Mauritia flexuosa

Scatterhoarding has received special attention for the last couple of decades, and several studies focused on palms whose seeds
are dispersed by Dasyprocta. Our objective was to know the species that consume fruits of Mauritia flexuosa, to evaluate the
relative importance of consumer species, and also to assess the fate of dispersed seeds. Using field experiments we evaluated the
fate of seeds removed by frugivores at the Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve, Bolivia. We predicted that seeds buried by Dasyprocta
would present lower mortality that those left unburied. We placed 6-16 fruit stations, with 15-50 fruits each, in five sampling
periods along a year. The main seed dispersers of M. flexuosa were D. punctata and Cuniculus paca, which transported seeds a
maximum of 12.63 m, and 14.1, respectively. Dispersers removed 7.5% of the fruits from the stations. All seeds removed during
four out of the five sampling periods were either predated, or rotted; only 0.5% of the seeds dispersed in February germinated.
From the total of seeds we buried in the dry and wet season only survived those buried in the wet season, the remaining
were predated or rotted off. None of the 84 seeds removed by D. punctata were buried, which differs from all known reports
on dispersal behavior of Dasyprocta. We discuss these findings in relation to the possible effects of soil humidity, and seed size
and advance the hypothesis that the high abundance of the resource makes it unnecessary to scatterhoard seeds underground.

Vencedor do Prêmio NAEA 2016, categoria Melhor Dissertação de Mestrado, este livro realiza análise das relações sociais que ocorrem no processo criativo dos artesãos que produzem os Brinquedos de Miriti de Abaetetuba, e demonstra suas formas de organização social em torno de seu(s) processo(s) de criação e de construção das estruturas de proximidade que conformam sua vida associativa. Caracterizado como uma pesquisa interdisciplinar, o estudo realiza uma intersecção teórico-metodológica cujo marco referencial é a abordagem do Campo Social, associada ao uso do estudo dos ajuntamentos e das interações sociais. Em seu decorrer, o estudo apresenta os processos identitários e criativos que caracterizam a vida associativa dos artesãos de miriti, a dinâmica da vida associativa no Campo de Relações no Artesanato de Miriti de Abaetetuba, e a descrição das ocasiões sociais compósitas que nele ocorrem. Finalmente, conclui que a vida associativa dos artesãos de miriti se desenvolve a partir de seus núcleos criativos familiares e conflui com uma série de significados e práticas para as ocasiões sociais em que se inserem, permitindo-lhes manter-se e reproduzirem-se no Campo de Relações ao reconhecerem mais suas próprias determinações do que as intervenções e imposições dos agentes responsáveis pelo controle mercadológico e pelas políticas públicas por reatualizarem e recontextualizarem práticas próprias de seu modo de vida e de seus saberes e fazeres.

The effect of forest-based markets on local forest users is a central issue in conservation and development initiatives. Using an anthropological complex system approach, forest-based market participants are considered as a web of actors set within a dynamic socio-economic and political environment and multi-level spatial and temporal scale. Social heterogeneity can add complexity to a system, since different groups can face unique sets of risks, opportunities and available resources. This study examined the impact of a new buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) handicraft market on the livelihood strategies of different user groups of buriti leaf users and sustainable harvesting in Maranhão, Brazil. It was hypothesized that peoples? participation in the market was impacted by their livelihood assets and constraints, access to resources, and value chain dynamics.  Data was collected by conducting interviews with 149 selected individuals who were landowners, extractors, artisans, vendors of buriti handicrafts, non-users of burití leaves, and non-participators in the burití market. Interviews with ten individuals from governmental and non-governmental institutions were used to provide a broader context for the study. Results included an assessment of the livelihood system, typology of livelihood strategies, identification of significant socio-economic variables, and buriti value chains.  Conclusions showed that it is necessary to consider heterogeneity within forest user populations in order to understand factors that impact participation in forest-based markets. Different groups are faced with varying constraints and resource access that determine their livelihood strategy and decision-making process. This study contributes towards understanding the extent to which theories on human-environmental interactions, livelihood strategies, and knowledge generation can be applied to forest-based markets and stratified user groups. Conclusions from this study can contribute towards developing more effective policies that reduce poverty among forest-based people while maintaining forest resources. Among the study community, results can lead to increased empowerment and more informed decision-making among individuals regarding their forest-based livelihood strategies.

