Resource stock, traditional uses and economic potential of the buriti

Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2013
Resource stock, traditional uses and economic potential of the buriti palm (Mauritia
flexuosa L.) in wetlands of the Araça Indigenous Area, Roraima, Brazil
Aleksander Ribeiro Hada1
Bruce Walker Nelson²
Sonia Sena Alfaia³
Laura Lorraine Hess4
Rachel Camargo de Pinho5
Jessica Livio Pedreira5
Inayê Uliana Perez6
Robert Pritchard Miller7
1Postgraduate
Program of Ecology (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia), Federal University of Rio
Grande do Norte (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte). Via Costeira Senador Dinarte de
Medeiros Mariz, MãeLuíza 59014-002 Natal, RN, Brazil – [email protected]
²Amazon Research National Institute (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia), Departamento de
Ecologia. Av. André Araújo, 2936 Petrópolis 69067-375 Manaus, AM, Brazil
³Amazon Research National Institute (InstitutoNacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia), Coordination of
Innovation and Technology (COTI/INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis 69067-375 Manaus, AM,
Brazil
4 Earth
5State
Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA 93106
Science Fair Project (Projeto Feira Estadual de Ciências) (CNPq Process 552959/2011-1) Boa
Vista, RR, Brazi
6FUNAI-RR
Territory and Environment Surveillance Service (Serviço de Monitoramento Ambiental e
Territorial da FUNAI-RR), Boa Vista, RR,Brazil
7Environment
and Indigenous Land Management Project (Projeto Gestão Ambiental e Territorial Indígena
BRA09/G32, Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD), Brasília, DF, Brazil
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Abstract
Mauritia flexuosa is the most widely distributed palm of Amazonian wetlands, often forming
monodominant stands in depression swamps and riparian zones. It is a key resource for many species as a
food source and nesting habitat, and has exceptional value for indigenous people and rural communities.
Currently, unsustainable harvesting has severely degraded these wetlands in some regions. This study
assessed the extent, local knowledge and management, and economic potential of M. flexuosa (“buriti”)
swamps within the Araçá Indigenous Land (AIL) in the savanna region of Roraima, Brazil known as the
“lavrado”. The research incorporated three elements: 1) mapping the area of buriti swamps within AIL
using dual-polarized ALOS PALSAR imagery; 2) characterizing current uses, management, and
perceptions of buriti within AIL by means of household interviews; and 3) estimating the potential of
buriti products for generating income within AIL. A supervised fuzzy classifier mapped buriti swamps
with estimated accuracy greater than 80%. Interviewees identified 33 traditional uses for buriti, agreed
that buriti swamps in the vicinity of their communities were being degraded, and were aware of
traditional management practices. However, these practices are no longer consistently applied, and
harvesting of leaves for roof thatching may not be sustainable at current rates.We estimated a total
potential fruit production from M. flexuosa stands in the AIL of 1066 ton ·y-1. Based on merchant study
analyses in the states of Roraima and Pará, we estimated potential production of 13,320 liters of
“wine” (juice) or 47,520 liters of oil.
Keywords
Amazon wetlands, palm swamps, ALOS PALSAR, indigenous knowledge, Macuxi-Wapixana, lavrado
Introduction
The Mauritia flexuosa palm is a keystone species in many types of Amazonian wetland
environments. An arborescent palm with mature height up to 30 m, M. flexuosa is the most widespread
South American palm that is restricted to wetlands (Henderson 1995; Goulding and Smith 2007). Known
as buriti1 in Brazil, it occurs on waterlogged or flooded soils in a wide variety of landscape settings from
narrow riparian strips to extensive depression swamps spanning thousands of square kilometers, often
forming dense monodominant stands (Kahn and Mejia 1990; Holm et al. 2008). M. flexuosa provides
nesting sites for many species including parrots and macaws (Brightsmith 2005), swifts (Sick 1993), and
bats (Sodré et al. 2008), and is a key food source for ungulates such as tapir and peccary (Bodmer et al.
1999). Other species groups that exploit this resource include primates (Bowler and Bodmer 2011), turtles
(Pérez-Emán and Paolillo 1997), and fish (Goulding and Smith 2007). In savanna environments, M.
flexuosa fruits are an important resource for frugivores during the dry season when other fruits are scarce
(Villalobos and Araújo 2012).
A myriad of products provided by M. flexuosa makes these palm swamps exceptionally valuable
to humans as well (Kahn 1991).The principal categories of useare for food, construction material, tools
and utensils for domestic use, hunting and fishing tools, medicine and cosmetics, and decorative, ritual, or
religious objects (Zambrana et al. 2007).The fruit, the stem pith, the palm heart, and the grub of the palm
1Meaning
“contains water” in the Tupi-Guarani language; also known as miriti in Brazil. Brazilian terms for
M. flexuosa swamps are buritizal/buritizais and miritizal/miritizais. Regional names include aguaje (Peru),
moriche (Colombia; Venezuela), and palmareal (Bolivia). Corresponding habitat names are aguaje/
aguajales, morichal/morichales, and palmar/palmares.
