Data from: Demography of Euterpe precatoria and Mauritia flexuosa in the Amazon: application of integral projection models for their harvest

Non-Timber Forest Products like palm fruits are fundamental in the livelihood of Amerindian groups. For the last ten years the fruits of wild palm species, like Euterpe precatoria and Mauritia flexuosa, have been entering into global markets. These species are mostly harvested felling the adults, a practice that may have a disproportionate impact in the conservation of the populations. We studied the demography of E. precatoria and M. flexuosa, two important palms of the Amazon, using integral projection models, to characterize the population dynamics and project impact of different fruit harvest methods: adult felling and direct fruit harvest. We followed over 1400 individuals from populations with low harvest intensities in the Tikuna community of Amacayacu, Amazonas, Colombia from 2011 to 2013, establishing four plots for E. precatoria in seasonally inundated forests and two for M. flexuosa in swamps. The population growth in E. precatoria was slightly declining, whereas M. flexuosa was stable. As expected, the simulations of adult felling diminished λ and the number of available adults under any scenario for either species. On the contrary, the simulations support existing information that climbing and other non-destructive harvest methods would probably allow a sustainable management, satisfying the demand and preserving wild populations.

非木材林产品（Non-Timber Forest Products）如棕榈果实，是美洲印第安人群体生计的核心基础。在过去十年间，野生棕榈物种（如Euterpe precatoria与Mauritia flexuosa）的果实已进入全球贸易市场。这类物种的采收方式多为砍伐成年个体，该做法可能对种群保护造成不成比例的不利影响。本研究针对亚马逊流域的两种重要棕榈物种Euterpe precatoria与Mauritia flexuosa，采用积分投影模型（Integral Projection Models）开展种群统计学研究，以阐明其种群动态特征，并预测成年个体砍伐与直接采收果实两种果实采收方式的影响。2011至2013年，研究团队于哥伦比亚亚马孙省阿马卡亚库地区的提库纳族社区内，对1400余株来自低采收强度种群的个体进行了长期追踪，并分别在季节性淹水森林中设置4个针对Euterpe precatoria的样地、在沼泽湿地中设置2个针对Mauritia flexuosa的样地。监测结果显示，Euterpe precatoria的种群增长呈轻微下降趋势，而Mauritia flexuosa的种群增长则保持稳定。正如预期，成年个体砍伐的模拟结果表明，无论针对哪一个物种，在任何情景下，其种群增长率λ与可利用成年个体数量均会下降。与之相反，模拟结果验证了现有研究结论：采用攀爬采收等非破坏性采收方式，可实现可持续经营，既能够满足市场需求，又能有效保护野生种群。