ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate the extraction process of palm species (Arecaceae) and their different forms of use by the population in the surroundings of the “Parque Estadual da Serra Furada” (PAESF), located in the south region of Santa Catarina state, as well as understand the perception of the interviewees about the park. The data were obtained through interviews with long-time residents of the area. The results were analyzed by content analysis. Four palm species were cited by the interviewees: Bactris setosa Mart., Euterpe edulis Mart., Geonoma gamiova Barb.Rodr., and Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman. The most widespread uses of these palm species were for food and in construction. The leaves were the main part of the plant used, with emphasis to E. edulis. In general, the PAESF and its palms are important resources for the interviewees; however, today, knowledge remains mostly only in the memory of the residents.
Keywords:
Atlantic rainforest; biodiversity; conservation unit; ethnobotany; Euterpe edulis
1. INTRODUCTION
Residents in the vicinity of tropical forests are closely interrelated to the goods and services offered by these ecosystems (Cámara-Leret et al., 2014Cámara-Leret R, Paniagua-Zambrana N, Balslev H, Barfod A, Copete JC, Macía MJ. Ecological community traits and traditional knowledge shape palm ecosystem services in northwestern South America. Forest Ecology and Management 2014; 334: 28-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.08.019.
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). They harbor the highest levels of biocultural diversity in the world, preserve traditional knowledge (Huntington, 2000Huntington HP. Using traditional ecological knowledge in science: methods and applications. Ecological Applications 2000; 10(5): 1270-1274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[1270:UTEKIS]2.0.CO;2.
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), and are the key to management and use of ecosystem services (Reyers et al., 2013Reyers B, Biggs R, Cumming GS, Elmqvist T, Hejnovicz AP, Polasky S. Getting the measure of ecosystem services: a social-ecological approach. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2013; 11(5): 268-273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/120144.
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). The ecological knowledge of these populations may be directly associated with management and conservation of these environments, as proposed by ethnobiology (Posey, 1986Posey DA. Introdução Etnobiologia, teoria e prática. In: Ribeiro D., editor. Suma Etnológica Brasileira. Petrópolis: Vozes/FINEP; 1986.), which features several fields, such as ethnoecology and ethnobotany (Haverroth, 1997Haverroth M. Etnobotânica: uma revisão teórica. Antropologia em primeira mão 1997; 20:1-56.).
Ethnoecology is a scientific field that provides a basis for understanding the relationship between humans and the biodiversity around them (Ochoa & Ladio, 2014Ochoa JJ, Ladio AH. Ethnoecology of Oxalis adenophylla Gillies ex Hook. & Arn. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2014; 155(1): 533-542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.05.058. PMid:24911337.
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), and has been used to indicate studies on the interactions between a local population and its natural environment (Martin, 1996Martin G. Ethnobotany: a people and plants conservation manual. London: Chapman & Hall; 1996.). As for ethnobotanical studies, they can be considered as interrelations between plants and human beings inserted in dynamic ecosystems with natural and social components (Alcorn, 1995Alcorn J. The scope and aims of ethnoecology in a developing world. In: Schultes RE, Von Reis S, editors. Ethnobotany. Portland: Dioscorides Press; 1995.; Barroso et al., 2010Barroso RM, Reis A, Hanazaki N. Etnoecologia e etnobotânica da palmeira juçara (Euterpe edulis Martius) em comunidades quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo. Acta Botanica Brasílica 2010; 24(2): 518-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062010000200022.
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), and are important tools for the development of functional models for use and management of natural resources (Albuquerque et al., 2009Albuquerque UP, Araújo TAS, Ramos MA, Nascimento VT, Lucena RFP, Monteiro JM et al. How ethnobotany can aid biodiversity conservation: reflections on investigations in the semi-arid region of NE Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 2009; 18(1): 129-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9463-8.
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).
Ethnobotanical research conducted in the surroundings of Conservation Units can demonstrate the relationship between people and the forest and provide information on sustainable use of biodiversity and exploitation of empirical knowledge, promoting scientific knowledge (Fonseca-Kruel & Peixoto, 2004Fonseca-Kruel VS, Peixoto AL. Etnobotânica na Reserva Extrativista Marinha de Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasílica 2004; 18(1): 177-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062004000100015.
