Percepção do impacto de eventos extremos sobre a produção pela população do estuário Amazônico

Mudanças climáticas e processos de adaptação à essas mudanças têm sido foco de inúmeras pesquisas. Na Amazônia, a pesquisa tem focado principalmente na análise da interação entre desmatamento. Com objetivo de analisar a percepção sobre mudanças climáticas e o impacto em relação vários tipos de eventos para população de várzea do estuário Amazônico foram entrevistados com base em 239 entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os entrevistados relatam que o impacto de temperatura mais altas, muita chuva e grandes marés afetam a produção negativamente enquanto temperatura mais baixa que o normal, pouca chuva e baixa maré, para a maioria, não afeta a produção. Uma das principais atividades da região é a extração do açaí e estima-se que o impacto da temperatura mais alta do que um ano normal reduza a producao em em média em 45%. Em relação à pesca, em torno de metade informa que a temperatura reduz a produção. Também a maré alta afeta a pesca e a intensidade maior de chuvas afeta a produção de mandioca. Ainda há pouca visão de como reduzir esses efeitos mas um grupo menor acredita que reduzir desmatamento e reflorestar beneficiaria a produção do açaí. Com base na percepção do impacto de eventos extremos sobre a produção é possível antecipar os impactos de longo prazo de mudanças climáticas e melhor preparar a população para ações mitigadoras.Climate change and adaptation to these changes have been the focus of numerous studies. In the Amazon, the research related to climate change has focused mainly on the analysis of the interaction between deforestation and climate change on forest biomass and the water system. No study, however, focuses on the impact of climate change on the population of the Amazon estuary, one of the densest regions of the entire basin. Aiming to analyze the perception of climate change and impact in relation to various types of events population of lowland Amazonian estuary were interviewed based on 239 semi-structured interviews. The result shows that higher rain, temperature and tide in relation to a normal year affect negatively the production, while lower temperature, rain and tide does not have a significant impact. The impact of temperature is large, reducing the production of açaí berry, compared to a normal year in 45%. Regarding fishing, around half of the respondents inform that higher temperatures reduce production. Also high tides affects fisheries and greater intensity of rainfall affects the production of cassava. When asked about ways to mitigate these effects there is little insightinto how to reduce it. Based on perception it is possible to estimate impacts on production to prepare this population better to adaptation

Palm species richness, latitudinal gradients, sampling effort, and deforestation in the Amazon region

Palms are most diverse in warm and humid regions near the equator. Though palms remain relatively well conserved, they are under increasing pressure from deforestation. Here, we analyze patterns of palm species richness relative to latitudinal gradient, sampling effort, and deforestation in the Amazon, and compare patterns of richness and floristic similarity among Amazonian sub-regions. We built a database of 17,310 records for 177 species. The areas with the greatest richness were in the western, central and northeastern Amazon, principally at latitudes 0-5ºS. Species richness and the number of records were highly correlated (R2=0.76, P2000 km2) were found in the southern and eastern Amazon of Brazil, which coincide with low richness and gaps in records. Similarity analyzes resulted in two groups of sub-regions: the first included the Amazon s.s., the Andes and the Guiana, while the second included the Plateau and Gurupi. We conclude that the highest species richness is at low latitudes, and observed richness is affected by sampling effort and is vulnerable to deforestation. Therefore, areas with low species richness, especially areas with data deficiency, need to be further studied for a better understanding of their patterns of diversity and richness.

Padrão de Consumo e Pegada Ecológica dos Alunos de uma Universidade Federal Brasileira

Avaliar a sustentabilidade ambiental é uma tarefa complexa, implica em organizar um conjunto de conceitos e variáveis. Uma forma de avaliação que se popularizou recentemente, a partir de Wackernagel et al. (1996), foi o da Pegada Ecológica. A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo avaliar o envolvimento dos alunos da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) em ações sustentáveis diretas e o seu padrão de consumo, utilizando a metodologia da Pegada Ecológica.  O resultado da simulação apresentou uma pegada ecológica média de 2,7 hectares por pessoa, revelando que seria necessário 1,6 planetas se a população mundial tivesse o mesmo padrão de consumo.  Mesmo com aspectos limitantes (VEIGA, 2010), a Pegada Ecológica é um instrumento importante que pode auxiliar na elaboração da política de planejamento no nível local e nacional e fornece elementos importantes para sensibilizar a população sobre o consumo dos bens e serviços

