Knowledge, Uses and Practices of the Licuri Palm (Syagrus Coronata(Mart.) Becc.) around Protected Areas in Northeastern Brazil Holding the Endangered Species Lear's Macaw (Anodorhynchus Leari)

Abstract

We examined the known and practiced uses of licuri palm (Syagrus coronata) leaves by artisans and the dynamics of leaf collecting in the communities surrounding protected areas in northeastern Brazil. Through interviews, workshops, and guided tours, we assessed person-resource relationships and the varied influences on licuri uses in order to suggest measures for the sustainability of harvest practices. In total, 537 citations referring to the uses of the licuri palm were recorded, which resulted in 31 types divided into four categories: food, handicrafts, construction, and agriculture, with a correlation between the known and practiced uses. The relationship between people and the use of licuri is complex, but the multiple linear regression model showed that the known and practiced uses reflect mainly the influence of income (at least 32%), followed by age (at least 19%). Age, as a variable, can overcome the influence of the variable income to explain the practiced uses. Artisans obey the ordinance restricting leaf collecting to the annual removal of only 3 leaves per plant, but preparing the fiber involves other native forest species. This study indicates that people's responses to the imposed restriction can increase local conservation problems and that scientific studies are needed in order to adjust the guidelines and/or governmental policies for conservation of licuri palm. Such policies cannot be generalized throughout the region.

Conserving the Diversity of Ecological Interactions: The Role of Two Threatened Macaw Species as Legitimate Dispersers of “Megafaunal” Fruits

“…Caatinga has been reduced in the area but mostly strongly degraded by livestock overgrazing [89,90], thus affecting the regeneration of licuri palm (S. coronata), whose distribution is restricted to the Caatinga biome [35]. The licuri palm is considered the main food resource for Lear's macaws, so conservation actions aimed at reversing the poor conservation status of this macaw focus on the regeneration and conservation of licuri palm stands [91,92]. Our results challenged previous views on the negative effects of these macaws as exclusive seed predators [25,91], to their key role as legitimate long-distance seed dispersers on the regeneration of palm stands and gene flow among them.…”

Genome survey and development of 15 microsatellite molecular markers in Syagrus coronata (Martius) Beccari (Arecaceae) by next-generation sequencing

“…The SSR molecular markers that have been described show great potential to improve salt tolerance in Brassica (Kumar et al 2015) and great potential in genetic analysis of natural and breeding populations of Eucalyptus (Sumathi and Yasodha 2014). Syagrus coronata is an endemic species from Brazil growing in the ''Caatinga'' and Atlantic forest domains and has economic and ecologic importance (de Andrade Martins et al 2015). The present study has developed a set of microsatellites loci with potential for use in ecological and genetic resources studies.…”

How much does it cost to save a species from extinction? Costs and rewards of conserving the Lear's macaw

“…Therefore, it is expected that the population recovery of the Lear's macaw will contribute to seed dispersal and forest regeneration. The regeneration of licuri palm stands is not only important as a key food source for Lear's macaws and a refuge for many other wildlife species, but also has a social and economic impact, since products obtained from the licuri palm have up to 537 different uses by local communities [26]. Further studies are needed to better identify and quantify the ecosystem services—and derived economic rewards—associated with the recovery of this EN species.…”

“…We contacted the three handicraft associations linked to the conservation of the species, located within the species' area of occurrence, to obtain information on the number of workers from each association. After compiling information about the bulk sales from the handicrafts produced [47] and the mean family income from three communities [26], we also assessed the relative contribution from handicrafts to craftsmens’ mean family income in three communities, linking their products to sustainable practices and Lear's macaw conservation. Although there are data available on the bulk sales from the Association of Artisans Lear in Serra Branca from the period 2011–2015 [47], we only used data from 2014 as a reference to estimate the relative contribution of handicrafts to average family income since it was the only year with information available from all three communities.…”

“…However, there is no compiled information on the overall costs of the different conservation projects, and it is not clear to what extent the different conservation actions contributed to the recovery of the species, given the absence of assessments of their costs and effectiveness. Likewise, information is scarce about economic rewards [26] and is non-existent for the potential ecosystem services recovered.

Figure 1.The Lear's macaw was discovered in the wild in 1978, with a population estimated at only 60 individuals.

…”