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; Silva & Fisch, 2012Silva LM, Fisch STV. Utilização de palmeiras nativas da Floresta Atlântica pela comunidade do entorno do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Ubatuba, SP. Revista Biociências 2012; 18: 77-85.). In addition, popular knowledge about the use of native ethnospecies and their management techniques contribute to the maintenance of ecosystems and perpetuation of their actors’ culture (Souza & Felfili, 2006Souza CD, Felfili JM. Uso de plantas medicinais na região de Alto Paraíso de Goiás, GO, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasílica 2006; 20(1): 135-142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062006000100013.
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; La Notte et al., 2017La Notte A, D’Amato D, Mäkinen H, Paracchini ML, Liquete C, Egoh B et al. Ecosystems services classification: A systems ecology perspective of the cascade framework. Ecological Indicators 2017; 74: 392-402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.11.030. PMid:28260996.
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).
Palms (Arecaceae) are an excellent model group for integration between ecology and traditional knowledge to determine the importance of ecosystem services (Cámara-Leret et al., 2014Cámara-Leret R, Paniagua-Zambrana N, Balslev H, Barfod A, Copete JC, Macía MJ. Ecological community traits and traditional knowledge shape palm ecosystem services in northwestern South America. Forest Ecology and Management 2014; 334: 28-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.08.019.
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). This botanical family is among the longest-lived and most abundant in tropical forests (Henderson, 2002Henderson A. Evolution and Ecology of Palms. New York: The New York Botanical Garden Press; 2002.), and is the third most important family for humanity regarding use (FAO, 1995Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations – FAO. Non-Wood Forest Products: Tropical Palms. Rome: FAO Publications; 1995.). Plants of this family can present traditional use in civil construction, food, popular medicine, handicraft, and afforestation, as well as cultural and religious purposes (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.; Elias et al., 2015Elias GA, Corrêa PF, Citadini-Zanette V, Santos R. Arecaceae: análise bibliométrica das espécies nativas do estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Ciência e Natura 2015; 37(1): 85-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/2179460X15399.
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; Elias & Santos, 2016Elias GA, Santos R. Produtos florestais não madeireiros e valor potencial de exploração sustentável da floresta atlântica no sul de Santa Catarina. Ciência Florestal 2016; 26(1): 49-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509821117.
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; Elias et al., 2016Elias GA, Gasper AL, Lima JMT, Soares KP, Molz M, Santos R. Community structure of large native arborescent palms (Arecaceae) using data from the Floristic and Forest Inventory of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 2016; 10(10): 156-163.; Laureto & Cianciaruso, 2017Laureto LMO, Cianciaruso MV. Palm economic and traditional uses, evolutionary history and the IUCN Red List. Biodiversity and Conservation 2017; 26(38): 1-14.).
In this context, the objective of this study was to investigate the extraction process of palm species found in the “Parque Estadual da Serra Furada” (PAESF) and their different forms of use by the residents in the surroundings of this park, located in the south region of Santa Catarina state, prior to the creation of the Conservation Unit of Integral Protection. In addition, it aimed to understand the environmental perception of this population with respect to the PAESF under an ethnoconservationist approach.
2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1. Study area
This study was conducted in the vicinity of the “Parque Estadual da Serra Furada” (PAESF), a Conservation Unit of Integral Protection created on June 20, 1980, with head office located in the community of Chapadão in the municipality of Orleans, south region of Santa Catarina state, Brazil (Figure 1), in June and July 2016, during 10 days of field activity.
Localization of the “Parque Estadual da Serra Furada” (PAESF) in the municipalities of Grão Pará and Orleans, in the south region of Santa Catarina state.
