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Ethnobotany and effects of harvesting on the population ecology ofsyngonanthus nitens (bong.) ruhland (eriocaulaceae), a NTFP from Jalapão region, central Brazil

Etnobotânica e efeitos do extrativismo na ecologia populacional desyngonanthus nitens (bong.) Ruhland (eriocaulaceae), urn produto florestal não-madeireiro (pfnm) da região do Jalapão, tocantins, Brasil

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Abstract

The handicrafts made fromSyngonanthus nitens scapes have been an important source of income for rural communities in the Jalapão region of Brazil since the late 1990s. This study analyzedS. nitens harvest and management techniques and the economic importance of the handicrafts. We also tested the effects of harvest onS. nitens population ecology. Handicrafts provide about US$1,800/year per artisan, being especially important to women. Experimental scape harvesting in mid-October, which is when knowledgeable artisans harvest and when the seeds are mature, had no consistent effects on population density, plant survival, or reproduction (clonal or sexual) after one year. Since 40% of the new recruits come from seeds, harvest after seed maturation, combined with removal of only the scapes and not the flowerheads, can allow forS. nitens seeds to remain in the populations and help ensure sustainability of the growingS. nitens handicraft activity. Important economic aspects ofS. nitens harvest sustainability include the high value of the handicrafts and the fact they are not perishable.

Résumé

O artesanato de escapos deSyngonanthus nitens (capim dourado) é importante fonte de renda para comunidades do Jalapao, Tocantins, desde o fim dos anos 1990. Este estudo caracterizou a importância econômica deste artesanato, as técnicas de manejo e extrativismo e testou efeitos da colheita sobre a ecologia populacional da espécie. O artesanato rende cerca de US$1.800/artesão anualmente (~R$345,00/mes), sendo especialmente importante para mulheres. A colheita experimental de escapos em meados de outubro, época de colheita declarada por artesãos tradicionais, e quando as sementes estão maduras, não afetou de maneira consistente a densidade populacional, a sobrevivência ou a reprodução (sexuada e assexuada) das plantas por um ano. Um aspecto importante deste artesanato é o interesse estar voltado para o escapo, e não para os capítulos, como ocorre para utilização de outras sempre-vivas para ornamentaçaõ de interiores. Assim, a recomendação de colher após a maturação das sementes e cortar os capítulos não prejudica a atividade artesanal e mantem as sementes nos campos úmidos, o que é importante para a dinâmica populacional, visto que 40% dos recrutas provem de sementes. Aspectos importantes para a sustentabilidade conômica da atividade são o alto valor de mercado e o fato do artesanato não ser um produto perecível.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brazilian Environmental Agency (Ibama, DIREF), SCEN Trecho 2, CEP 70818-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Isabel Belloni Schmidt

  2. Ecology Graduate Program, University of Brasília, P.O. Box 04457, CEP 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Isabel Belloni Schmidt & Isabel Benedetti Figueiredo

  3. PEQUI-Pesquisa e Conservação do Cerrado, Bloco B, sala 109, SCLN 113, CEP 70763-520, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Isabel Belloni Schmidt & Isabel Benedetti Figueiredo

  4. Ed. Corporate Financial Center, UNDP, SCN Quadra 2, Bloco A, CEP 70712-901, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Aldicir Scariot

  5. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservaccão, Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia (Cenargen), Parque Estação Biológica, final W5 Norte, Caixa Postal 02372, CEP 70770-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Aldicir Scariot

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  1. Isabel Belloni Schmidt
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  2. Isabel Benedetti Figueiredo
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Correspondence to Isabel Belloni Schmidt.

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Schmidt, I.B., Figueiredo, I.B. & Scariot, A. Ethnobotany and effects of harvesting on the population ecology ofsyngonanthus nitens (bong.) ruhland (eriocaulaceae), a NTFP from Jalapão region, central Brazil. Econ Bot 61, 73–85 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2007)61[73:EAEOHO]2.0.CO;2

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