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weevil (Rhynchophorus palmarum) have been dietary staples for many indigenous peoples of northern
South America, and the leaves, petioles, and stems have been commonly used to construct roofs (Fig. 1),
floor mats, fencing, bridges, rafts, shelving, manioc sifters, and baskets (Heinen and Ruddle 1974;
Gragson 1995; Sampaio et al. 2008).Some of these uses are still common in indigenous communities, and
some have been adopted by non-indigenous traditional communities (Campos and Ehringhaus 2003;
Macia et al. 2011).
M. flexuosa has significant potential as a nontimber forest resource (Holm et al. 2008; Manzi and
Coomes 2009; Bernal et al. 2011). Oil from the fruit has numerous applications in cosmetic,
pharmacological, and other industrial preparations (Ferreira de França et al. 1999; Albuquerque et al.
2003; Torres et al. 2003; Cymerys et al. 2005; Pimentel et al. 2007; Zanatta et al. 2008). Potential
commercial products that can be manufactured from M. flexuosa leaves include paper fiber (Pereira et al.
2003), plywood (Rocha 2009), and geotextile mats used in erosion control (Bhattacharyya et al. 2010).
The main commercial value throughout Amazonia is for food products. In the city of Iquitos, the highly
nutritious buriti fruits are sold raw, cooked, as a soft drink, fermented, and as ice cream or frozen pulp
(Brokamp et al. 2011); daily consumption in Iquitos has been estimated at 5 – 22 tonnes (Garcia and Pinto
2002; Delgado et al. 2007; Peters et al. 1989). However, the local practice of cutting down the entire tree
to harvest the fruit has severely reduced M. flexuosa populations in that region (Padoch 1988; Vasquez
and Gentry 1989), resulting in ratios of male to female trees as great at 5:1 at some sites (Kahn 1988), and
in the removal of many of the best-quality trees from the gene pool (Brokamp et al. 2011).
Fig. 1 Palm swamp, with buriti palm (Mauritia flexuosa) in standing water, Araçá Indigenous Land
Conservation of M. flexuosa habitats thus must take into account local uses, demand, and
harvesting and management practices, which vary regionally and between different cultural groups. The
importance of traditional forest-related knowledge for biodiversity conservation and sustainable
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development is widely recognized (Gadgil et al. 1993; Trosper and Parotta 2011), at the same time that
there is concern that such knowledge is being lost as industrial society impinges on formerly more
isolated cultures (Cox 2000; Gomez-Beloz 2002). In Amazonia, an understanding of traditional
knowledge systems, both indigenous and folk, is particularly important in developing natural resource
management programs with the active participation of communities (Campos and Ehringhaus 2003).
In the savanna region of the northeastern portion of Roraima, Brazil’s northernmost state, M.
flexuosa swamps are a conspicuous feature of the landscape. Locally known as lavrado (“place where
trees are absent”), this area of open grasslands, scrub savannas, and open woody savannas is drained by
an extensive network of low-order streams supporting buriti gallery forest (Fig. 1). Lavrado habitats,
which occupy about 43,000 km2 within Brazil, are increasingly threatened by expansion of agriculture
(sugar cane, soybeans, rice, tree plantations) and road building (Barbosa and Campos 2011), and lavrado
lakes are being impacted by urban expansion (Meneses et al. 2007). Although the lavrado currently lacks
representation within state or federal conservation units, about 57% of the total lavrado area, and 71% of
the remaining undeveloped area, falls within established indigenous lands (Barbosa et al. 2007).
Indigenous lands, and indigenous forest-related knowledge, therefore have a key role to play in
conservation of palm swamps in this region.
Here we report results of an assessment of the extent, local knowledge and management, and
economic potential of M. flexuosa swamps (buritizals) within the Araçá Indigenous Land (AIL) in the
lavrado region of Roraima. The research incorporated three elements: 1) mapping the area of buritizals
within AIL using dual-polarized ALOS PALSAR imagery and assessing the potential of dual-polarized
PALSAR for mapping this important forest type in other regions; 2) characterizing current uses,
management, and perceptions of buritizals within AIL by means of household interviews; and 3)
estimating the potential of buriti products for generating income and employment within AIL. The study
was initially part of the Guyagrofor/Wazaka’ye2 project, which focused on integration of indigenous and
Maroon knowledge on environmental management with current formal agricultural and forestry practices,
as a foundation for development of sustainable agro-forestry systems (Verzandvoort et al. 2010), today
consolidated as “IW – Wazaka’ye Initiative” (www.wazakaye.com.br).
The lavrado savannas
The lavrado region (Fig. 2) extends from Roraima into Guyana and Venezuela and falls within the
Guianan Savanna ecoregion (Dinerstein et al. 1995), also called the Rio Branco-Rupununi Complex
(Sarmiento and Monasterio 1975). These savannas may be considered a subtype of the Brazilian cerrado
but are geographically and floristically disjunct from the core cerrado region of central Brazil (Ratter et
al. 2003). The geologic setting is within the Takutugraben, a Mesozoic rift valley filled with up to 5,400
m of sediments known as the Boa Vista formation, the upper units of which are mostly sands, silty sands,
and silty loams (Crawford et al. 1985; Latrubesse and Nelson 2001). Elevations range from about 70-200
m asl, and with the exception of scattered inselbergs, relief is weakly dissected with gently sloping low
hills. The landscape is characterized by a complex system of small (0.5 – 20 ha), shallow (0.8 – 2.5 m),
circular or elliptical headwaters lakes fed by ground water (Meneses et al. 2007).