The PAESF comprises a total area of 1330 ha located in the municipal territories of Orleans and Grão Pará. It is geographically connected to the area of the “Parque Nacional de São Joaquim”. Prior to the creation of the Conservation Unit, the PAESF was inhabited and held activities of wood extraction and subsistence livestock, as well as cultivation of exotic species. Currently, the PAESF has been suffering from strong territorial pressures with regards to federal incorporation, as well as clay mining activities in its buffer zone.
Climate in the region, according to the Köppen classification, is humid mesothermal, with no defined dry season and hot summers (Cfa) in the lower parts, and mild summers (Cfb) in the higher parts (Alvares et al., 2013Alvares CA, Stape JL, Sentelhas PC, Gonçalves JLM, Sparovek G. Köppen’s climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorologische Zeitschrift 2013; 22(6): 711-728. http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2013/0507.
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). Mean annual rainfall is 1500 mm (EPAGRI, 2001Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária e Extensão Rural de Santa Catarina – EPAGRI. Dados e informações biofísicas da Unidade de Planejamento Regional Litoral Sul Catarinense (UPR 8). Florianópolis: EPAGRI; 2001.). Vegetation is classified as Dense Ombrophilous Montane and Upper-montane Forest (IBGE, 2012Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE. Manual Técnico da Vegetação Brasileira. 2. ed. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2012.).
2.2. Data collection
Data were obtained through narrative interviews, which are unstructured instruments that aim at the depth of specific aspects, encouraging and stimulating the individuals interviewed to tell something important of their lives (Muylaert et al., 2014Muylaert CJ, Sarubbi V Jr, Gallo PR, Rolim ML No, Reis AOA. Entrevistas narrativas: um importante recurso em pesquisa qualitativa. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P. 2014; 48(2): 193-199.).
The interviewees, considered local experts, were chosen based on a qualified informant – the head of the Conservation Unit –, who indicated the other participants. The interviewees were residents of the surroundings of the PAESF and had direct contact, at some point in their lives (former residents and employees), with the Conservation Unit. The snowball sampling technique (Bailey, 1994Bailey K. Methods of social research. New York: The Free Press; 1994.), which consists of intentional selection of the first informant to recruit the other qualified participants (Albuquerque et al., 2010Albuquerque UP, Lucena RFP, Lins-Neto EMF. Seleção dos participantes da pesquisa. In: Albuquerque UP, Lucena RFP, Cunha LVFC, editores. Métodos e técnicas na pesquisa etnobiológica e etnoecológica. Recife: NUPPEA; 2010.), was applied to select the interviewees.
After informing the study objectives, the interviews were conducted voluntarily with interviewees who agreed to participate by signing an Informed Consent Form (ICF) presented at the time of interview, according to Resolution no. 466/2012 of the National Health Council (Brasil, 2012Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Resolução nº 466, de 12 dezembro de 2012. Aprova diretrizes e normas regulamentadoras de pesquisas envolvendo seres humanos. Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil [online], Brasília, DF (2012 dez. 12); [cited 2017 abr. 7]. Available from: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/cns/2013/res0466_12_12_2012.html
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) with Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Consideration (CAAE: 56185716.7.0000.0119 - Opinion no. 1.572.998).
The study sample comprised two women and six men, aged 42 to 85 years, from four families of Polish and Italian immigrants, whose main activities are subsistence agriculture and dairy farming, who live in the community of Chapadão. The interviewees were identified as housewives, small farmers, and janitors of the Conservation Unit of the Environment Foundation of Santa Catarina (FATMA).
Data on palm species were obtained in a previous survey conducted by the authors. Five species of native occurrence in the PAESF were considered: Bactris setosa Mart., Euterpe edulis Mart., Geonoma gamiova Barb.Rodr., Geonoma schottiana Mart., Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman.
Information on the use and exploitation of plants was obtained by means of identification of the palm species with the aid of digital photographs, high-resolution maps (for indication of sites of exploitation), a portable audio recorder, and a field diary for additional notes.
