Stands of babassu palms (Orbignya martiana) occupy an area of Brazil estimated at nearly 200,000 km 2, concentrated in the states of Maranhao, Piauf and Goi~s. Babassu's cryptogeal germination, establishing the apical meristem of the plant below ground for its early growth and development, enables it to survive human disturbance, making the palm an integral part of shifting cultivation and pastoral farming systems. People obtain a multitude of products from babassu throughout the palm's life cycle." leaves are used widely for thatch, basketry, and construction; trunks for palmito and bridges," the fruit for feed, oil and, charcoal. As many as 450,000 subsistence-level households rely on the sale of babassu kernels, used in a regional vegetable oil industry, for an important share of their cash incomes. Deforestation pressures and technological innovation toward an industry based on mechanical processing of whole babassu fruit threaten to reduce benefits the palm provides to the region's rural poor. Understanding how babassu is used by rural families who depend upon it will help to make current efforts at "domesticating" the palm and whole-fruit processing more responsive to human needs.The babassu palm (Orbignya martiana Barb. Rodr.), spelled baba(u in modem Portuguese, reaches a height of up to 30 m at maturity; its dense crown of arching pinnate leaves has a diameter of 8 m. Babassu palms form monospecific stands over wide areas of Brazil (Fig. 1) on sites where there has been disturbance of the original vegetation, for example, where primary forests have been cleared. Babassu stands are concentrated in the southern portion of the Amazon Basin, an area that has undergone rapid population growth in recent decades as waves of settlers have arrived from other regions of Brazil. Today the palm forests represent a crucial source of subsistence goods and services for hundreds of thousands of rural families.This article examines the role of babassu in the lives of people who rely on the palm for an important share of their livelihood. Most of the literature (e.g., Teixeira Leite, 1953;MIC/STI, 1977) focuses on the palm's potential as a source of raw materials for industrialization, largely ignoring its importance in subsistence economies. Current efforts aimed at expanding the market potential of babassu products and clearcutting of the palm forests for more intensive agriculture often conflict with the basic needs of people dependent on the palm. A knowledge of these needs may point the way toward more harmonious utilization of babassu in both market and subsistence economies.

Babassu palms (Orbignya spp.) cover nearly 200,000 km 2 in Brazil, providing cash income, fuel, fibre, edible oil and food to a large number of tenant farm households. Babassu is closely integrated within pastoral and shifting cultivation systems of Mid-North Brazil. In pastures, babassu provides shade for cattle, aids soil moisture retention, produces organic matter, generates supplementary farm income at little cost, and offers year-round employment. On the other hand, the persistence of juvenile palms reduces pasture grass productivity due to plant competition, and therefore there is a trend to eradicate babassu through clearcutting and understorey suppression. At moderate densities of less than 100 individuals per ha, mature babassu palms in cropland do not appear to harm crop productivity. In such cases, palms are thinned and leaves of the remaining ones are cut back, supplying fuel for the burn and nutrients to the soil. However, reduced fallow cycles due to pasture conversion threaten babassu as well as crop productivity. Resumo. Palmeiras de baba~u (Orbignya spp.) 0ccorrem em quase 200.000km 2 no Brasil, proporcionando renda em dinheiro, combustivel, fibras, 6leo e alimentos para eerca de quinhentas mil familias de pequenos produtores rurais, a maioria arrendat~irios ou posseiros. O baba~u aparece integrado dentro de sistemas de produq~o pastoris e de agricultura migrat6ria no Meio Norte do Brasil. Nas pastagens, o baba~u prov~ somhra para o gado, ajuda na reten~o da umidade no solo, produz mat6ria org~nica,. gera renda suplementar corn investimento mlnimo, e oferece condi~Ses para fixar a forqa de trabalho durante a entressafra dos pr0dutos agricolas. A presenqa de palmeiras" }uvenis, por6m, reduz-a produtividade dos pastos devido a eompeti~o, o que leva os criadores de gado a erradicar o baba~u, suprlmindo tanto as palmeiras juven~s, como as palmeiras adultas. No que diz respeito ~t agricultura migrat6ria, o baba~u adulto em densidades moderadas, ou seja, at6 100 indivfduos por hectare, aparentemente n~o reduz a produtividade das culturas anuais. Nestes casos, parte das palmeiras s~o desbastadas e as folhas das restantes cortadas, proporcionando c_ombustivel para_ a queima e nutrientes para o solo. No entanto, a redu~o nos ciclos de descanso devido ~ convers~o das terras agricolas em pastagens ameaqa a produtividade quer do baba~u quer das pr6prias culturas.