The impact of fire on the stand structure of Mauritia flexuosa Linn f. was investigated in a tropical savanna-forest system by comparing savanna margins that are either protected from or regularly exposed to moderate to low intensity savanna fires. Mauritia flexuosa populations within different environments were sampled over two years to measure: stand density, size class distribution, operational sex ratio, and fecundity. It was found that the canopy was significantly more open in the fire-impacted margins. There were no significant differences in diameter at breast height, but non fire-impacted margins had significantly taller adult palms. The overall reproductive output was significantly higher in the fire-impacted margin and there was a marked trade-off in reproductive output, with palms in fire-impacted margins producing lighter fruit, but three times as many individual fruit. In all margins, stands formed an ‘inverse-J’size class distribution, indicating a stable population structure. Mauritia flexuosa stands appear to have sufficient plasticity in reproductive output to sustain viable populations across a range of fire regimes.

In the present study the soil carbon stock (SCS), the air biomass and the necromass in the aguajales of the
lower and higher basins of the Aguaytia Basin in the Peruvian department, Ucayali, were estimated. To
determine the SCS, soil measures were taken and the organic carbon (%) and the apparent density were
determined. The carbon of air biomass was estimated by establishing temporary plots were the diameter was
measured at chest height and at all the trees and palm's height, and the biomass was calculated with alometric
equations. The necromass was estimated by measuring the diameter of the fallen dead trees, the diameter and
height of the stumps and the standing dead trees and the weight of the fallen leafs in a 1 m2 quadrant. The
aguajales of the Ucayali low zone were the ones that presented major carbon stock, on the other hand, the
aguajales of the high zone were those that stored less carbon. The results show that for the aguajales of the
high zone the SCS it is not reaching significantly to the carbon stock, whereas for the low zone this one is the
warehouse with major carbon stock. Likewise, it was possible to observe that the aguajales from the high zone
have a major degree of anthropic intervention, for which, there could be an establishment of conservation and
management systems that allow the increase of carbon at a landscape level by inserting technologies of crops
without timber and preserving other areas to give step through to the natural regeneration of the aguajales.

El acopio esparcido ha recibido singular atención en las últimas décadas, y muchos estudios se han centrado en semillas de palmeras dispersadas por Dasyprocta. Nuestro objetivo fue identificar las especies consumidoras de frutos de Mauritia flexuosa, evaluar la importancia relativa de esas especies y el destino de las semillas dispersadas. Utilizamos experimentos de campo para evaluar el destino de las semillas removidas por frugívoros, en la Reserva de la Biosfera Pilón Lajas, Bolivia. Predijimos que las semillas enterradas por Dasyprocta tendrían menor mortalidad que las no enterradas. Colocamos 6-16 estaciones de frutos, con 15-50 frutos cada una, en cinco periodos de muestreo cubriendo un año. Los principales dispersores de M. flexuosa fueron D. punctata y Cuniculus paca, que transportan las semillas un máximo de 12.63 m y 14.1 m, respectivamente. Los dispersores removieron 7.5% de los frutos de las estaciones. Todas las semillas dispersadas en cuatro de los muestreos fueron dep...

Leaf-cutters ants, Atta cephalotes (Formicidae), are known to select the leaves of pioneer plant species due to their high nutrient content and low chemical defenses (Farji Brener 2001). The ants do not feed on the leaves directly, but use the leaves as a growing medium to farm an edible fungus (Shripat 2011). Here I report observations of how A. cephalotes may be threatening the seedling bank of the palm Mauritia flexuosa L.f.