Abstract
Participant observation and formal interviews were used to learn what local people understood of palm natural history and how palms were managed. Ecological and ethnographic methods were combined to assess traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and traditional resource management (TRM). Palm workers understood TEK and TRM for palms. This knowledge was not general in the population, however. Residence, harvester status, and gender were strongly correlated with TEK and TRM. Harvest practices included limiting access, “sparing,” controlling harvest times and levels, and choice of leaf age and palm size. “Alpha” management is proposed as practices which maintain populations long-term. In this case, sparing was the single most important practice. “Beta” management is shorter term and important for obtaining good quality product in sufficient quantities. Although the impacts are more subtle, it can affect population structure over time. This study provides one prototype for identifying practices which function as de facto conservation traditions for wild-harvested species.
Resumen
Observación participante y entrevistas formales fueron los métodos utilizados para aprender cómo la gente local entendió la historia natural y manejo de las palmas. Métodos ecológicos y etnográficos fueron combinados para valorar el conocimiento tradicional de la ecología (TEK) y el manejo tradicional de los recursos (TRM) para las palmas. Aunque los palmeros entiendieron TEK y TRM para las palmas, este conocimiento no era generalizado entre la población. La residencia, y el estatus y el género del palmero fueron correlacionados fuertemente con TEK y TRM. Las prácticas de cosecha incluyeron: acceso limitado a las poblaciones, uso moderado de grandes palmas, tiempos y niveles controlados de cosecha, selección del tamaño de la palma y edad de la hoja. El manejo “alpha” es un manejo a largo plazo para el mantenimiento de las poblaciones, en este caso a través del uso moderado de las palmas grandes. El manejo “beta” es un manejo a corto plazo e importante para la obtención de productos de buena calidad en suficientes cantidades. Aunque su impacto sobre las poblaciones es más sutil, si puede afectar la estructura poblacional con el tiempo. Este estudio provee un modelo para valorar las especies silvestres e identificar las prácticas tradicionales que de hecho funcionan en la conservación de estas especies.
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Joyal, E. The palm has its time: an Ethnoecology ofSabal uresana in Sonora, Mexico. Econ Bot 50, 446–462 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02866527
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02866527