The climate of the lavrado region is Aw (tropical savanna) according to the Köppen classification,
with an average annual temperature of 26-29º C. Annual rainfall averages 1612 ± 400 mm, with a
2“Tree
of life” in the Macuxi language.
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monthly average relative humidity of 66 – 82 %; 70% of annual precipitation falls between May and
August, and 10% during the dry season months of December to March (Barbosa et al. 2007). The
predominant savanna vegetation ranges from grassland/sedgeland (campo limpo) to open or very open
woodland or shrubland (campo sujo or campo cerrado; Barbosa and Fearnside 2004). Forest occurs on
the floodplains of the Branco and Takutu rivers and their tributaries, as islands within the savanna, and in
riparian zones of small streams. The factors controlling the forest/savanna boundary, and its changes in
response to climatic changes in the Pleistocene and Holocene, have been much debated; recent studies
suggest that anthropogenic fires have been the principal controlling factor over the past 1550 years
(Meneses et al. 2012).
Fig. 2 Extent of “lavrado” savannas in Roraima state (Brazil), Guyana, and Venezuela
Flooding of lavrado wetlands is highly seasonal.Using coarse-resolution passive microwave data
to estimate flooded areas on major South American floodplains, Hamilton et al. (2002) estimated a
maximum simultaneously flooded area in the Roraima (including Rupununi) savannas of 16,530 km2, a
mean flooded area of 3480 km2, and a permanent open water area of 187 km2. The Roraima savannas
were unique compared to other large South American savanna wetlands in that the rainy season was
nearly synchronous with timing of maximum inundation; this lack of offset between peak local
precipitation and peak flooding intensifies water deficits during the dry season. The main wetland
environments within the lavrado are permanent ponds, seasonal ponds (baixas), low-order streams
(igarapés) and their riparian zones (veredas), and the floodplains of high-order rivers (várzeas). In
addition to M. flexuosa, the major wetland species are the shrubby aroid Montrichardia arborescens and
the sedge Cyperus articulata. M. flexuosa may occur in mixed stands with trees or shrubs of the genera
Virola or Symphonia. Common aquatic macrophytes are Eichornia spp., Thalia geniculata, and
Eleocharis geniculata (Veloso et al. 1975).
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Araça Indigenous Land
The indigenous population of the state of Roraima (30,715 people), represents approximately 7%
of the total population (FUNAI 2013; IBGE 2013), and indigenous lands account for about half of the
lavrado region (Pinho et al. 2011). Of Roraima’s nine indigenous groups, five – Ingarikó, Macuxi,
Patamona, Taurepang and Wapixana – reside in the lavrado savannas (ISA 2013). Because of frequent
intermarriage between the Macuxi and Wapixana groups, and matrilocal residence (married couples
residing near the wife’s mother), the 27 indigenous lands inhabited by either group are referred to as the
Macuxi-Wapixana Complex (FUNAI 2007), of which Araça Indigenous Land is one unit. With the
exception of two large units near the Guyana and Venezuela borders (Raposa Serra do Sol and São
Marcos), Macuxi-Wapixana indigenous lands constitute fragments within their original territories,
restricting populations to villages. This, combined with population growth, has led to increased pressure
on natural resources and on traditional lifestyles.
The Araçá Indigenous Land (AIL), with an area of 50,013 ha, is situated to the north of the
Uraricoera River, about 100 km northeast of Roraima’s capital city Boa Vista (Fig. 3); it was registered as
an indigenous land in 1982 (Brazil 1982). The population of 1490 inhabitants of Macuxi and Wapixana
ethnicity is grouped in five communities: Araçá, Guariba, Mangueira, Mutamba, and Três Corações
(FUNAI 2013). The dominant vegetation type within AIL is lavrado, with islands of forest within which
slash-and-burn agriculture is practiced to raise a variety of crops, primarily bitter and sweet manioc (Perez
2010). Dwellings typically are surrounded by homegardens (quintais agroflorestais), in which a variety of
trees and shrubs are grown for fruit, shade, and medicine (Pinho et al. 2011).Other important food sources
are hunting (30% of families) and fishing (50% of families). Cattle were introduced to the lavrado region
in the late 18th century. Nearly all villages have herds including both a collective herd and herds of
individual domestic groups. Raising of chickens, pigs, and sheep is also common.
Fig. 3 Araçá Indigenous Land, Roraima, Brazil. Shaded areas are forested
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The buriti palm
M. flexuosa is a single-stemmed dioecious palm with mature diameter from 30-60 cm. Maximum
height is variously reported as 25 m (Henderson 1995) to 40 m (Delgado 2007), typically ranging from
20-30 m. However, in savanna habitats of Roraima, measured M. flexuosa heights are up to14-16 m,
about 7-10 m shorter than those in adjacent forest habitats (Khorsand Rosa and Koptur 2013). Leaves
(8-25 per tree) are up to 5.8 m long, with petioles 1.6 – 4 m in length; they are spirally arranged forming a
circular crown and are pendulous and persistent when dead. Flowering (for female plants) and fruiting
begin at 7-8 years (Delgado et al. 2007). Pollination is primarily by wind (Khorsand Rosa and Koptur
2013). Male plants flower annually and females biennially. Fruits – ellipsoid oval-shaped drupes covered
with orange to dark red scales – remain on the rachis for 9 to 12 months. Roots attain a depth of 1 m, with
horizontal extent of up to 40 m.
