Knowledge, Use, and Management of the Babassu Palm (Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng) in the Araripe Region (Northeastern Brazil)1 JULIANA LOUREIRO ALMEIDA CAMPOS2, TEMÓTEO LUIZ LIMA DA SILVA2, ULYSSES PAULINO ALBUQUERQUE*,2, NIVALDO PERONI3, AND ELCIDA LIMA ARAÚJO4 2

Laboratório de Etnobiologia Aplicada e Teórica, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, Brasil 3 Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Brasil 4 Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal dos Ecossistemas Nordestinos, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, Brasil *Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected] Considerable diversity has been observed in the uses of the palm species Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng, including its use in human and animal food, handicrafts, construction, medicine, cosmetics, religious items, and commercial purposes. This study assesses the relationships among the knowledge, use, and socioeconomic characteristics of extractivists who utilize this species in two rural communities (Macaúba and Saco smallholdings) located in the Araripe region of northeastern Brazil. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the palm extractivists identified through snowball sampling. In Macaúba, 50 uses for A. speciosa were identified, whereas in Saco, 41 uses were identified. These uses were grouped into eight different categories, the most prominent of which were handicrafts, construction, and human food. The monthly income of extractivists at Macaúba was significantly and directly related to the number of known uses. A significant and inverse relationship was found between the age of the Macaúba extractivists and number of known uses in the community, demonstrating that there is a trend toward increased knowledge of the palm among the younger members of this community. In the Saco community, there was no significant correlation observed between the extractivist's age, monthly family income, or commercial income from babassu and the number of known uses. Neither was a significant relationship observed between knowledge and current practices regarding A. speciosa in either of the two communities studied. Babassu palm is considered a resource of high commercial importance by the residents of these communities, and its use as a subsistence resource was uncommon. However, access to technology may replace some of the traditional uses of babassu and influence the type of use practiced in the community. Uma diversidade considerável de usos tem sido registrada para a palmeira Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng, como na alimentação humana e de animais, na fabricação de artesanatos, construção, usos medicinais, cosméticos e religiosos. Objetivou-se verificar as relações entre conhecimento, uso e características socioeconômicas dos extrativistas dessa espécie em duas comunidades rurais 1

Received 6 March 2015; accepted 12 August 2015; published online ___________

localizadas na região do Araripe, Nordeste do Brasil: Sítio Macaúba e Sítio Saco. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com

Economic Botany, XX(X), 2015, pp. 1–11 © 2015, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.

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todos os extrativistas da palmeira identificados por meio da técnica de amostragem “bola de neve.” No Sítio Macaúba foram identificados 50 usos para A. speciosa, e no Sítio Saco identificamos 41 usos, distribuídos em oito categorias de uso. Aquelas que receberam mais destaque foram as categorias artesanato, construção e alimentação humana. As folhas e os frutos foram as partes úteis mais citadas pelos informantes, evidenciando uso mais intenso dessas estruturas. A renda mensal familiar dos extrativistas do Sítio Macaúba teve influência significativa e diretamente relacionada sobre o número de usos conhecidos, sugerindo que os informantes exploram o babaçu para complemento de renda mensal e não como única fonte para subsistência. No entanto, foi verificada relação significativa e inversamente relacionada entre a idade dos extrativistas dessa mesma comunidade e o número de usos conhecidos, sugerindo que há uma tendência de predomínio do conhecimento sobre a palmeira entre os mais jovens dessa comunidade. No Sítio Saco não houve correlação significativa entre idade, renda mensal familiar e renda da comercialização do babaçu com o número de usos conhecidos, sugerindo que outros fatores devem estar influenciando esse conhecimento. Não houve relação significativa entre o conhecimento e as práticas atuais de A. speciosa em nenhuma das duas comunidades estudadas. Foi possível verificar que a palmeira babaçu é considerada um recurso de elevada importância comercial para os moradores das comunidades estudadas, sendo os usos relacionados à subsistência, pouco frequentes. O acesso à tecnologias pode substituir alguns dos usos tradicionais do babaçu, além de induzir uma seleção no tipo de uso que é praticado na comunidade. Key Words: palm.