2.3. Data analysis
For the narrative interviews, content analysis was chosen because it was deemed more appropriate for the topic of research from the authors’ point of view. This type of analysis consists in detecting, in the interviewee’s discourse, the empirical concepts formulated, associated with the object of research, with the purpose of searching the meaning or meanings of an interview (Bardin, 1995Bardin L. Análise de conteúdo. Lisboa: Edições 70; 1995.; Campos, 2004Campos CJG. Método de análise de conteúdo: ferramenta para análise de dados qualitativos no campo da saúde. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem 2004; 57(5): 611-614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672004000500019. PMid:15997809.
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; Gomes, 2009Gomes R. Análise e interpretação de dados de Pesquisa qualitativa. In: Minayo MCS, Gomes SFDR, editores. Pesquisa Social: Teoria, método e criatividade. 28. ed. Petrópolis: Vozes; 2009.). Lozano (1994)Lozano JC. Hacia are consideracíon del análisis de contenido em la investigacion de los mensajes comunicacionales. In: Ruiz ES, Barba CC, editores. Investigar La comunicación: propusestas ibero-americanas. Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara/Alaic; 1994. considers this technique reliable, because it enables different people to reach the same conclusions by applying the same categories separately to the same sample of messages.
The palm species cited by the interviewees were classified into categories, according to the uses mentioned by the study participants, as well as regarding scientific name, popular name, and the parts of the plant with reports of use.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Four ethnospecies were mentioned by the interviewees: coconut, straw, palm, and tucum. Five different uses (food, construction, fiber, forage, and medicine) were reported for five plant parts (stipe, leaf, fruit, inflorescence, and apical meristem) (Table 1).
Palm species (Arecaceae) mentioned by the population interviewed in the surroundings of the PAESF.
Palm (E. edulis) was the most important ethnospecies, cited as an important resource by all study participants and mentioned for two uses of three different plant parts. Use as food was the most frequently mentioned; however, only for the palm heart (region near the apical meristem, inside the leaf sheath). Residents reported using palm heart only for their own consumption and in small amounts, but according to most of the interviewees, palm heart was also the main target of clandestine extractors, and they considered it as one of the most exploited plants before the creation of PAESF: “[…] they took everything without permission, felled everything with no mercy; they had a cannery, isn’t that right!?” (Interviewee 1).
In the 1960s, the state of Santa Catarina was marked by increased palm heart extraction, a period that coincided with growing selective logging of wood in the study area and introduction of tobacco farming in its surroundings (Dall’Alba, 1986Dall’Alba JL. Colonos e mineiros no grande Orleans. Orleans: Instituto São José; 1986.). The extraction technique used spared neither young individuals, nor seed matrices (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.). Such activities drastically reduced the population of palms, which reached the level of risk of extinction (Dransfield et al., 2008Dransfield J, Uhl NW, Asmussen CB, Baker WJ, Harley MM, Lewis CE. Genera Palmarum: the evolution and classification of palms. London: Kew Publishing - Royal Botanical Garden; 2008.; Galetti & Fernandez, 1998Galetti M, Fernandez JC. Palm heart harvesting in the Brazilian Atlantic forest: Changes in industry structure and the illegal trade. Journal of Applied Ecology 1998; 35(2): 294-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.1998.00295.x.
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), and it is considered threatened of extinction to the present time (Martinelli & Moraes, 2013Martinelli G, Moraes MA. Livro Vermelho da Flora do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Andrea Jakobsson: Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; 2013.; Elias et al., 2016Elias GA, Gasper AL, Lima JMT, Soares KP, Molz M, Santos R. Community structure of large native arborescent palms (Arecaceae) using data from the Floristic and Forest Inventory of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 2016; 10(10): 156-163.).
With respect to the use of the fruits, the interviewees commented only on their ecological use, because according to one of them “[…] the little fruits weren’t good for anything, only birds ate them […]” (Interviewee 2), unlike the populations of the Amazon, who largely use the fruits of native species of Euterpe as food, e.g, E. catinga Wallace, E. oleracea Mart., and E. precatoria Mart., popularly known as acai (Smith, 2015Smith N. Palms and people in the Amazon. New York: Springer; 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05509-1.