M. flexuosa ranges throughout northern South America east of the Andes to about 17º S,
occurring at seasonally or permanently inundated and waterlogged sites below 1500 m elevation
(Henderson 1995; Resende et al. 2012). Structural adaptations to periodically anaerobic flooded
environments include lenticels, pneumatophores, and aerial roots (Hiraoka 1999). Accumulation of dead
leaves, male flowers, and fruit in M. flexuosa swamps forms organic soils that may be several meters
thick (Kahn 1991; Roucoux et al. 2013). The most frequent causes of seedling mortality are predation,
herbivory, and accidental death due to falling leaves of adults (Ponce et al. 1996). The standing trunks of
dead trees may persist for many years, providing nesting hollows for species such as macaws
(Brightsmith and Bravo 2006). M. flexuosa stands in the lavrado region are subject to regular fires – the
average interval between fires for the Roraima savannas is 2.5 years (Barbosa and Fearnside 2005).
During dry conditions, ground fires burn through buriti swamps. Vascular tissue in palms is distributed in
bundles throughout the hard woody stem rather than in a ring near the bark, and moist spongy tissue in
the massive petioles insulates the apical meristem; buriti are therefore resistant to fire (Latrubesse and
Nelson 2001).
Methods
Remote sensing analyses
Three characteristics of L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors make them particularly
useful for mapping palm swamps: 1) they are able to detect flooding under a wide range of vegetation
cover types because of enhanced backscattering caused by double-bounce reflections between water
surfaces and trunks (Hess et al. 1990; Rosenqvist et al. 2002); 2) the L-band wavelength (~ 24 cm)
interacts with larger components of vegetation canopies such as trunks and branches, allowing
discrimination of structurally distinctive forest type such as palms (Wang et al. 1995; Hess et al. 2003;
Miettinen and Liew 2011); and 3) SAR systems are not limited by cloud cover. JERS-1 L-band SAR
imagery from the 1990s proved useful for identifying palm swamps in several regions of the Amazon
(Hess et al. 1998; Hamilton et al. 2007; Melack and Hess 2010). Recently, imagery acquired by the
Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) sensor aboard the Advanced Land Observing
Satellite (ALOS) has been employed for mapping oil palm plantations (Koh et al. 2011; Morel et al. 2011;
Gutierrez-Velez and DeFries 2013).
To estimate the extent of buriti swamps within AIL we used a single PALSAR Fine Beam Dualpol mode (FBD) image captured on August 15, 2008, which encompassed the entire AIL area.The Level
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1.5 geocoded FBD product include HH and HV polarization bands, with swath width of 70 km, pixel
dimensions of 12.5 m, and incidence angle range of 36.6° to 40.9° (Rosenqvist et al., 2007). The image
acquisition date fell at the end of the wet season, when buriti swamps were likely to be flooded. Rain
accumulated during the three previous months was 536.6 mm.
A pixel-based fuzzy classifier from the IDRISI ANDES® software was trained with four cover
classes (Fig.4), which were observed in high resolution QuickBird images covering parts of the PALSAR
scene outside the AIL. Classification was performed using the original amplitude format of the PALSAR
data. The cover classes used for training were buritizal (nearly pure stands of M. flexuosa), mixed forest
(including mixed riparian forest, floodplain forest, and forests on rocky outcrops), water (streams and
ponds with little emergent vegetation) and savanna (grassland and open shrubland or woodland). The
results obtained by the classifier are images for each class of coverage, in which each pixel expresses the
probability of belonging to a certain class. Based on comparison with QuickBird imagery, final
boundaries for buritizals were set using a probability threshold of 80%.
Fig. 4 Left: PALSAR color composite (RGB = HH HH HV) of an area adjacent to Araça Indigenous
Land. Right: High-resolution QuickBird image. Examples of training areas are shown in insets A
(savanna), B (mixed forest), and C (buritizal). PALSAR image © JAXA / METI 2008
Ethnoecological interviews
In the course of community meetings in the communities of Mutamba and Guariba, a set of interview
questions was developed to address five topics (Table 1): personal and household information, uses of
buriti, buriti harvesting methods, buriti construction methods, and perception of the buriti resource stock.
Ten interviews were carried out during 2010.
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Table 1 Script for household interviews in Guariba and Mutamba communities, Araça Indigenous Land
1. Personal information
Name, age, sex, ethnicity
Number of people residing in maloca*
2. Uses of buriti
Known uses of various parts of buriti (leaves, fruits, stem, roots)
Are buriti fruits part of the household diet? How many months per year? How much is consumed?
3. Buriti harvesting methods
How are leaves harvested? Fruits?
What tools are used?
How many leaves are left remaining after harvesting? Why?
What rest period is necessary in order to avoid stressing buriti trees?
What is the maximum distance traveled in order to obtain leaves? Fruits/
4. Buriti construction methods
What is the size (m2) of the maloca?