Local knowledge, ethnobotany, extractivism, non-timber forest products, babbasu

Introduction Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been gathered by humans for subsistence and trade for thousands of years (Ticktin 2004). Among the NTFPs with high sociocultural importance are palm species (Arecaceae) (Byg and Balslev 2001a; Macía et al. 2011; Zambrana et al. 2007), which includes a very high number of useful species (Balick 1984; Byg and Balslev 2001a; Macía et al. 2011; Zambrana et al. 2007). A number of studies have assessed methods by which knowledge of the different uses are transmitted. These studies indicate that cultural, political, and ecological variables can modulate the transmission of knowledge in some regions (Balslev et al. 2010; Souto and Ticktin 2012); however, the level of influence also depends on the socioeconomic characteristics of the population interacting with the resource. For example, Byg and Balslev (2004) indicated that gender, age, and education level are socioeconomic variables that may influence the distribution of resource-use knowledge, and that these effects depend on other factors and vary from setting to setting (Byg and Balslev 2004). Observed discrepancies regarding the influence of socioeconomic variables on knowledge and resource use indicate that all of the factors that modulate the knowledge of resource use have not been identified, which

increases the difficulty of interpreting changes in local ecological knowledge (Souto and Ticktin 2012) and cultural aspects that may indicate the need for changes to and/or the establishment of local public policies for resource management and use. The socioeconomic and cultural factors that influence the knowledge, use dynamics, and extractivism of the babassu palm (Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng) were used as a model to assess the relationship between knowledge/use and socioeconomic characteristics of extractivists. Babassu palms form large, pure stands that have great importance for local populations (Anderson et al. 1991), and this species is often found in open or disturbed areas; thus, it is considered a dominant pioneer species (Mitja and Ferraz 2001). Considerable diversity in the known uses of A. speciosa has been recorded, including its use in human food (oil, milk, candies, etc.), handicrafts (brooms, hats, mats, etc.), animal food (Rufino et al. 2008), commercial products, construction (Pinheiro et al. 2005), cosmetics, and religious uses (González-Pérez et al. 2012).This study tests the hypothesis that the knowledge and use of a resource depend on the age and monthly income of the extractivists. The expectation was that older extractivists and those with a lower monthly income would know and practice a greater number of uses. A positive correlation was expected between

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the number of known and practiced uses as well as between the amount of income derived from commercialization of babassu and number of practiced uses. Furthermore, this study also describes the known and practiced uses as well as the useful parts of the species to characterize the management forms and strategies, preferred collection times, and activities that support the extractivism of this palm in the Araripe region of northeastern Brazil.

Materials and Methods STUDY AREA This study was developed in the Araripe Environmental Protection Area (APA-Araripe), which is located in northeastern Brazil and covers parts of the states of Ceará, Pernambuco, and Piauí. APA-Araripe is a sustainable-use conservation unit that has an area of approximately 1,063,000 hectares (IBAMA 2004). The following vegetation types are present within the area: semi-deciduous forest, Cerrado sensu stricto (woody savanna), Cerradão (subgroup of Cerrado corresponding to a type of savanna forest), and Carrasco (closed, tall-shrubby, xerophilous vegetation) (Ribeiro-Silva et al. 2012). Non-timber plant extractivism is an economic activity that occurs within the APA-Araripe, has considerable importance for the local communities, and contributes significantly to income (IBAMA 2004). The principal extracted NTFPs are as follows: “fava d’anta” (Dimorphandra gardneriana Tul.), “piqui” (Caryocar coriaceum Wittm.), and “janaguba” (Himatanthus drasticus [Mart.] Plumel) (Baldauf and Santos 2013; IBAMA 2004; Sousa Junior et al. 2013). Inside the APA-Araripe are the two rural smallholding communities Macaúba and Saco. Macaúba has approximately 250 resident families, and Saco has 130 families. The distance between the communities is 3 km. These communities were chosen because they have a strong history of babassu palm extractivism (IBAMA 2004), they are located near stands of the species, and they collect fruits and leaves for subsistence and commercial purposes.

COLLECTION OF ETHNOBOTANICAL DATA Babassu extractivists of the Macaúba and Saco villages were identified through snowball sampling, and semistructured interviews were performed with all indicated extractivists (Albuquerque et al. 2014).

