Abstract
Plant population response to ecological and anthropogenic factors provides essential information for conservation and management, mainly for species occurring in ecosystems under intense and rapid land use changes, like the Cerrado. We assessed the effects of land use and management upon the distribution of size and on the frequency of life stages of Butia capitata, an intensively harvested fruit palm, endemic to a southeastern portion of the Brazilian Cerrado. Most populations had a reverse-J size-class distribution, indicating good recruitment in the landscape even under fruit harvesting pressure and extensive cattle ranching. Regeneration was null or scarce in areas under more intense land use and management pressure, such as found on large, industrial farms. Soil fertility and texture were associated with seedling frequency, soil texture with sapling frequency, and precipitation with juvenile frequency. These factors must be taken into account for the enrichment, introduction and restoration of populations, actions demanded by traditional populations and family farmers who harvest the valuable fruits of B. capitata. Populations in areas with intense land use and inadequate management practices may be doomed to plummet. In contrast, in areas managed by traditional peoples and family farmers, characterized by low intensity of fruit harvesting and low frequency of cattle, populations should persist. Supporting traditional peoples and family farmers’ livelihoods and promoting changes in the management of areas where the species occurs may contribute to in situ conservation of the Cerrado’s biodiversity in multiple-use landscapes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alvares CA, Stape JL, Sentelhas PC, Goncalves JLD, Sparovek G (2013) Köppen’s climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorol Z 22:711–728. https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2013/0507
Alvarez-Buylla ER, Garcia-Barrios R, Lara-Moreno C, Martinez-Ramos M (1996) Demographic and genetic models in conservation biology: applications and perspectives for tropical rain forest tree species. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 27:387–421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.27.1.387
Anderson DR (2007) Model based inference in the life sciences: a primer on evidence, vol 1. Springer, Fort Collins
Arnold JEM, Pérez MR (2001) Can non-timber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives? Ecol Econ 39:437–447
Austin MP (2002) Spatial prediction of species distribution: an interface between ecological theory and statistical modelling. Ecol Model 157:101–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3800(02)00205-3
Avocevou-Ayisso C, Sinsin B, Adegbidi A, Dossou G, Van Damme P (2009) Sustainable use of non-timber forest products: Impact of fruit harvesting on Pentadesma butyracea regeneration and financial analysis of its products trade in Benin. For Ecol Manag 257:1930–1938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.01.043
Barot S, Gignoux J, Menaut JC (1999) Demography of a savanna palm tree: predictions from comprehensive spatial pattern analyses. Ecology 80:1987–2005. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080%5b1987:doaspt%5d2.0.co;2
Barry S, Elith J (2006) Error and uncertainty in habitat models. J Appl Ecol 43:413–423. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01136.x
Barton K (2018) Package “MuMIn”: Multi-Model Inference. R package, Version 1.40.4.
Bernal R (1998) Demography of the vegetable ivory palm Phytelephas seemannii in Colombia, and the impact of seed harvesting. J Appl Ecol 35:64–74. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.1998.00280.x
Bhuyan P, Khan ML, Tripathi RS (2003) Tree diversity and population structure in undisturbed and human-impacted stands of tropical wet evergreen forest in Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalayas, India. Biodivers Conserv 12:1753–1773. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023619017786
Brenes-Arguedas T, Rios M, Rivas-Torres G, Blundo C, Coley PD, Kursar TA (2008) The effect of soil on the growth performance of tropical species with contrasting distributions. Oikos 117:1453–1460. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2008.0030-1299.16903.x
Bring J (1994) How to standardize regression coefficients. Am Stat 48:209–213
Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer, New York
Cade BS (2015) Model averaging and muddled multimodel inferences. Ecology 96:2370–2382
Canfield R (1941) Application of line interception in sampling range vegetation. J Forest 39:388–394
Canty A, Ripley B (2011) Bootstrap R (S-Plus) Functions. R package version 13-3
Carvalho ISHD (2007) Potenciais e limitações do uso sustentável da biodiversidade do Cerrado: um estudo de caso da Cooperativa Grande Sertão no Norte de Minas. Doctorate dissertation. Universidade de Brasília, Brasília.