Babassu palms (Orbignya spp.) cover nearly 200,000 km 2 in Brazil, providing cash income, fuel, fibre, edible oil and food to a large number of tenant farm households. Babassu is closely integrated within pastoral and shifting cultivation systems of Mid-North Brazil. In pastures, babassu provides shade for cattle, aids soil moisture retention, produces organic matter, generates supplementary farm income at little cost, and offers year-round employment. On the other hand, the persistence of juvenile palms reduces pasture grass productivity due to plant competition, and therefore there is a trend to eradicate babassu through clearcutting and understorey suppression. At moderate densities of less than 100 individuals per ha, mature babassu palms in cropland do not appear to harm crop productivity. In such cases, palms are thinned and leaves of the remaining ones are cut back, supplying fuel for the burn and nutrients to the soil. However, reduced fallow cycles due to pasture conversion threaten babassu as well as crop productivity.

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AREAS WITH POTENTIAL FOR THE CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES OF BACABA (Oenocarpus distichus) IN THE STATE OF MARANHÃO, BRAZILAREAS CON POTENCIAL PARA CONSERVACIÓN DE RECURSOS DA BACABA (Oenocarpus distichus) EN EL ESTADO DEL MARANHÃO, BRASILRESUMOAs bacabeiras (Oenocarpus distichus) são palmeiras típicas da Amazônia que ocorrem com maior frequência no leste, dispersando-se do Pará ao Maranhão. A bacabeira por suas características ecobotânicas apresentam grandes oportunidades de serem valoradas em serviços ecossistêmicos. É explorada pelo extrativismo, seja para o consumo de seus frutos na forma de bebida ou na extração do óleo, podendo ser cultivadas em sistemas agroflorestais para a produção de frutos, palmito e, especialmente, o óleo. O presente estudo investigou e mapeou a ocorrência de populações naturais de Oenocarpus distichus no Maranhão para identificar as áreas com potenciais para conservação. A pesquisa é descritiva e foi realizada em diferentes sedes municipais e/ou povoados de seis microrregiões do estado do Maranhão: Baixada Maranhense, Gurupi, Chapada das Mangabeiras, Litoral Ocidental Maranhense, Rosário e Itapecuru. Os pontos de ocorrência foram georreferenciados e armazenadas no aparelho GPS. Posteriormente no software (Qgis 2.18) foi feita a conversão das coordenadas de extensão KML para shapefile, criando um banco de dados utilizado para produzir o mapa da distribuição espacial da bacaba. Entre as áreas pesquisadas a maior ocorrência identificada foi na microrregião de Rosário, com destaque para os municípios de Axixá e Presidente Juscelino; seguido da microrregião do Litoral Ocidental Maranhense, em Serrano do Maranhão. Constatou-se que as populações de bacaba estão bastante reduzidas nas áreas mapeadas, contudo ainda existem indivíduos preservados em quintais, favorecendo estratégias de conservação on farm.Palavras-chave: Bacaba; Extrativismo; Maranhão.ABSTRACTThe bacabeiras (Oenocarpus distichus) are typical palms tree from Amazon that occur more frequently in the east, dispersing from Pará to Maranhão. The bacabeira due to its ecobotanical characteristics present great opportunities to be valued in ecosystem services. It is exploited by extractivism, either for the consumption of its fruits in the form of drinks or in the extraction of oil and can be grown in agroforestry systems to produce fruits, hearts of palm and, especially, oil. The present study investigated and mapped the occurrence of natural populations of Oenocarpus distichus in Maranhão to identify potential areas to conservation. The research is descriptive and was realized in different municipal headquarters and/or populated in six microregions in the state of Maranhão: Baixada Maranhense, Gurupi, Chapada das Mangabeiras, Litoral Ocidental Maranhense, Rosário and Itapecuru. The occurrence points were georeferenced and stored on the device GPS. Later, in the software (Qgis 2.18) the conversion of the KML extension coordinates to shapefile was performed, creating a database used to produce the spatial distribution map of bacaba. Among the areas surveyed, the