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WP 1 - Objectives

General objective

Compare the biodiversity and dynamics in forests exposed to different drivers of ecosystem change, applying palm-communities and the products they provide for use and trade as indicators of the impacts on biodiversity.


 

Specific objectives:

1. Document the diversity, composition and dynamics of palm communities in forests exposed to different intensities of use and trade of forest products.

This objective has been achieved through a series of scientific publications and thesis projects. Essentially all papers mentioned below under product 1 of WP1 contributes in different ways to this objective. And the four thesis listed under WP1’s product 1 likewise contribute to this objective.

 

2. Estimate the amounts of useful and tradable products (fruits, materials, fibers, etc.). that the palms may provide locally, at extrapolate results to the regional level.

This objective has been achieved mostly in collaboration with WPs. With WP3 we are finishing a paper on provisioning service by palms; with WP4 we have produced a paper on the vegetatble ivory, and with WP4+6 we have estimated products from the piassaba:

  • Cámara-Leret, R.,, N. Paniagua-Zambrana2, H. Balslev3, A. Barfod3, J. C. Copete4, & M. J. Macía1Provisioning services of palms (Arecaceae): a cross-scale evaluation in northwestern South America. To be submitted to Ecological Applications.
  • Brokamp G., Borgtoft Pedersen H., Montúfar R., Jacome J., Weigend M. & Balslev H. (accepted) Productivity and management of Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce (Arecaceae) in Ecuador. Submitted to Annals of Applied Biology on 11th of July 2013, accepted with minor revisions on 12th of September 2013, final revision ahead, AAB-2013-0230.
  • Valencia R., Brokamp G. & H. Balslev. 2013. Palma de fibra: Aphandra natalia. Pp. 111–122 in: Valencia et al. (eds.), Palmas ecuatorianas: biología y uso sostenible. Publicaciones del Herbario QCA de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.

 

3. Apply palm-communities as indicators of the state of the overall forests biodiversity.

This objective will been achieved in the final deliverable of PALMS (D13) which will review all obtained WP1 results in regional context, and compare palm-diversity patterns to general diversity patterns in the region.

 

4. Model responses to scenarios of future anthropogenic impacts at forests.

This objective has been achieved in the publication cited below, but the theme will be further developed in the final WP1 report in D13.:

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