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

PI：大卫ACKERLY提案：IBN 96 -04030 本计画将探讨决明属棕榈的生理、生长及族群生物学。 在危地马拉和墨西哥南部，这些品种的叶子被当地社区收获，作为国际花店业的绿色植物销售。 该研究将在三个不同的水平上解决叶片收获的影响：1）个体叶片生理学和碳增益，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）。 将在墨西哥南部的Chajul生物保护区和斯坦福大学的温室中进行不同程度的叶片去除的长期实验。 本研究将在一个单一的实验系统中将叶、个体和种群的反应联系起来，为生态学研究做出了重大贡献。 此外，研究结果还将用于评估个人和群体水平上叶收获做法的可持续性。 可持续地采伐Chamaeodorea棕榈树将有助于雨林的养护，因为它为维持其生长的人口和森林环境提供了经济刺激。

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.