highest occurrence identified was in microregion of Rosário with highlight on the municipalities of Axixá and Presidente Juscelino, followed by microregion of Litoral Ocidental Maranhense through of Serrano do Maranhão. It was constated that bacaba populations are considerable reduced in the mapped areas, however there are still individuals preserved at backyards, favoring conservation strategies on farm.Keywords: Bacaba; Extractivism; Maranhão.RESUMENLas bacabeiras (Oenocarpus distichus) son palmeras típicas de la Amazonia que ocurren con mayor frecuencia en el este, dispersándose del Pará al Maranhão, estados de Brasil. La bacabeira por sus características ecobotánicas presentan grandes oportunidades de ser valoradas en servicios ecosistémicos. Es explotada por el extractivismo, sea para el consumo de sus frutos en la forma de bebida o en la extracción del aceite, pudiendo ser cultivadas en sistemas agroforestales para la producción de frutos, palmito y especialmente, el aceite. El presente estudio investigó y mapeó áreas de ocurrencia de poblaciones naturales de O. distichus en Maranhão para identificar áreas com potencial para la conservación. La investigación es descriptiva y fue realizada en diferentes sedes municipales y/o poblados de seis microrregiones del estado de Maranhão: Baixada Maranhense, Gurupi, Chapada das Mangabeiras, Litoral Occidental Maranhense, Rosário y Itapecuru. Los puntos de ocurrencia fueron georreferenciados y almacenados en el dispositivo GPS. Más adelante en el software (Qgis 2.18), las coordenadas de extensión KML se convertieron en formato shapefile, creando uma base de datos utilizada para producir el mapa de distribuición espacial de bacaba. Entre las seis áreas investigadas la mayor ocurrencia identificada fue en la microrregión de Rosario, con destaque para los municipios de Axixá y Presidente Juscelino; seguido del Litoral Occidental Maranhense, en Serrano do Maranhão. Se constató que las poblaciones de bacaba están bastante reducidas en las áreas mapeadas, sin embargo todavía existen individuos preservados en quintales, favoreciendo estrategias de conservación on farm.Palabras clave: Amazonía; Extractivismo; Maranhão.

The wide extension area occupied by babassu palm (Atallea speciosa Mart. Ex Spreng) is usually considered as an important obstacle for agricultural activities, such as crop production and pasture maintenance in Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the non-wood forest product use and income generated in an Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry (ICLF) system using babassu palm as the main forestry component in a rural area of Pindaré-Mirim, a municipality of Maranhão state, in the Amazon Eastern Region, Brazil. In order to rise a well-balanced agroforestry system in numerous rural areas of the country, three main questions were addressed in this study: 1) What is the production of babassu fruits in the system? 2) Is the babassu extractivism income economically suitable for traditional communities of women babassu breakers? 3) Which commercialization scenario of NWFP could generate more income? Data on phenology and fruit production, processing of all fruit components, and commercialization of babassu products were collected in two 12-month seasons of palm production (2017/2018 and 2018/2019). The mean fruit production reached 2,345.49 kg ha-1 season-1, resulting in an estimate of income generation ranging from R$ 8,206.96 ha-1 season-1 to R$ 36,628.54 ha-1 season-1, depending on the commercialization scenario. These numbers were compared to the statewide monthly income per household of R$ 605.00 and to the per capita monthly income of 54% of the municipality of less than R$ 499.00. The real field data and the estimates for two seasons of using babassu palm, as the innovative forestry component in ICLF system, demonstrated that babassu NWFP could generate substantial income for the surrounding user communities. Such innovative agricultural system may contribute to change people understanding, diversifying agrarian production, improving the socioeconomic household welfare, and reducing the long-term conflicts between livestock activities and babassu palm existence in Brazil.