Interview questions were aimed at characterizing local uses of the babassu palm and included questions on the parts and purposes of the plant that are known and used, timing and frequency of collection, types of resource extraction, and uses of the plant that support extractivism. Socioeconomic data on the informants, such as age and monthly income, were also collected. The semistructured interviews were conducted over one year and four months between August 2011 and November 2012. All respondents were asked to sign an informed consent form (Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido–TCLE). This study was approved by the Authorization and Information System on Biodiversity (Sistema de Autorização e Informação em Biodiversidade–SISBIO) under license number 31857-1 as well as by the Research Ethics Committee (Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa–CONEP), Federal University of Pernambuco (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco–UFPE), under permission number CAAE 01457712.7.0000.5207.

DATA ANALYSIS To document the importance of A. speciosa for local extractivists, indices were used to analyze the relative importance of a plant for a particular culture (Silva et al. 2014). The indices included the plant part value (PPV) index, which measures the degree of consistency among informants with regard to the parts used. It is obtained from the total number of citations reported for each part of the plant divided by the total number of citations for all plant parts. We also used the use-diversity value (UDV) index, which measures the importance of the use categories and how they contribute to the local use value. It is obtained from the number of recorded indications for a category divided by the total number of indications for all categories (see Monteiro et al. 2006; Silva et al. 2014). For this analysis, the uses cited by the respondents from the two communities were grouped into the following eight use categories: human food, animal feed, handicraft, fuel, construction, cosmetic, medicinal, and other. Generalized linear model (GLM) analyses (StatSoft, Inc 2013) were used to examine whether the independent variables age, monthly family income (total value in Brazilian reais [BRL] of the income from all household members per month, and income from babassu commercialization (BRL) obtained from the sale of products derived from A. speciosa extractivism per month) explain the

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dependent variable number of known and currently practiced uses. The explanatory power of each independent variable (R2) was verified by forward stepwise regression. Spearman’s correlation test was used to determine whether a correlation occurred between the number of known uses and number of uses currently practiced by extractivists of A. speciosa and to examine whether the greater diversity of uses currently practiced by extractivists correlates with a higher income from babassu commercialization. Differences between the communities with regard to the number of known uses were examined with the Mann-Whitney test, and differences between the strategies for obtaining the babassu fruit were tested using the chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Statistical tests were performed using the software BioEstat 5.0 (Ayres et al. 2007) except for the GLM analyses, which were performed using the software Statistica 7.0 (StatSoft, Inc 2013).

Results OF

SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION EXTRACTIVISTS AND KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF A. SPECIOSA

In the Macaúba smallholding, a total of 49 extractivists of A. speciosa were identified, consisting of 43 women (87.8%) and six men (12.2%). The age of the informants ranged from 23 to 79 years, and the monthly family income ranged from BRL 70–1,444. The Macaúba extractivists indicated 351 citations and 50 different uses for A. speciosa (Table 1). A total of 30 extractivists were identified in the Saco smallholding, including 18 women (60%) and 12 men (40%). Their ages ranged from 21 to 72 years, and the monthly family income ranged from BRL 170–1,564. The Saco extractivists indicated 335 citations and 41 different uses for babassu palm (Table 1). The use of oil was the only use cited by all (79) informants in both communities, and it was followed by house roofing (60 Citations) and leaf sieves (known locally as “arupemba”), revealing the importance of this species for human food, construction, and handicrafts. The reported use as broom material also stood out with 50 citations. In the two communities, greater emphasis was placed on the handicraft category compared with the other categories because handicrafts had the greatest UDV (Table 2). In Macaúba, the categories construction,