How many buriti leaves are needed to construct the roof?
How many days are needed to construct the roof? How many people are involved?
How long does the roof last?
5. Perception of buriti resource stock
How does the current state of the buritizals compare to past conditions?
Is there a shortage of needed raw materials?
Do you think it is necessary to plant buriti?
*Traditional communal house.
Results and discussion
PALSAR-based mapping
Fig. 5 shows normalized backscattering coefficient σº at HH and HV polarizations for training
polygons (20 polygons per class, with sizes ranging from 30 to 500 pixels; conversion to σº using
calibration coefficient given by Rosenqvist et al. (2007)). The “mixed forest” class is here subdivided into
upland forest and riparian forest classes. An “urban” class, not included in the classifier, is also shown,
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corresponding to urban areas (within the city of Boa Vista) and fence or power lines; this class is not
significantly represented within AIL but is of interest in evaluating the potential for extending the
classification throughout the lavrado region.
Fig. 5 Left: Mean normalized backscattering coefficient σº at HH and HV polarizations for training
polygons. Right: Boxplots of σºHHminus σºHV for all polygons in each class
Mean backscattering for buritizals ranges from -3.6 to -0.2 dB at HH and from -23.0 to -12.5 dB
at HV; this compares with values for riparian forest (some of which was flooded) of -8.3 to -4.2 dB (HH)
and -14.2 to -9.7 dB (HV).The combination of HH and HV provides good separation between palm
swamps and other types of forest. The difference between HH and HV (Fig. 4) ranges from 11.4 to 21.1
dB for buritizal polygons, while the maximum difference for upland or riparian forest was 7.3 dB. We
interpret the high HH returns from buritzals as mainly double-bounce trunk-ground interactions, enhanced
by flooding, with little canopy attenuation. Attenuation is low owing to lack of branches and to canopy
geometry. The ratios of canopy depth and canopy width to total tree height are relatively small for palms,
compared to non-palm closed canopy forests.In stands exploited by humans, the dimensions of the buriti
canopy may be reduced by harvesting of leaves, further reducing attenuation.
Comparing backscattering from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and coconut palm (Cocos nucifera)
plantations to that from rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and wattles (Acacia spp.), Miettinen and Liew (2011)
also found that palm and non-palm forests could be distinguished based on the difference between HH
and HV backscattering. In that study, HH returns from palms were low (about -8 to -6 dB) compared with
our results for buriti (> -5 dB for all buriti training sites), probably because stands were not flooded. As a
result, HH minus HV values for oil and coconut palms ranged from 5.5 to 10 dB, lower than the HH
minus HV values for buritizals. High ratio of HH to HV returns for oil palms (which have short stems
relative to canopy depth) has been attributed to crown scattering from the large leaves, with little
contribution from stems (Rosenqvist 1996; Miettinen and Liew 2011). We do not believe that this is the
case for M. flexuosa. Although we did not perform stem counts, we noted qualitatively that returns were
higher for lower density stands, indicating that stem-ground interaction rather than crown scattering was
likely to be the dominant mechanism.
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An example of the fuzzy classifier output, giving probability that a pixel is buritizal, is shown in
Fig. 6. Using a probability threshold of 80% based on comparison with high-resolution QuickBird
imagery available for part of AIL, buritizal represents approximately 0.3% (144 ha) of the area of AIL.
This estimate includes pure and dense stands, excluding buriti palms within mixed forests, or areas with
very low stand density.
Fig. 6 Output of fuzzy classifier for area shown in Fig. 4, indicating probability of buritizal. Mixed forest
(a) appears in intermediate tones and buritizal (b) in brightest tones, corresponding to probability ≥ 80%.
Note spacing between discrete crowns of buriti individuals (b), compared with more continuous canopy
cover and interlocking crowns of mixed forest (a)
Our results show the potential for mapping buritizals in savanna environments using PALSAR
alone. In order to avoid confusion with non-palm forests, it is important to use dual-polarized (HH+HV)
mode, and to use data acquired during the wet season when stands are flooded and double-bounce returns
are maximized. Mapping palm swamps in the Brazilian cerrado region, Maillard et al. (2008) found that
classifiers using Radarsat-1 (C-band, HH) yielded fair to good results only for permanently moist areas,
and poor results overall. Although many palm swamps in the savanna can be mapped accurately using
optical sensors such as Landsat or ASTER, the width of many low-order floodplains falls below the
spatial resolution of these sensors (Maillard et al. 2008; Sano et al. 2010). For these small but important
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wetlands, the high spatial resolution of ALOS PALSAR (12.5 m for FBD mode) offers an advantage.
Fence lines and urban areas, which depending on orientation may have backscattering characteristics
similar to those of buriti swamps, are possible sources of error for region wide mapping, though not
significant in the current study.
Survey results
Ten residents – 8 men and 2 women – were interviewed in the communities of Guariba and
Mutamba. Five were of Wapixana ethnicity, 4 of Macuxi ethnicity, and 1 of mixed ethnicity. Occupations
included school administrators and employees (5), and farmers and seasonal workers (2). Three
interviewees were considered elders (aged 53 to 78 years). The age of interviewees varied from 26 to 78
years, with an average of 45.6 years. One person lived alone; the rest shared malocas with extended
family (from 4 to 11 people), most with immediate family and some with grandchildren, sons-in-law, and
“adopted” children.