Chatfield BS, Van Niel KP, Kendrick GA, Harvey ES (2010) Combining environmental gradients to explain and predict the structure of demersal fish distributions. J Biogeogr 37:593–605. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02246.x
Chu CJ, Adler PB (2014) When should plant population models include age structure? J Ecol 102:531–543
Clark DB, Clark DA, Read JM (1998) Edaphic variation and the mesoscale distribution of tree species in a neotropical rain forest. J Ecol 86:101–112. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00238.x
CNUC/MMA (2017) Unidades de Conservação por Bioma. Cadastro Nacional de Unidades de Conservação/Ministério do Meio Ambiente. www.mma.gov.br/images/arquivo/80112/CNUC_Agosto%20-%20Biomas%201.pdf. Accessed 17 Feb 2017
Condit R, Sukumar R, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1998) Predicting population trends from size distributions: a direct test in a tropical tree community. Am Nat 152:495–509
Crawley MJ (2007) The R book. Wiley, London
Development Core Team R (2015) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria
Doak DF, Morris W (1999) Detecting population-level consequences of ongoing environmental change without long-term monitoring. Ecology 80:1537–1551. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080%5b1537:dplcoo%5d2.0.co;2
Floyd DA, Anderson JE (1987) A comparison of three methods for estimating plant cover. J Ecol 75:221–228
Forzza RC et al (2010) Catálogo de Plantas e Fungos do Brasil. Andrea Jakobsson Estúdio, Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.
Gaoue OG, Ticktin T (2007) Patterns of harvesting foliage and bark from the multipurpose tree Khaya senegalensis in Benin: variation across ecological regions and its impacts on population structure. Biol Conserv 137:424–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.02.020
Giroldo AB, Scariot A (2015) Land use and management affects the demography and conservation of an intensively harvested Cerrado fruit tree species. Biol Conserv 191:150–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.06.020
Gomez-Aparicio L, Zamora R, Gomez JM (2005) The regeneration status of the endangered Acer opalus subsp granatense throughout its geographical distribution in the Iberian Peninsula. Biol Conserv 121:195–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2004.04.019
Guédjè NM, Zuidema PA, During H, Foahom B, Lejoly J (2007) Tree bark as a non-timber forest product: the effect of bark collection on population structure and dynamics of Garcinia lucida Vesque. For Ecol Manag 240:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.09.029
Guisan A, Zimmermann NE (2000) Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology. Ecol Model 135:147–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3800(00)00354-9
Henderson A, Galeano G, Bernal R (1995) Field guide to the palms of the Americas. Princeton University Press, New Jersey
Hoffmann WA, Haridasan M (2008) The invasive grass, Melinis minutiflora, inhibits tree regeneration in a Neotropical savanna. Austral Ecol 33:29–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2007.01787.x
Hoffmann WA et al (2012) Ecological thresholds at the savanna-forest boundary: how plant traits, resources and fire govern the distribution of tropical biomes. Ecol Lett 15:759–768. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01789.x
Host GE, Polzer PL, Mladenoff DJ, White MA, Crow TR (1996) A quantitative approach to developing regional ecosystem classifications. Ecol Appl 6:608–618. https://doi.org/10.2307/2269395
IBGE (2006) Censo Agropecuário - resultados preliminares. Rio de Janeiro
IBGE (2015) Indicadores de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Brasil 2015. Estudos e Pesquisas: Informação Geográfica, Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro
IBGE, EMBRAPA (2001) Mapa de solos do Brasil
INMET (2012) Banco de dados meteorológicos para ensino e pesquisa. Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia
Isaza C, Martorell C, Cevallos D, Galeano G, Valencia R, Balslev H (2016) Demography of Oenocarpus bataua and implications for sustainable harvest of its fruit in western Amazon. Popul Ecol 58:463–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-016-0543-4
Leak WB (1965) The J-shaped probability distribution. For Sci 11:405–409
Leopold LB, Clarke FE, Hanshaw BB, Balsley JR (1971) A procedure for evaluating environmental impact. Geological Survey, Washington
Lima VVF, Silva PAD, Scariot A (2010) Boas práticas de manejo para o extrativismo sustentável do Coquinho Azedo. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília
Mandle L, Ticktin T (2012) Interactions among fire, grazing, harvest and abiotic conditions shape palm demographic responses to disturbance. J Ecol 100:997–1008. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2012.01982.x
McPherson K, Williams K (1998) The role of carbohydrate reserves in the growth, resilience, and persistence of cabbage palm seedlings (Sabal palmetto). Oecologia 117:460–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050681
Medeiros MB, Miranda HS (2005) Mortalidade pós-fogo em espécies lenhosas de campo sujo submetido a três queimadas prescritas anuais. Acta Bot Brasilica 19:493–500
Nagelkerke NJD (1991) A note on a general definition of the coefficient of determination. Biometrika 78:691–692. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/78.3.691
Newbold T et al (2015) Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity. Nature 520(7545):45–50. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14324
Nicholls AO (1989) How to make biological surveys go further with generalized linear-models. Biol Conserv 50:51–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(89)90005-0