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human food, and medicinal also stood out. In Saco, the category human food had a greater diversity of uses than did construction. A total of 21 known uses were exclusively cited in the Macaúba community. The most represented categories were handicrafts (10 uses) and medicinal (six uses). The Saco community cited 13 exclusive uses (Table 1). The most represented categories were human food (four uses), other (four uses), and construction (three uses). Significant differences between the number of known uses cited by the two extractivist communities were found (U = 242, p < 0.0001), with the local informants of the Saco community sustaining a greater knowledge of A. speciosa. The extractivists demonstrated a knowledge of almost all parts of A. speciosa (Table 3), with the fruits and foliage the most commonly cited parts in the two communities. Information on the activities performed by the two groups of babassu extractivists varied. In Macaúba, only 9 (16.7%) of the 50 known uses are currently practiced. The most popular activities are domestic oil manufacture (performed by 18 participants), seed sales (performed by 16 participants), and babassu fruit shell sales (performed by 13 respondents). These practice are even fewer in Saco, with only 6 (14.2%) of the 42 cited known uses currently practiced. In this community, the most popular activities are selling the fruit shells (performed by 28 respondents [93.3%]), seeds (performed by 26 respondents [86.6%]), and whole fruit (performed by 16 respondents [53.3%]), and manufacturing handmade oil (performed by 15 respondents [50%]). The variables age, babassu commercial income, and monthly family income exerted influence marginally significant on the number of known uses of A. speciosa (R2 = 0.1475, p = 0.064) in the Macaúba community, with monthly family income (5.70%) and age (5.68%) accounting for most of the variation in the numbers of known uses. In the Saco community, the relationships between any of the three independent variables and number of known uses were not significant (R2 = 0.1713, p = 0.1735). The currently practiced uses of A. speciosa were not influenced by extractivist age, babassu commercial monthly income, or family monthly income in either Macaúba (R2 = 0.0346, p = 0.6586) or Saco (R 2 = 0.336, p = 0.8235). Moreover, no correlations were observed between the income from babassu commercialization and number of uses currently practiced by extractivists

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Table 1. USES of Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng cited by extractivists residing in the Macaúba and Saco communities, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. NC – number of citations. Category

Human food

Animal food Handicraft

Handicraft

Known uses 1

Beiju Cake Candy Farofa2 Coconut milk Mingau3 Oil Palm heart Animal food Lampshade Abano4 Handicraft Arupemba5 Hamper Jewelry Bag Caminho de mesa6 Basket Hat Key chain Cup Curtain Pot support7 Garnish Mat8 Flower Fruit support Cage Jar

Handicraft Lamp Napkin support Vase Broom

Fuel

Construction

Mug Charcoal

Bathroom Spout Fence Pigsty

Plant part

Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Stipe Fruit Fruit Leaf Peduncular bract Fruit Leaf Leaf Fruit Leaf Fruit Fruit Leaf Infructescence stem Leaf Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Peduncular bract Leaf Infructescence stem Fruit Leaf Leaf Infructescence stem Stipe Leaf Fruit Fruit Stipe Peduncular bract Leaf Fruit Peduncular bract Stipe Leaf Fruit Infructescence stem Leaf Stipe Leaf Leaf Leaf

NC Macauba smallholding

NC Saco smallholding

– – 4 1 19 – 49 2 12 2 19 – – 31 4 10 1 1 3 3 1 5 1 6 2 3 2 14 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 26 1 – – – 17 – – 2 7 1 –

1 1 5 1 17 2 30 2 23 – 13 1 4 25 4 2 – – – 2 – 1 1 1 – 1 2 16 – – 4 – – – – – – 2 – 23 – 3 2 3 25 1 1 – 6 – 6

Total NC

1 1 9 2 36 2 79 4 35 2 32 1 4 56 8 12 1 1 3 5 1 6 2 7 2 4 4 30 1 1 5 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 1 49 1 3 2 3 42 1 1 2 13 1 6 (Continued)

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TABLE 1. (CONTINUED). Category

Known uses

Roof Fork Entire house Door straw Lath

Cosmetic

Medicinal

Others

Total

Rafter Cosmetic Skin cream Soap Bath soap Shampoo Tea for pain Tea for wound Healing merthiolate Healing oil Balm for pain Medicine Support for baking Stool Fertilizer Lubricant for motorcycles Soil support Wash support Barbecue rod 64

Plant part

Leaf Stipe Leaf Leaf Stipe Leaf Leaf Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Fruit Leaf Root Leaf Fruit Fruit Leaf Fruit Infructescence stem Stipe Stipe Fruit Stipe Stipe Leaf –

NC Macauba smallholding

NC Saco smallholding

Total NC

31 1 – 1 2 – 4 – 1 20 6 1 1 2 2 7 2 – – 1 7 – – 1 – – 351

28 – 3 2 2 1 11 1 – 24 2 – – – – – – 1 11 – 7 7 1 – 1 1 335

60 1 3 3 4 1 15 1 1 44 8 1 1 2 2 7 2 1 11 1 14 7 1 1 1 1 686

1

Regional food Regional food 3 Regional food 4 Artifact used for fanning 5 Type of sieve 6 Handicraft used as an ornament for the dining table 7 Used as placemats for pots at the dinner table 8 Handicraft used for a person to lie on 2