Thirty-three specific uses for the buriti were described by interviewees (Table 2). Leaves (10
uses) are used to construct thatched roofs, skirts for the Parichara traditional dance, darruanas (bags used
to carry fish catch), fans, and toys (bats made from woven leaves). New leaves, still closed, are called
olhos (eyes) and are used to make brooms, fiber for artisanal crafts, rope, hats, and sewing thread. The
greatest number of uses is for fruit. The fruit pulp is consumed raw, as juice (“wine”), sweets, cake, flour,
candy (pé de moleque), dindin (a type of ice cream), pamonha (a stuffed and boiled or roasted corn husk),
and cooking oil. Fruits are also used to feed pigs and by hunters to attract game. Two medicinal uses of
fruits were recorded. Seven uses for the trunk were identified: trunks are tapped for sugar, and are used in
home construction as roof slats, in walls (wattle & daub construction), and as rain gutters. Trunks are used
to fence pigs and chickens and as nesting boxes for chicks. The pith of rotten trunks is used as fertilizer.
Finally, the roots (3 uses) are used for shelter by fish during the flood season, as a source of drinking
water, and for one medicinal preparation.
Table 2 Uses of buriti (M. flexuosa) described by residents of Araça Indigenous Land
Leaves
Fruits
Trunks
Roots
Roof thatching
Raw fruit
Sugar
Fish houses
Ritual clothing
Purses
Fans
Toys
Brooms
Artisanal crafts
Rope
Hats
Sewing thread
“Wine” (juice)
Candy
Cake
Flour
Candy (pé de moleque)
Ice cream
Pamonha
Cooking oil
Animal feed
Bait for hunting
Medicines (2)
Roof slats
Walls (wattle & daub)
Livestock fencing
Poultry nestboxes
Rain gutters
Fertilizer
Drinking water
Medicine
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Only one of the 9 interviewees did not eat buriti fruit, with the time required to pick the fruit
given as the reason. Four responded that they consumed little buriti fruit, and 2 that they consumed a lot.
Three stated that they consumed the fruit when it was available, suggesting that they ate it during the
harvest period. Only one interviewee believed that buriti trees bore fruit year round. The rest believed that
the fruit was seasonal, but there was no consensus regarding what the harvest season was. Five said that
the harvest season was during the rainy period (May to August) and three during the dry season
(November to March).
The usual harvest method, for both leaves and fruits, is to use a rod (vara) made of wood or
bamboo with an attached scythe or machete, raising the rod to a height that permits cutting leaves or fruit
bunches (Fig. 7). Other harvest methods, no longer in use, are 1) nailing planks to the trunk to form a
ladder, using a safety rope for the climber; 2) scaling the trunk by hand and foot, with our without use of a
safety rope; and 3) scaling the trunk using a peconha – a rope, belt, or device woven from leaves or
similar material – to secure the feet, facilitating the climb. With these methods, a machete is used to cut
the leaves or fruit, as soon as the canopy is reached. When questioned regarding the maximum distance at
which they collected leaves, 2 people stated that they went as far as was necessary, but the maximum
distance cited was 6 km. The modes of transport used for collecting leaves were bicycle (2), motorcycle
(1), truck (2), and tractor (3). Four interviewees stated that they traveled on foot to collect leaves.
Fig. 7 Buriti after harvesting of fruits and leaves
A main focus of indigenous management techniques applied to buriti trees is conservation of the
integrity of the olho – the newest leaf, still closed, and a variable number of additional leaves. Asked how
many new leaves need to be preserved in the canopy, responses varied between 1 and 4, with an average
of 2. The reasons stated for this practice were: tradition (1 response); to keep the buriti from dying (5
responses); and to promote production of new leaves (2 responses). Two interviewees believed that, when
the “olho” is cut, the tree does not produce more leaves, while only one person believed that the buriti
would not die even if all leaves were removed. After harvesting the leaves, it is customary to allow a rest
period, varying from 3 to 18 months (average: 7.5 months). Responses to questions regarding how much
time is necessary to produce each leaf varied from more than one leaf per month (2) to one leaf per month
(2), and less than one leaf per month (3); three people responded that they did not know. It was also stated
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Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2013
that the rest period for leaf harvest should ideally take place during the new moon, and that leaves should
not be cut from trees with flowers or fruit.
The main use of buriti in AIL is construction of thatched roofs from the leaves (Fig. 8). Seven
interviewees stated a preference for buriti leaves for roof construction, while one preferred to use leaves
of the inajá palm (Attalea maripa M.); the other two used manufactured roofs purchased in nearby cities.
One reason for the preference for buriti leaves is the longer lifespan – 13 years on average for buriti roofs
compared with 5 years for inajá roofs. Use of inajá leaves for roofs is a recent development; formerly,
only buriti leaves were used. Currently, there is a trend toward use of manufactured rather than traditional
thatched roofs.