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). However, palm hearts are considered one of the most important Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP) of the Atlantic Forest (Elias & Santos, 2016Elias GA, Santos R. Produtos florestais não madeireiros e valor potencial de exploração sustentável da floresta atlântica no sul de Santa Catarina. Ciência Florestal 2016; 26(1): 49-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509821117.
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) due to their use as raw material for diverse food products, such as juice, jelly, ice-cream, etc. (Bourscheid et al., 2011Bourscheid K, Siminski A, Fantini AC, Mac Faden J. Euterpe edulis. In: Coradin L, Siminski A, Reis A, editores. Espécies nativas da flora brasileira de valor econômico atual ou potencial: plantas para o futuro - Região Sul. Brasília: MMA; 2011.).
Usually, the leaves with braided pines were also used by the residents in the roofs of rustic constructions, stalls, sheds, and even in their dwellings, mainly in the beginning of colonization:
[…] at that time, it was really windy, and a stone was placed on the palm leaves so that the wind wouldn’t carry them away, otherwise, it would rain inside the houses. (Interviewee 3)
Other communities in Santa Catarina state have already practiced these uses (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.); in addition, there are reports of their use as forage for donkeys and horses (Barroso et al., 2010Barroso RM, Reis A, Hanazaki N. Etnoecologia e etnobotânica da palmeira juçara (Euterpe edulis Martius) em comunidades quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo. Acta Botanica Brasílica 2010; 24(2): 518-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062010000200022.
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).
The interviewees also reported the use of palm stipes as slats in construction (Figure 2), because they are light, straight, and resistant:
A – Shed roof structured with slats or stringers made of E. edulis stipe (shown by arrows), remnant of the Polish colonization in the Chapadão community, municipality of Orleans, south region of Santa Catarina state. B – Detail of E. edulis stipe, marked in red.
[…] it was resistant, I remember this because I helped to make it: I was going to build a shed, or something... or a stable; there was no money to buy wood and saw it, and so on... so we made the roof with slats, which were the stringers […]. (Interviewee 4)
The slats also had other uses: in the manufacturing of scaffolding, rafters, stucco, rustic water troughs, fences, material for stowage, and as firewood (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.).
Coconut ethnospecies (S. romanzoffiana) was not mentioned to present timber use, only use as forage for animals and popular medicine. However, this ethnospecies was widely used in civil construction in Santa Catarina state, and was mentioned by Reitz (1974)Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974. in the naval industry, mainly for stowage and salt water piers, because this is the only wood not attacked by the “busão”, a destroyer of wood in oceanic waters.
Use as forage was associated with the leaves in periods of food shortage for cattle, highlighting the importance for the sustainable use of palm:
In the old days, in winter, when the frost destroyed the pasture, people would cut the leaves with a sickle attached to a long bamboo and would make little piles here and there... sometimes, that was all they had to feed the cattle [...]. (Interviewee 6)
Reitz (1974)Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974. also mentioned its use combined with racing-horse rations, emphasizing its benefit to the respiratory tract of these animals. In addition, the leaves of this species, considered sacred by the Mbyá-Guarani population, present other uses, such as palm heart as food and in the manufacturing of fans, mats, bows, and arrows (Dawson & Gacedo, 1977Dawson WA, Gancedo OA. La palma pindo (Syagrus romanzoffianum) y su importância entre los índios Guayaqui. In: Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Obra del centenário del Museo de la Plata. La Plata: Universidad Nacional de la Plata; 1977. p. 339-353. (Tomo II; Antropologia).; Kinupp & Lorenzi, 2004Kinupp VF, Lorenzi H. Plantas Alimentícias Não Convencionais (PANC): guia de identificação, aspectos nutricionais e receitas ilustradas. São Paulo: Instituto Plantarum de Estudos da Flora; 2004.).
Only one of the residents reported the use of coconut in popular medicine, mentioning use of inflorescence in the treatment of hypertension
[...] when we opened that coconut bunch, we would make tea to control blood pressure... when that bunch sprouted from the tree, fresh […] (Interviewee 5)
Although this use has not been found in the literature, some authors have reported medicinal use of this species, with indications of use as expectorant and to treat sinusitis (Barata-Silva et al., 2005Barata-Silva AW, Macedo RLG, Gomes JE. Potencial de utilização de espécies arbóreas medicinais no Rio Grande do Sul. Revista Científica da Faculdade de Agronomia e Engenharia Florestal de Garça 2005; 3(6): 1-6.).
