuable fallow plants after the
end of the initial fallow cycle, and over successive fallow cycles on a regional or inter-fallow
level. Evidence is presented here for the spontaneous long-term community enrichment of an
area with valuable plants in a cyclic or iterative fashion, in the context of an existing fallow
utilization scheme in the Amazon. Review of the ecological processes which operate at
microsite, field and community levels indicate that