Ecology and management of Brazil nut populations in extractive reserves in Xapuri, Acre
We conducted a participatory research on the ecology and management of Brazil nut populations in extractive areas in Xapuri, State of Acre, in the western part of Brazilian Amazonia. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Humb & Bonpl.) is one of the economically most important trees in the Amazon and in extractive reserves in Xapuri. Brazil nut has become the most important commercial product in the last few years as a result of declining rubber prices and also due to increased value of brazil nuts sold to "green" markets. We studied the demography of natural populations in 51 transects of 1 ha each (1000 x 10 m) to assess the sustainability of current management systems and analyzed different alternatives to increase productivity of Brazil nut in different sites within the extractive reserves. Our surveys indicate that while the density of adults with highest nut production (80 cm <DBH <160 cm) was only 1.18 plants/ha, the combined density of juveniles (<40 cm DBH) and small adult plants (40 cm <DBH <120 cm) was 4.55 plants/ha. Most (83.7 per cent) juveniles had either small or very small canopy openings. A considerable proportion (23.3 per cent) of small adult plants also experience unfavorable light levels. The most rapid and inexpensive way to increase productivity of Brazil nut in the study area seems to be liberation thinning. Liberation thinning of suppressed individuals is relatively inexpensive (US 0.08/plant) and can increase the size of the adult population through increased recruitment from the large pool of juveniles and increase the production of Brazil nuts through more favorable light regimes for small adult plants. Several rubber tappers that have been exposed to the technology of liberation thinning have already adopted it. The findings reported here indicate that there is a great potential to increase productivity of extractive systems which can accommodate the needs of growing population and demands of rubber tappers. We argue that applied ecological research can play a key role in making good forest management attractive to extractivists, Indians and colonists alike. Forest conservation will have a much better chance of succeeding if good forest management is perceived as a more productive land use system than the existing alternatives: agriculture and pastures.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
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| Subjects: | BERTHOLLETIA EXCELSA, PRODUCTOS FORESTALES NO MADERABLES, MANEJO FORESTAL, ECOLOGIA FORESTAL, ASPECTOS SOCIOECONOMICOS, PARTICIPACION CAMPESINA, RESERVAS EXTRACTIVISTAS, AMAZONIA, BRASIL, |
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