Tucum (B. setosa), a palm tree with fruits widely appreciated in natura, was another ethnospecies cited by all interviewees with respect to its use as food (Lorenzi et al., 2010Lorenzi H, Noblick L, Kahn F, Ferreira EJL. Flora Brasileira: Arecaceae (Palmeiras). Nova Odessa: Plantarum; 2010.):
[...] we waited until it ripened, it is tasteful when sucked... we used to mix it with sugarcane liquor, too; it makes for a very tasteful drink, but it must be very ripe, really black (Interviewee 6).
This practice of composing liqueurs with pulp of tucum fruits had already been reported in Santa Catarina state by Reitz (1974)Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.. Moreover, the fruit of tucum in natura is regarded as an important antioxidant (Fustinoni-Reis et al., 2016Fustinoni-Reis AM, Arruda SF, Dourado LP, Cunha MS, Siqueira EM. Tucum-do-cerrado (Bactris setosa Mart.) consumption modulates iron homeostasis and prevents iron-induced oxidative stress in the rat liver. Nutrients 2016; 8(2): 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu8020038. PMid:26901220.
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) because its bioactive compounds are mainly associated with the bark (pericarp) (Rosa et al., 2016Rosa FR, Arruda AF, Siqueira EMA, Arruda SF. Phytochemical compounds and antioxidante capacity of tucum-do-cerrado (Bactris setosa Mart.), Brazil’s native fruit. Nutrients 2016; 8(3): 1-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu8030110. PMid:26907338.
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).
The use of tucum fiber was also mentioned by the study participants:
[...] we used to grab the leaf, pull it, and then weave it to make rope, basket, sieve... and all the finishing was made with tucum rope!. (Interviewee 7)
Coastal populations already used tucum leaves as a source of excellent textile fiber, which was used as fishing lines and in the manufacture of baskets (Medina, 1959Medina JC. Plantas fibrosas da flora mundial. Campinas: Instituto Agronômico; 1959.; Monteiro & Fisch, 2005Monteiro EV, Fisch STV. Estrutura e padrão espacial das populações de Bactris setosa Mart. e B. hatschbachii Noblick ex A. Hend (Arecaceae) em um gradiente altitudinal, Ubatuba (SP). Biota Neotropica 2005; 5(2): 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06032005000300007.
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; Duarte et al., 2012Duarte AYS, Queiroz RS, Sanches RS, Garcia CR, Dedini FG. Ethnobotany of natural fibres – Bactris setosa (tucum) in a traditional rural community. Fibres & Textiles in Eastern Europe 2012; 20(2): 18-20.). Artisanal fishermen in the “Arraial do Cabo” Marine Extractive Reserve, in Rio de Janeiro state, also used them to make casting nets because of the extreme resistance provided by the leaf sheath of this palm (Fonseca-Kruel & Peixoto, 2004Fonseca-Kruel VS, Peixoto AL. Etnobotânica na Reserva Extrativista Marinha de Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasílica 2004; 18(1): 177-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062004000100015.
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). In addition, one of the interviewees stated that these fibers can be commercialized:
[...] there was a lot of poverty at that time, so those who had a piece of land tried to do something to make money, they tore off the leaves, took off the stalks, and a little thread would come off, they then made little ropes and sell them! (Interviewee 8)
This practice illustrates the importance of this palm for the population of the PAESF, because the uses were varied, i.e., hammocks, bowstrings, and slings (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.).