Fig. 8 Construction of maloca roof from buriti leaves
The floor space of malocas in which interviewees resided varied from 35.75 to 96 m2. On
average, 45 buriti leaves, or 6.5 inajá leaves, are required per square meter. Inajá leaves are larger, but an
inajá roof also requires a top layer of buriti leaves along the ridgeline (“capote”); 160 buriti leaves are
required on average for the ridgeline of an inajá roof. Interviewees’ estimates of the number of leaves in a
buriti crown ranged from 8 to 30, with an average of 16. For construction of malocas, family units usually
invite neighbors and family for a collective work effort, furnishing caxiri (a fermented mandioca drink) as
compensation. A work team, generally 5 to 15 people, can complete repairs or replacement of a roof in a
single day. A couple can replace a roof in 2 days, while a man working alone requires 10 days.
No consensus existed among interviewees regarding the current state of buriti swamps, in relation
to past conditions. Four respondents felt that there were more buriti trees than in the past, 2 felt that the
number of trees had decreased, and 3 had not noticed any difference. Three people felt that the size of
leaves had diminished, which increased pressure on the resource since smaller leaves meant a greater
number of leaves required to complete a roof. The great majority of interviewees (8 out of 10) felt that
currently there was a shortage of buriti leaves. All interviewees felt that it was necessary to plant buritis.
One person felt that the cause of the leaf shortage was increased population growth in the indigenous
communities.
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Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2013
Fruit yield and market analysis
Measured stem densities within M. flexuosa swamps range from 89 to 351 palms·ha-1 (Table 3).
We estimate the average population density in buritizals of AIL at 189 palms·ha (average of stem counts
in Table 3, excluding unpublished technical reports), with an average gender ratio of 3 males to 2 females.
Thus, considering that for every 10 adult buritis, 4 are females, it can be estimated that in one hectare of
buritizal there are 75 females. In females, the flower production takes place every two years, but at the
population level, fruit production is annual (Cavalcante 1991). Therefore, in each hectare, 37 females are
bearing fruit annually. Annual fruit production per plant is estimated at 200 kg (Hiraoka 1999; Cymerys et
al. 2005; Moraes and Gutjahr 2009), giving an estimated yield of 7.4 t·ha-1·yr-1 of buriti fruit, a value close
to those found in other studies (Kahn 1991; Peters 1989). The estimated fruit production in the 144
hectares of buritizal within AIL is 1066 t· year-1.
Table 3 Measurements of buriti palm stem counts and ratio of male to female trees.
Stems per Ratio of males to
ha1
females
351
246
114
138
190
269
156
89
145
238
245
1Including
4.3
1.28
1.27
1.45
2.0
Location
Study
Peru
Peru
Peru
Peru
Peru
Peru
Venezuela
Ecuador
Acre
Roraima (Brazil)
Roraima (Brazil)
Gonzáles (1974), cited by Kahn (1988)
Salazar &Roessl (1977), cited by Kahn (1988)
Kahn (1988)
Peters et al. (1989)
Kahn (1991)
Delgado et al. (2007)
Ponce et al. (1996)
Holm et al. (2008)
Fernandes (2001)
Pessoni et al. (2004)2
Lima et al. (2006)2
trees with trunk above the ground
technical reports
2Unpublished
The demand for buriti fruit in Brazil is still small. Even in regions with a strong presence of
buritizals, consumption is concentrated locally. The market potential, however, is large, considering that
in the region of Iquitos, Peru, the daily demand for this fruit reaches 22 tons (Garcia and Pinto 2002;
Delgado et al. 2007; Peters et al. 1989). In Roraima, the main market for buriti byproducts is the sale of
wine (juice) of buriti, made with equal proportions of pulp and water. Additionally, in the cosmetic
industry, there is an interest in the oil removed from the pulp (Zanatta et al. 2010; Batista et al. 2012) and
therefore there is potential for production and sale of this oil for domestic or international markets.
Buriti pulp weight averages 12.5% of the dry weight of the fruit (Castro 200); the buriti pulp
production in AIL can thus be estimated at 925 kg·ha-1·yr-1. Based on visiting fairs in Boa Vista, Lima et
al. (2006) indicate an average value of US$0.52 per liter of buriti wine, with 266 liters sold per week at
each fair, generating revenue of $138.25 per week. Based on the consumption potential of the nearby
towns, the production capability of the entire AIL could meet the demand of 19 fairs throughout the year.
15
Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2013
While the demand for fresh buriti fruit and juice products is significant, it does not extend
throughout the state of Roraima. The export of pulp would be hampered by logistical difficulties and by
the fact that it is a perishable product. An alternative would be to produce oil from the pulp, a nonperishable product with greater added value. The production of buriti pulp oil varies between 330
l·ha-1·yr-1 (Moraes and Gutjahr 2009) and 384 l·ha-1·yr-1(Cymerys et al. 2005). The price of a liter of oil
sold in Belém (the capital city of the neighboring state of Pará, and also a major international port for the
region) is $23.00 (Cymerys et al. 2005) and the estimated production of oil from AIL is 47,520 l·yr-1. Oil
production at that scale would require capital to build home refineries and training for indigenous labor.
Additionally, a community consensus would need to be reached regarding sale of products derived from
resources which are collectively owned.