Table 2. Use-diversity values (UDV) for use categories of Attalea speciosa Mart ex Spreng indicated by extractivists of this resource from the Macaúba and Saco communities, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. Use category

Handicraft Construction Human food Medicinal Cosmetic Others Animal food Fuel

UDV Macaúba smallholding

0.480 0.140 0.100 0.010 0.080 0.060 0.020 0.020

UDV Saco smallholding

0.364 0.182 0.205 0.023 0.068 0.114 0.023 0.023

Table 3. Useful plant part values (PPV) for Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng determined by the uses of extractivists of this resource from the Macaúba and Saco communities, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. Plant part

Fruit Leaf Stipe Infructescence stem Peduncular bract Root

PPV Macaúba smallholding

0.488 0.434 0.048 0.014 0.008 0.005

PPV Saco smallholding

0.455 0.461 0.063 0.003 0.018 –

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in the two communities (Macaúba [r = 0.1413, p = 0.3329] and Saco [r = -0.0074, p = 0.9691]). Nor were significant correlations observed between the number of known uses and number of uses practiced by A. speciosa extractivists in Macaúba (r = 0.1139, p = 0.4358) or Saco (r = -0.1118, p = 0.5564).

COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF A. SPECIOSA FRUITS AND LEAVES Of those interviewed at the Macaúba smallholding, 38 (77.5%) reported only extracting babassu fruits, 8 (16.3%) reported only extracting the leaves and 3 respondents (6.1%) reported extracting both the leaves and fruits of the palm tree. In the Saco smallholding, 26 respondents (86.6%) reported only extracting the fruit, 3 respondents (10%) reported extracting the leaves and fruits, and 1 informant no longer performed direct gathering. The extractivists of both villages were unanimous in stating that they only collect the leaves of young plants. The participants also stated that the gathering procedure was non-destructive because the younger leaves of the palm were preserved. Three strategies of obtaining fruits were identified among the extractivists at Macaúba, with significant differences between them (χ2 = 10.293, df = 2, p < 0.01). Cutting down fruit bunches and subsequently collecting the fruits from the ground was the most frequent strategy (19, 6.3%), followed by collecting fruits from the ground that had naturally fallen (18, 44%). The least frequent strategy was buying the fruit (4, 9.7%). The Saco extractivists indicated two strategies for obtaining fruits, and significant differences were observed between them (χ2 = 12.44, df = 1, p < 0.01). Cutting down fruit bunches and subsequently collecting the fruits from the ground was the most frequent strategy (24, 80%), followed by collecting fruits from the ground that had naturally fallen (5, 16.6%).

Discussion KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF A. SPECIOSA Certain babassu uses described in this study, such as in the manufacture of brooms and cups (artisanal), had not been recorded for this species, suggesting that although this species has been previously studied, some of its uses were unknown.

This finding reinforces the idea that these uses can be influenced by the ethnicity and socioeconomic characteristics of the study group (Balslev et al. 2010; Byg and Balslev 2004; Souto and Ticktin 2012). The number of known uses of A. speciosa by extractivists in the two studied communities was high compared with data from other ethnobotanical studies on this species. For example, Rufino et al. (2008) and González-Pérez et al. (2012) recorded 25 and 10 uses for babassu, respectively. This wide discrepancy in the knowledge of this species underscores the importance of A. speciosa in the studied communities and confirms that the family Arecaceae is one of the most commonly used plant families by human populations worldwide (Balick 1984; Zambrana et al. 2007). The importance of the handicraft category, which had the highest UDV and largest number of exclusive uses, can be explained by the influence of the Macaúba Rural Women Association, which facilitates the construction and sale of several types of handicrafts constructed with A. speciosa fruits, including necklaces, earrings, lamps, and cups. The “arupemba,” which is similar to a broom, is usually manufactured in the palm extractivists’ residences. Palm species have long been used for handicraft purposes, which has been shown by Byg and Balslev (2001b), Balslev et al. (2010), and González-Pérez et al. (2012). There was little emphasis on the medicinal use category; however, Souza et al. (2011) reported the importance of this category for rural communities in the state of Maranhão, who use the mesocarp and oil of A. speciosa fruit for the treatment of rheumatism, ulcers, and inflammatory diseases. Hajdu and Hohmann (2012) also reported the medicinal and cosmetic use of babassu oil by the Porvenir indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon, who use it as a hair treatment as well as for fever and headache. Most likely, the few medicinal uses recorded in the present study resulted from extractivists preferably exploiting babassu for commercial purposes. The hypothesis of an inverse relationship between the number of known uses of A. speciosa and monthly family income of the extractivists was not supported, and in Macaúba, this relationship was positive; that is, people with increased monthly family income have greater knowledge of the babassu. Nor was a relationship between the number of known uses and income from babassu commercialization observed in that community, indicating that knowledge of babassu favored its use for supplementary income and not as a single