Oesterheld M, Sala OE (1990) Effects of grazing on seedling establishment—the hole of seed and safe-site availability. J Veg Sci 1:353–358. https://doi.org/10.2307/3235711
Peres CA et al (2003) Demographic threats to the sustainability of Brazil nut exploitation. Science 302(5653):2112–2114. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1091698
Ribeiro E, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Santos BA, Tabarelli M, Leal IR (2015) Chronic anthropogenic disturbance drives the biological impoverishment of the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation. J Appl Ecol 52:611–620
Ripley B (2015) MASS: support functions and datasets for Venables and Ripley’s MASS. R package version 7(3):45
Sampaio MB, Schmidt IB, Figueiredo IB (2008) Harvesting effects and population ecology of the buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa L. f., Arecaceae) in the Jalapão region, Central Brazil. Econ Bot 62:171–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-008-9017-8
Scariot A (2000) Seedling mortality by litterfall in Amazonian forest fragments. Biotropica 32:662–669. https://doi.org/10.1646/0006-3606(2000)032%5b0662:smblia%5d2.0.co;2
Schumann K, Wittig R, Thiombiano A, Becker U, Hahn K (2010) Impact of land-use type and bark- and leaf-harvesting on population structure and fruit production of the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) in a semi-arid savanna, West Africa. For Ecol Manag 260:2035–2044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.09.009
Selwood KE, McGeoch MA, Mac Nally R (2015) The effects of climate change and land-use change on demographic rates and population viability. Biol Rev 90:837–853. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12136
Silva PAD (2008) Ecologia populacional e botânica econômica de Butia capitata (Mart) Beccari no Cerrado do Norte de Minas Gerais. Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília
Silva PAD, Scariot A (2013) Phenology, biometric parameters and productivity of fruits of the palm Butia capitata (Mart.) Beccari in the Brazilian Cerrado in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. Acta Bot Brasilica 27:580–589. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062013000300015
Silvertown J (1980) Leaf-canopy-induced seed dormancy in a grassland flora. New Phytol 85:109–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1980.tb04452.x
Sinasson GKS, Shackleton CM, Glèlè Kakaï RL, Sinsin B (2017) Forest degradation and invasive species synergistically impact Mimusops andongensis (Sapotaceae) in Lama Forest Reserve, Benin. Biotropica 49:160–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12370
Souza I, Souza AF, Pizo M, Ganade G (2010) Using tree population size structures to assess the impacts of cattle grazing and eucalypts plantations in subtropical South America. Biodivers Conserv 19:1683–1698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9796-y
Stevens MHH, Bunker DE, Schnitzer SA, Carson WP (2004) Establishment limitation reduces species recruitment and species richness as soil resources rise. J Ecol 92:339–347. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-0477.2004.00866.x
Sullivan S, Konstant TL, Cunningham AB (1995) The impact of utilization of palm products on the population structure of the vegetable ivory palm (Hyphane petersiana, Arecaceae) in north-central Namibia. Econ Bot 49:357–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02863085
Summerfield RJ (1972) Biological inertia—example. J Ecol 60:793. https://doi.org/10.2307/2258565
Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2001) Using multivariate statistics. Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights
Ticktin T (2004) The ecological implications of harvesting non-timber forest products. J Appl Ecol 41:11–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2004.00859.x
Tilman D, May RM, Lehman CL, Nowak MA (1994) Habitat destruction and the extinction debt. Nature 371(6492):65–66. https://doi.org/10.1038/371065a0
Wiegand K, Ward D, Thulke HH, Jeltsch F (2000) From snapshot information to long-term population dynamics of Acacias by a simulation model. Plant Ecol 150:97–114. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1026574303048
Wright SJ, Muller-Landau HC, Condit R, Hubbell SP (2003) Gap-dependent recruitment, realized vital rates, and size distributions of tropical trees. Ecology 84:3174–3185. https://doi.org/10.1890/02-0038
Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Elphick CS (2010) A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods Ecol Evol 1(1):3–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2009.00001.x
Acknowledgements
We thank landowners for allowing access to the study areas. GR Colli and J Padilha provided valuable statistical advice. Anonymous reviewers provided valuable contributions to the text. Nilton F. Barbosa, Juarez P. Amaral, Gledson Moreira and Aelton B. Giroldo helped with fieldwork. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) provided logistic and financial support. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa Científica (CNPq) awarded scholarship to D. Sá.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Guarino Rinaldi Colli.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sá, D., Scariot, A. & Ferreira, J.B. Effects of ecological and anthropogenic factors on population demography of the harvested Butia capitata palm in the Brazilian Cerrado. Biodivers Conserv 29, 1571–1588 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1669-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1669-9