Indigenous management of buriti swamps in AIL
The large number (33) of uses for buriti known to residents of AIL reinforces the importance of
this resource to these communities. While several ethnobotanical studies have documented uses of various
palm species by indigenous and traditional groups in Amazonia (Anderson 1977; Gomez-Beloz 2002;
Campos and Ehringhaus 2003; Nascimento et al. 2009), the only previous survey of buriti uses
specifically is that of Hiraoka (1999), who recorded 27 uses for buriti among ribeirinho communities of
the Amazon estuary. Dicusssing palm uses by indigenous and folk communities in Acre state, Brazil,
Campos and Ehringhaus (2003) identify different levels of cultural knowledge, noting the distinction
between known uses that are currently practiced, known uses that are no longer practiced, and forgotten
uses now extinct within a cultural group. Documentation in this study of known uses provides a baseline
for future evaluation of the extent to which these uses will continue to be remembered and practiced
within AIL.
Fig. 9 Destructive harvest observed in buritizal near a community in Araça Indigenous Land
Based on survey results and field observations, traditional indigenous management techniques for
conservation of buriti stands, such as prohibitions against cutting leaves of fruit-bearing trees, are no
16
Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2013
longer being systematically practiced. Rest periods between leaf harvests are difficult to observe,
according to one interviewee, because more than person or family group is exploiting a particular area
and no system is in place to monitor the time elapsed since the previous defoliation. Most interviewees
underestimated the period required for leaf formation (two months per leaf; Hada et al. 2011), and
overestimated the number of leaves per palm (12.6; Hada et al. 2011).
As noted previously, M. flexuosa swamps in the Peruvian Amazon have been seriously impacted
by destructive harvesting practices (cutting down trees to harvest fruit). According to Anderson (1997),
destructive harvesting has also resulted in marked degradation of buriti populations in the vicinity of
Yanomami villages in northwestern Roraima. Interviewees in the current study perceived a trend toward
degradation of buriti stands accessed by their communities. Although not mentioned by any interviewee,
evidence of destructive harvesting was also observed in AIL during field surveys (Fig. 9). Concentration
of populations in villages – combined with demand for leaves for roof thatching – is a likely factor
contributing to stand degradation.
Santilli (1997) has described the contrasting spatial patterns of pre-colonial Macuxi populations
in forest and savanna environments. Forest villages were characterized by large communal houses of
extended families, whereas savanna populations were dispersed in smaller domestic groups of 30 to 60
people; this contrasts with the current population organization into villages of up to 700 people. Despite
Brazilian statutes affirming indigenous rights to land and land use, the territory of the Macuxi has been
fragmented into isolated villages, surrounded by extensive privately owned fazendas. Use of buriti leaves
for roof thatching of malocas places considerable stress on the buriti stands in the proximity of villages.
For the case of a maloca of 50 m2, requiring 45 leaves per roof, and 12.6 leaves per palm, 178.5 palms are
required for one roof. For the 69 households in the Mutamba and Guariba communities, if roof
replacement is required every 13 years, 947 palms would need to be harvested annually (assuming all
leaves were harvested per palm, which is likely to be unsustainable).
All residents interviewed agreed on the necessity of planting buriti. According to Manzi and
Coomes (2009), buriti is unlikely to be planted when natural stands remain nearby. Delgado et al. (2007)
consider cultivation to be promising alternative, one that may be indispensable in the long run. The
findings of Pinho (2008) that buriti occurred in only 12% of home gardens in AIL suggests that the
planting of buriti remains a new technique, in the process of being adopted and disseminated.
Conclusion
A multi-faceted approach is required in order to ensure preservation of the integrity of buriti
swamps within the lavrado region. Indigenous communities are key stakeholders in this process, and
indigenous knowledge has an important role to play. Results of PALSAR-based mapping within AIL
indicate that dual-polarization PALSAR data, alone or in combination with optical data, is suited for
mapping of the extent of buriti swamps at fine (12.5 m) scale. Region-wide mapping could be
accomplished using archived PALSAR imagery or imagery from the PALSAR-2 satellite to be launched
in 2013, providing a baseline survey of the current extent of these important and threatened wetlands.
Results from this analysis should be applicable to buriti swamps within the main cerrado region of Brazil.
Further fine-scale analyses in combination with field measurements are needed in order to determine
whether quantitative information could be derived on stand structure, condition, and hydrology.
17
Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2013
The 144 ha of buriti swamps within AIL are estimated to be capable of producing 1,066 tons of
fruit annually. Sale of pulp or oil products from buriti fruit can generate significant income for
communities within AIL, but could also increase over-exploitation of resource stocks, as has occurred in
other regions where large commercial markets have developed for buriti products. In order to prevent
stand degradation, management frameworks must be developed that incorporate traditional indigenous
approaches but also take into account modern changes in the spatial organization of the indigenous
population within the landscape. Planting of buriti in home gardens may have a role to play. Whether
development of commercial products leads to resumption of traditional indigenous management
(modified for modern circumstances) or to acceleration of unsustainable pressure on buriti swamps will
depend on the effectiveness of collective management of the common resource.
Acknowledgements
Analysis of ALOS PALSAR data was performed within the framework of JAXA’s ALOS Kyoto
& Carbon Initiative, with PALSAR data provided by JAXA EORC. The first author was funded by the
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).We thank leaders and residents
of Araçá Indigenous Land for their cooperation in this study, which was accomplished with community
participation at all stages.
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