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Identifying the Ecosystems Services of the Ivory Palm (Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce): A Qualitative Study from the Central Coast of Ecuador

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Abstract

Tagua (Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce) is a dioecious palm endemic to the forests and pastures of western Ecuador. Ethnobotanical studies from the early 20th century have described the market–based ecosystem services derived from its seed, known as vegetable ivory, but little is known about its non–market ecosystem services. In this paper, we investigate the local knowledge associated with all ecosystem services provided by the palm through focus group discussions within three communities in the Manabí Province of western Ecuador. We used a computer–assisted qualitative analysis to transcribe, analyze, and classify the transcripts using reports of use types. Participants identified a total of 28 ecosystem services: 13 provisioning, 7 regulating, 6 cultural, and 2 supporting services. The use type with the most frequent reports by respondents were plant–animal interactions (36), thatch roofs (19), and cultural identity (17). Generally, the results reveal that local people value tagua for its role as a key species supporting local fauna, the uses of their leaves in the traditional architecture, and as a natural resource that allows them to identify with their traditions. We discuss concerns reported by participants regarding the tagua trade, harvest hazards, and the loss of traditions associated with tagua.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the members of the Dos Mangas, Dos Bocas, and Matapalo communities for their openness to be part of this study and their hospitality. We thank the TRAFINO company and its staff, especially Paulina Ormaza and Andrea García, for their support during our fieldwork. José Miguel Ayala and Nicole Alfaro collaborated in the transcription of the audios and Santiago Palacios supported the researchers during the fieldwork. We thank the editor, associate editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. We also thank Thomas Auffray, Sophie Caillon, and Sylvain Pincebourde for their helpful feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. RM and MA are grateful for the support of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and the Universidad Central del Ecuador, respectively. The authors also thank the International Joint Laboratory BIOINCA for funding this work. SA and JG thank the University of New Hampshire’s Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research for funding this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

    Rommel Montúfar

  2. Resilient Buildings Group, Inc., Concord, New Hampshire, USA

    Jacob Gehrung

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

    Michael Ayala Ayala

  4. Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    Shady S. Atallah

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  1. Rommel Montúfar
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Correspondence to Shady S. Atallah.

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Montúfar, R., Gehrung, J., Ayala, M.A. et al. Identifying the Ecosystems Services of the Ivory Palm (Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce): A Qualitative Study from the Central Coast of Ecuador. Econ Bot 76, 300–318 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-022-09552-9

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