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source of subsistence, thus creating a more satisfactory economic condition for extractivists. May et al. (1985) also stated that in Maranhão State, where this species is abundant, the fruit harvesting complements other economic activities conducted by rural households. The hypothesis that older people possess greater knowledge was also discounted because the relationship between these two variables at Macaúba was negative, indicating that knowledge of A. speciosa uses in this community was greater among younger respondents. There is no overall consensus in the literature regarding a significant relationship between age and knowledge, with certain authors reporting a positive relationship (Araújo and Lopes 2012; Zambrana et al. 2007) in which older individuals possess greater knowledge and others reporting that older individuals do not always have a higher level of knowledge (Balslev et al. 2010; Byg and Balslev 2004). The lack of consensus on the relationship between age and knowledge indicates that decisions regarding resource management should be given greater attention. Neither were our hypotheses supported in Saco community as none of the three variables influenced the number of uses indicated by the extractivists. This result suggests that knowledge of the babassu palm is shared evenly among extractivists of varying ages and income classes and that a loss of knowledge has not occurred because the number of known uses reported by older people did not differ significantly from that reported by younger informants (Byg and Balslev 2004). In both communities, the oldest members of the family commonly worked with babassu; however, the youngest members commonly sought other work that would provide for better life conditions. Younger couples without children commonly worked together in home with babassu products, which could explain the results presented above. The lack of effects caused by age, monthly family income, and babassu commercial income on the number of practiced uses and the lack of a correlation between monthly babassu commercial income and the number of practiced uses observed in the two communities suggests that other socioeconomic factors that were not considered in this study (such as government financial aid, education, extraction timing, etc.) may influence babassu extractivism. This result indicates that the interdependence between current extractivism practices and community socioeconomic characteristics is not well understood.

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Overall, a reduction in the number of currently practiced uses was found in relation to the number of known uses cited by extractivists of the two communities. Many A. speciosa uses are known, although few uses are currently practiced. Byg and Balslev (2004) argued that traditional knowledge may not be lost but instead transformed when new technologies or products are incorporated into local systems. This transformation may have occurred in the communities studied here. For example, the use of machinery to break the fruit, which is practiced by the Macaúba Rural Women Association, produces oil rapidly and with less exertion relative to the handmade manufacturing method. However, certain women who use the handmade manufacturing method indicated that although it is more labor intensive, it produces a better-flavored oil compared with the oil produced by the women’s association, which may explain the persistence of the handmade manufacturing method. A lack of correlation between the number of known uses and number of practiced uses was also found by Byg and Balslev (2001b). This finding may have been related to the transformation of knowledge (Byg and Balslev 2004) produced by the introduction of new technologies, with certain individuals continuing to use palm products and others replacing these products with alternatives (Byg and Balslev 2001b). However, another explanation for the lack of a correlation is that extractivists perform select practices based on their economic return. Therefore, although they may know many uses for babassu, they may only manufacture and sell those products that have a higher commercial value. For example, babassu leaves used in the construction of roofs and fences have been replaced by clay and wood because of the greater knowledge of alternative technologies among these communities.

COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF A. SPECIOSA FRUITS AND LEAVES Extractivists indicated that the useful parts of A. speciosa were the leaves and fruits. These parts also obtained higher PPV for A. speciosa in a “quilombola” community in western Brazil (Martins et al. 2014) and were highly cited in the study of Rufino et al. (2008). González-Pérez et al. (2012) recorded high PPV for A. speciosa leaves by an indigenous group in Brazil. In a quantitative review of palm uses in northwestern South

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America, Macía et al. (2011) showed that the most useful parts of this family are fruits, leaves, and stems, although the latter were rarely used by the communities of our study. Therefore, studies seeking to understand the ecological implications of Arecaceae species extractivism, such as those performed by Pulido and Caballero (2006), Endress et al. (2006), and Sampaio et al. (2008) for leaves, Silva and Scariot (2013) for fruits, and Sambou et al. (2002) and Vallejo et al. (2014) for stem, are required. Uses for the fruits and leaves are well known, but there are many more current uses that rely only on the gathering of fruits, which is likely because of the higher economic return from fruit derivatives compared with that of leaves. Balick (1987) and Anderson et al. (1991) mentioned the importance of the fruit of this species, which is gathered by millions of families for oil and charcoal production. Despite being described as a non-destructive procedure by extractivists, leaves are collected from young A. speciosa plants, highlighting the need for studies to evaluate the impact of this type of collection and its consequences for the management of populations of this species. The vast majority of extractivists still perform fruit gathering destructively by cutting down fruit bunches instead of letting the fruits fall to the ground naturally for subsequent collection. Although this species has an invasive behavior and colonizes disturbed areas (Lorenzi et al. 2010), the sustainability of this procedure should be evaluated because the excessive collection of fruits can alter A. speciosa recruitment rates, thereby decreasing population viability and food availability for wildlife while inducing changes in trophic chains, which affects other species in the community (Hall and Bawa 1993). Acknowledgments The authors thank the residents of the Macaúba and Saco communities, especially those who directly contributed to this research by sharing their knowledge, the staff of the Casa de Apoio Santa Rita-ICMBio for logistical support, all members of the Laboratory of Applied and Theoretical Ethnobiology (Laboratório de Etnobiologia Aplicada e Teórica–LEA-UFRPE), and all members of the Laboratory of Human Ecology and Ethnobotany (Laboratório de Ecologia Humana e Etnobotânica– LEHE-UFSC). They also thank the Pernambuco Research Foundation (Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco–

FACEPE) for the financial support (APQ-12642.05/10) and the masters scholarship awarded to the first author, housing allowance for the internship in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina State, and support of the PRONEM project. They also thank the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–CAPES) for the financial support granted through the Brazilian Post-doctoral Program (Programa Nacional de Pós-doutorado–PNPD)/process 23038.008230/2010-75 and Brazilian National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico–CNPq) for the fellowships granted to the authors. Literature Cited Albuquerque, U. P., M. A. Ramos, R. F. P. Lucena, and N. L. Alencar. 2014. Methods and techniques used to collect ethnobiological data. Pages 15–37 in U. P. Albuquerque, L. V. F. C. Cunha, R. F. P. Lucena, and R. R. N. Alves, eds., Methods and techniques in ethnobiology and ethnoecology. Springer, New York. Anderson, A. B., P. H. May, and M. J. Balick. 1991. Nature’s subsidy. Pages 1–17 in A. B. Anderson, P. H. May, and M. J. Balick, eds., The subsidy from nature: Palm forests, peasantry, and development on an Amazon frontier. Columbia University Press, New York. Araújo, F. R. and M. A. Lopes. 2012. Diversity of use and local knowledge of palms (Arecaceae) in eastern Amazonia. Biodiversity and Conservation 21:487–501. Ayres, M., M. A. Junior, D. L. Ayres, and A. A. S. Santos. 2007. BioEstat: Aplicações estatísticas nas áreas das ciências bio-médicas. Belém, Pará, Brazil. Baldauf, C. and F. A. M. Santos. 2013. Ethnobotany, traditional knowledge, and diachronic changes in non-timber forest products management: A case study of Himatanthus drasticus (Apocynaceae) in the Brazilian Savanna. Economic Botany 67:110–120. Balick, M. J. 1984. Ethnobotany of palms in the neotropics. Advances in Economic Botany 1:9– 23. ——— 1987. The economic utilization of the babassu palm: A conservation strategy for sustaining tropical forest resources. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 77:215–223.

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