Individual and Population Level Effects of Defoliation in Understory Palms: The Physiology of Sustainable Leaf Harvesting

Pi：David Ackerly建议：IBN96-04030这个项目将研究查梅多利亚属棕榈树的生理、生长和种群生物学。在危地马拉和墨西哥南部，这些物种的叶子由当地社区收获，作为绿色植物在国际花卉行业出售。这项研究将在三个不同的水平上研究叶片收获的影响：1)个体叶片生理和碳增益，2)植物生长和叶片生产，3)种群动态(例如种子生产和死亡率)。将在田间、墨西哥南部的查朱尔生物保护区和斯坦福大学的温室里进行不同水平的叶片去除的长期实验。这项研究将在一个单一的实验系统中将叶片、个体和群体的反应联系起来，从而为生态学研究做出重大贡献。此外，研究结果还将用于评估在个体和种群层面上的采叶措施的可持续性。棕榈树的可持续采伐将有助于保护热带雨林，因为它为维持热带雨林所在的人口和森林环境提供了经济诱因。

PI: DAVID ACKERLY PROPOSAL: IBN96-04030 This project will investigate the physiology, growth and population biology of palms in the genus Chamaedorea. In Guatemala and southern Mexico, the leaves of these species are harvested by local communities for sale as greenery in the international florist industry. The research will address the effects of leaf harvesting at three different levels: 1) individual leaf physiology and carbon gain, 2) plant growth and leaf production, and 3) population dynamics (e.g. seed production, and mortality). Long-term experiments with different levels of leaf removal will be established in the field, at the Chajul Biological Reserve in southern Mexico, and in the greenhouse at Stanford University. This research will provide a significant contribution to ecological research by linking leaf, individual and population responses in a single experiment system. In addition, the results will be used to evaluate the sustainability of leaf harvesting practices at the individual and population level. Sustainable harvesting of Chamaeodorea palms will contribute to rain forest conservation by providing an economic incentive for maintaining the population and the forest environment in which they occur.