The global abundance of tree palms

Aim: Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosys-tems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evo-lutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon se-questration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quanti-fied global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change.Location: Tropical and subtropical moist forests.Time period: Current.Major taxa studied: Palms (Arecaceae).Methods: We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co-occurring non-palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure.Results: On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly asso-ciated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long-term climate stability. Life-form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non-tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above-ground biomass, but the mag-nitude and direction of the effect require additional work.Conclusions: Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also over-whelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests

The global abundance of tree palms

Aim Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change. Location Tropical and subtropical moist forests. Time period Current. Major taxa studied Palms (Arecaceae). Methods We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co‐occurring non‐palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure. Results On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long‐term climate stability. Life‐form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non‐tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above‐ground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work. Conclusions Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests

Biogeography and conservation of Amazon palms

Palms are abundant in tropical forests and are recognized as effective bioindicators of hot climates. Moreover, play an important ecological and economic role for local populations. Though palms remain relatively well-conserved, they are under increasing pressure from deforestation. Therefore, endemicity is important for the delimitation of conservation areas. The purposes of the study is 1) to synthesize available information in the literature on species diversity, ecological aspects, use and conservation of Amazon palms (Chapter 1); to analyse palms species richness patterns relative to the latitudinal gradient, sample efforts, and deforestation in the Amazon region (Chapter 2); to compare richness and floristic similarities patterns among the Amazonian sub-regions (Chapter 2); to detect endemic areas for palms in the Amazon region (Chapter 3); and to determine whether the species that define these endemic areas are protected within conservation units (Chapter 3). Records of occurrences were extracted from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The final dataset consisted of 17,310 records, for 177 species of Amazonian palms. The areas with the greatest richness were in the western, central and northeastern Amazon, principally at latitudes 0–5ºS. Most palms species grow in different habitats, but the highest species richness are found in terra firme forest. Palms are widely used with different category of use according to the regions and species, principally are used for human consumption, elaboration of utensils and tools, and construction of houses. Highest rates of deforestation (>2000 km2) were found in the southern and eastern brazilian Amazon, which coincide with low species richness and gaps in records. Similarity analysis resulted in two groups of sub-regions: the first included the Amazon s.s., Andes and Guiana, and the other group included the Plateau and Gurupi sub-region. The combination of PAE and NDM-VNDM analyses resulted in eight endemic palm areas in western Amazon shared with Andean sub-region. Of the species that define the endemic areas, five are threatened with extinction in one of three IUCN categories (EN, VU, NT), and they are not protected in any conservation units. In conclusion, the western Amazon, besides having high palm richness, also has palm endemic areas, especially, near the Andean sub-region and the Peruvian Amazon, and areas with low species richness, especially those areas with data deficiency, need to be further researched for a better knowledge of their diversity and richness patterns.

Impacto da dinâmica da demanda dos frutos de açaí nas relações socioeconômicas e composição florística no estuário amazônico