Also, regarding the use of leaves, the ethnospecies straw (G. gamiova) was referred by all interviewees as the most important plant to cover rustic constructions and were spared in all exploratory investments made in PAESF:
[…] at that time, poverty was worse than today! So, a lot of people used straw to make the roof of their houses. Three or four straws were weaved per bundle, very well tied; then they used them to cover the houses, matting them one right next to the other, and water wouldn’t come in! (Interviewee 1)
This use had already been reported by Reitz (1974)Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974., in addition to the use of chipped petioles for manufacturing weaves, sieves, and baskets. Additionally, Ceccon-Valente & Negrelle (2013)Ceccon-Valente MF, Negrelle RRB. Demografia de Geonoma gamiova em área de extrativismo foliar. Ciência Rural 2013; 43(7): 1218-1222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782013000700012.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782013...
reported the importance of this species in the area of foliar extractivism in Paraná state as NTFP, mainly the ornamental use of its leaves by flower shops, in arrangements, or dried and dyed, prepared for export to Europe (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.).
Only G. schottiana, popularly known as guaricanga or fine straw (Reitz, 1974Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974.), was not mentioned or recognized by the study participants. The non-use of this species can be attributed to its low density in the forest or even to the reduced size of its leaves (44-130 cm), as well as of its pines, which could be inefficient in covering the constructions when compared with those from E. edulis (120-290 cm) (Soares et al., 2014Soares KP, Longhi SJ, Witeck L No, Asis LC. Palmeiras (Arecaceae) no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Rodriguésia 2014; 65(1): 113-139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2175-78602014000100009.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S2175-78602014...
; Elias et al., 2018Elias GA, Soares KP, Bortoluzzi RLC, Santos R. Palmeiras (Arecaceae) em Santa Catarina, sul do Brasil. Iheringia. 2018; 73(2): 88-107.). Nevertheless, Reitz (1974)Reitz R. Palmeiras. In: Reitz R, editor. Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Itajaí: Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues; 1974. reported their use in rustic constructions such as huts and hovels.
As for perception about the PAESF, all interviewees were in favor of the existence of the Conservation Unit, mainly to ensure that the forest and its ecosystem services be preserved:
[…] a great advantage was the banning of hunting and logging, otherwise we would be in a desert today! There wouldn’t be any trees left! People used to sell everything, didn’t they? So, our children and grandchildren would not know the woods, the birds […] everything would be over! (Interviewee 4)
These ecosystems generate an array of life support services, including provisory, regulatory, cultural and supportive services, which sustain long-term socioeconomic well-being and continuity of life (Bennett et al., 2009Bennett EM, Peterson GD, Gordon LJ. Understanding relationships among multiple ecosystem services. Ecology Letters 2009; 12(3): 1-11. PMid:19845725.). Furthermore, forest landscapes simultaneously produce multiple services that are complexly and dynamically interrelated (Sakai et al., 2016Sakai S, Choy YK, Kishimoto-Yamada K, Takano KT, Ichikawa M, Samejima H et al. Social and ecological factors associated with the use of non-timber forest products by rural Borneo. Biological Conservation 2016; 204: 340-349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.022.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016....
).
4. CONCLUSION
The interviews revealed that the population currently living in the surroundings of the “Parque Estadual da Serra Furada” (PAESF) makes few uses of palm species, and that most of these uses remain only in the memory of the informants and are no longer practiced. Nevertheless, the interviewees were satisfied and agreed with the creation of the Conservation Unit, because they are aware that the local biodiversity would probably disappear without it.
Regarding the palm species cited in this study, Euterpe edulis stands out as the most widely used species and it is the first to arise in the discourse of the interviewees, although it has been more often remembered for the predatory use of palm heart. The other species were cited as having non-timber uses, with less pronounced exploitation processes than that of palm heart and are sometimes not harvested because they present future use, such as palm straw, tucum fiber, and coconut leaves.
Finally, it is worth noting that the results obtained assisted with understanding the importance of the PAESF and its surroundings to the interviewees, especially the palms, considering that these ethnospecies were closely associated with the establishment and development processes of that community.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their thanks to Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for the first author’s scholarship funding and to all the interviewees participating in the survey.
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FINANCIAL SUPPORT Nothing to declare
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Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
2 May 2019 -
Date of issue
2019
History
-
Received
12 Apr 2017 -
Accepted
06 Apr 2018