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Palm use and social values in rural communities on the coastal plains of Veracruz, Mexico

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Abstract

Palms are a resource of great importance in the tropics and are found in a variety of ecosystems, including the wetlands of the tropical coastal plains. In order to recover wetland ecosystems, we studied the traditional uses of wetland palms, by conducting interviews in the communities of four municipalities on the Gulf of Mexico coast. We found that people use five species of palm: Cocos nucifera, Sabal mexicana, Attalea liebmannii, Roystonea dunlapiana and Acrocomia aculeata. Main uses for the five species were for food and construction materials. Although palms are still used, traditional knowledge is declining in the younger generations, likely as a result of various social, cultural and economic factors. It is important to recover and promote the traditional use and value of palm trees, especially for the native species, because of both the economic benefits and the environmental services they provide. More participatory work with the inhabitants is needed to initiate palm breeding programs to assist in the recovery of wetland ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the residents of the communities where we conducted the interviews for their kindness and help in preparing this study. A. Juárez introduced us to the communities, A. Castro-Luna helped with the fieldwork and I. González-Marín made useful suggestions on the manuscript. B. Delfosse edited the English version of this manuscript. This study was made possible by a CONACyT doctoral fellowship (46,372) awarded to the first author and by funding from the International Tropical Timber Organization PD 349/05 Rev.2 (F) and PD RED-PD 045/11 Rev.2 (M), and by the Instituto de Ecología AC (902-17).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec No. 351, Congregación El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    R. M. González-Marín & P. Moreno-Casasola

  2. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Calle 43 No. 130, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, 97200, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

    R. Orellana

  3. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro No. 8701 Col. Ex-Hacienda de San José de La Huerta, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    A. Castillo

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  1. R. M. González-Marín
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  2. P. Moreno-Casasola
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  3. R. Orellana
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  4. A. Castillo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Moreno-Casasola.

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Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 2.

Table 2 Comparative synthesis and main characteristics of the study sites
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Appendix 2

See Table 3.

Table 3 Some examples of use of the palms in others parts of Mexico and America
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González-Marín, R.M., Moreno-Casasola, P., Orellana, R. et al. Palm use and social values in rural communities on the coastal plains of Veracruz, Mexico. Environ Dev Sustain 14, 541–555 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9343-y

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