Centro Agrícola (Apr 2015)
Chronicle of a death foretold: demographic evidences of overexploitation in a population of Acoelorraphe wrightii
Abstract
Acoelorraphe wrightii H. Wendl is a palm native to Central America, the Caribbean and South Florida. In Cuba it is used in rural carpentry, primarily as fence posts, which could affect the dynamics of their populations. Because of this, in this work the dynamics of a population of A. wrightii and the potential impact of their use is characterized. They were identified and quantified in five transects 50 x 5m all colonies as genetic units (genets) and each rod (ramets), identifying those in reproductive status . The estimated population size and life tables constructed time -specific. The population density and size are high,with an estimated more than three million ramets . However, only two top ramets to 3.60 m were found, but the average size was 2.52 m, although the species was described with a maximum of 5 m in similar conditions.Life tables of mortality showed two peaks, one between seedlings and other adults between 1.8 and 3 m in height, height they begin to be used. Also, a significant relationship between the height of individuals and their reproductive capacity is found. The cuts suffered by ramets seem to be affecting the reproductive capacity of the population. Despite the large population size, the overexploitation of reproductive individuals highlights the need to develop stra -tegies for sustainable use