In recent decades the demand for açaí in the state of Pará increased gradually given that the production and market of açaí fruit are the basis of the economy of more than 20 cities of Pará. The practice of extraction of açaí is carried out by men, women and children, driving up the consumption and currently turning to marketing. Due to this fact, the dynamic extraction of açaí began to change by the increased demand of açaí for the market, especially for the value the importance and economic interest. This study aims to assess the impact of changes of demand of açaí fruit in the (i) socioeconomic relation of income of açaí and (ii) density and floristic composition of agro-forestry areas managed by the riverine populations. The study was conducted in the Sao Joao Batista community, municipality of Abaetetuba, Pará - Brazil. The population's main source of labor extraction of açaí fruit. This was done with semi-structured and open interviews to the families of the community considered small and median açaí producers. The interviews encompassed two components, the economic aspect and the social aspect. In addition, data were collected daily on the amount of the basket of açaí berry collected, consumed and sold, and the price of each basket, in order to characterize the production and price in the different seasons of the crop. Also conducted a floristic inventory through an inventory in order to characterize the vegetation, to assess the density and floristic composition of palm area. For this set up a total of 10 plots of 20 x 50 m (1000 m2 or 0.1 ha) distributed in five selected properties, measuring the diameter of all trees adults > 10 cm DAP and palm trees with DAP > 2 cm and estimated the total height (H) of each individual from the base to the highest point of the leaves. The analysis of the diversity of palm areas used the Shannon-Wiener and Simpson index through the statistical program PAST - PAlaentologicalSTatistics, ver. 1.27. The main results were that the population of São João Batista community, the commercialization of acai as the main family income, and smaller-scale fishing for fish and shrimp. The sale of the production of açaí is made to intermediaries (marreteiros) (55%), market Abaetetuba (29%), the market in Belém (10%) and to marreteiro and/or market Abaetetuba (6%). The municipality of Abaetetuba from 2005 has a drop in extractive production from 10,500 t (2004) to 900 t (2005) and progressively decreasing until 770 t (2008). But, the amount of cultivated açaí production increased from 15,625 t (2003) to 131,250 t (2008) representing 99.4% of total production. In the community, was inventoried 1043 individuals of trees with a total of 11 families and 28 species, occupying larger basal areas the families Arecaceae (8.83) and Fabaceae (6.77) and with larger numbers of individual (831 and 147 respectively). The species with the highest importance value index (IVIS) and density were Euterpe oleracea (777 individuals), Pterocarpus sp. (126) and Mauritia flexuosa (50). Obtained low values in the Simpson 0.4275 and Shannon 1.071 index, which indicates that it has a low diversity resulting from management activities and extraction of palm heart and açaí fruit leading to a monoculture for consumption and sale of fruits. As a conclusion the increase of price is forced by rising demand, causing the expansion of areas for cultivation and planting of açaí to increase the production. The socioeconomic impact of management and cultivation of palm areas on the riverside and extractive economy of the Amazon estuary generates great opportunities for employment, income and quality of life for the people of the plains and the urban centers, especially favoring to the poor peopleCNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoNos últimas décadas a demanda pelo açaí no estado do Pará cresceu gradualmente, já que a produção e mercado da fruta de açaí são a base da economia de mais de 20 municípios paraenses. A prática do extrativismo do açaizeiro é praticada pelos homens, mulheres e crianças, voltada para autoconsumo e para a comercialização. Devido a este fato, a dinâmica do extrativismo do açaizeiro começou a mudar pelo aumento da demanda do açaí para o mercado, principalmente pelo valor de importância e interesse econômico. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os impactos das mudanças da demanda dos frutos de açaí na (i) relação econômica da renda do açaí e na (ii) densidade e composição florística das áreas agroflorestais manejadas pelos ribeirinhos. O estudo realizou-se na comunidade São João Batista, município de Abaetetuba, Pará - Brasil. A população tem como principal fonte de trabalho a extração do fruto de açaí. Foram feitas entrevistas semi-estruturadas e abertas às famílias residentes na comunidade considerados pequenos e médios produtores de açaí. As entrevistas abarcaram dois componentes, o aspecto econômico e o aspecto social. Além disso, coletaram-se dados diários sobre a quantidade de rasa de açaí coletada, consumida e vendida, e o preço de cada rasa, com a finalidade de caracterizar a produção e preço nas diferentes temporadas da safra. Também se realizou o levantamento florístico mediante um inventário com a finalidade de caracterizar a vegetação, avaliar a densidade e composição florística dos açaizeiros. Para isso estabeleceu-se um total de 10 parcelas de 20 x 50 m (1000 m2 ou 0.1 ha) distribuídas em cinco propriedades selecionadas, medindo o diâmetro de todos os indivíduos adultos > 10 cm de DAP (diâmetro à altura do peito) e para palmeiras com DAP > 2 cm e estimou-se a altura total (H) de cada individuo da base até o ponto mais alto das folhas. A análise da diversidade dos açaizais utilizou-se o índice de Shannon-Wiener e o índice de Simpson através do programa estatístico PAST – PAlaentologicalSTatistics, ver. 1,27. Como principais resultados obtiveram-se que na comunidade de São João Batista, a venda da produção de açaí é realizada para intermediários (marreteiros) (55%), no mercado de Abaetetuba (29%), no mercado de Belém (10%) e para marreteiro e/ou no mercado de Abaetetuba (6%). O município de Abaetetuba desde o ano 2005 teve uma queda na produção extrativa passando de 10.500 t (2004) a 900 t (2005) e progressivamente diminuindo até 770 t (2008). A quantidade da produção de açaí cultivada aumentou de 15.625 t (2003) a 131.250 t (2008) representando 99,4% da produção total. Na comunidade, foi inventariado 1043 indivíduos de árvores com um total de 11 famílias e 28 espécies, ocupando áreas basais maiores as famílias Arecaceae (8.83) e Fabaceae (6.77) e com maiores números de indivíduos (831 e 147 respectivamente). As espécies com maiores índices de valor de importância (IVIs) e de densidade registraram-se a Euterpe oleracea (777 indivíduos), Pterocarpus sp. (126) e Mauritia flexuosa (50). Obtiveram-se valores baixos nos índices de Simpson: 0.4275 e Shannon: 1.071, o que indica que se tem uma baixa diversidade resultante da atividade de manejo e extração de palmito e frutos de açaí levando a uma monocultura para o consumo e venda dos frutos. Concluindo, que o aumento do preço é forçado pelo crescimento da demanda, provocando a ampliação das áreas de cultivo e plantio de açaí para o aumento da produção. O impacto socioeconômico do manejo e cultivo dos açaizais sobre a economia ribeirinha e a economia extrativa do estuário amazônico gera grandes oportunidades de emprego, renda e qualidade de vida para as populações das várzeas e dos centros urbanos, sobretudo favorecendo aos mais pobresConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológic

Percepção do impacto de eventos extremos sobre a produção pela população do estuário Amazônico

Mudanças climáticas e processos de adaptação à essas mudanças têm sido foco de inúmeras pesquisas. Na Amazônia, a pesquisa tem focado principalmente na análise da interação entre desmatamento. Com objetivo de analisar a percepção sobre mudanças climáticas e o impacto em relação vários tipos de eventos para população de várzea do estuário Amazônico foram entrevistados com base em 239 entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os entrevistados relatam que o impacto de temperatura mais altas, muita chuva e grandes marés afetam a produção negativamente enquanto temperatura mais baixa que o normal, pouca chuva e baixa maré, para a maioria, não afeta a produção. Uma das principais atividades da região é a extração do açaí e estima-se que o impacto da temperatura mais alta do que um ano normal reduza a producao em em média em 45%. Em relação à pesca, em torno de metade informa que a temperatura reduz a produção. Também a maré alta afeta a pesca e a intensidade maior de chuvas afeta a produção de mandioca. Ainda há pouca visão de como reduzir esses efeitos mas um grupo menor acredita que reduzir desmatamento e reflorestar beneficiaria a produção do açaí. Com base na percepção do impacto de eventos extremos sobre a produção é possível antecipar os impactos de longo prazo de mudanças climáticas e melhor preparar a população para ações mitigadoras.Climate change and adaptation to these changes have been the focus of numerous studies. In the Amazon, the research related to climate change has focused mainly on the analysis of the interaction between deforestation and climate change on forest biomass and the water system. No study, however, focuses on the impact of climate change on the population of the Amazon estuary, one of the densest regions of the entire basin. Aiming to analyze the perception of climate change and impact in relation to various types of events population of lowland Amazonian estuary were interviewed based on 239 semi-structured interviews. The result shows that higher rain, temperature and tide in relation to a normal year affect negatively the production, while lower temperature, rain and tide does not have a significant impact. The impact of temperature is large, reducing the production of açaí berry, compared to a normal year in 45%. Regarding fishing, around half of the respondents inform that higher temperatures reduce production. Also high tides affects fisheries and greater intensity of rainfall affects the production of cassava. When asked about ways to mitigate these effects there is little insightinto how to reduce it. Based on perception it is possible to estimate impacts on production to prepare this population better to adaptation

Floristic inventory of one hectare of palm-dominated creek forest in Jenaro Herrera, Peru

A floristic inventory was carried out in an area of palm-dominated creek forest in Jenaro Herrera, in the northeast of Peru. All trees ≥ 10 cm dbh were surveyed in a one-hectare permanent plot using the standard RAINFOR methodology. There were 618 individuals belonging to 230 species, 106 genera and 43 families. The results showed that the total basal area of the trees in the plot was 23.7 m2. The three species with the highest importance value indexes were Iriartea deltoidea Ruiz & Pav., Oenocarpus bataua Mart. (Arecaceae) and Carapa procera DC. (Meliaceae). The five most dominant families in order of importance were Arecaceae, Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Sapotaceae. Although the soil of this plot was poorly drained, the number of trees and the diversity of the plot were typical for terra firme forest in the western Amazon. © Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2012