Charles M. Peters

Oligarchic forests of economic plants in amazonia: utilization and conservation of an important tropical resource.

Tropical forests dominated by only one or two tree species occupy tens of millions of hectares in Ammonia In many cases, the dominant species produce fruits, seeds, or oils of economic importance. Oligarchic (Gr. oligo = few, archic = dominated or ruled by) forests of six economic species, i. e., Euterpe oleracea, Grias peruviana, Jessenia bataua, Mauritia flexuosa, Myrciaria dubia, and Orbignya phalerata, were studied in Brazil and Peru Natural populations of these species contain from 100 to 3,000 conspecific adult trees/ha and produce up to 11.1 metric tons of fruit/hd/yr. These plant populations are utilized and occasionally managed, by rural inhabitants in the region. Periodic fruit harvests, if properly controlled have only a minimal impact on forest structure and function, yet can generate substantial economic returns Market-oriented extraction of the fruits produced by oligarchic forests appears to represent a promising alternative for reconciling the development and conservation of Amazonian forests.

Pu-erh tea tasting in Yunnan, China: Correlation of drinkers' perceptions to phytochemistry

AIM OF THE STUDYnPu-erh (or puer) tea tasting is a social practice that emphasizes shared sensory experience, wellbeing, and alertness. The present study examines how variable production and preparation practices of pu-erh tea affect drinkers perceptions, phytochemical profiles, and anti-oxidant activity.nnnMATERIALS AND METHODSnOne hundred semi-structured interviews were conducted in Yunnan Province to understand the cultural and environmental context of pu-erh tea tasting. The gong fu cha dao (way of tea with effort, work, or skill) method of brewing tea through multiple infusions was employed to evaluate green and black pu-erh samples from smallholder agro-forests and terrace plantations. Ranking interviews, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and the 1-1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay were conducted to characterize color and taste profiles, Total Catechin Content (TCC), Total Methylxanthine Content (TMC), and free radical scavenging capacity (IC(50)).nnnRESULTSnSignificant variation was found among pu-erh samples based on: (1) agro-ecosystem mode of production by TCC (P<0.0001) and TMC (P<0.0265), (2) processing method for TCC (P<0.0001), TMC (P<0.0027), and free radical scavenging capacity (P<0.0001), (3) infusion sequence for TMC (P<0.0013), (4) taste rankings for TCC (P<0.0001), TMC (P<0.0001), and IC(50) (P<0.0059) and, (5) color rankings for TMC (P<0.0009) and IC(50) (P<0.0001). Samples rated as bitter and bitter-sweet contained the greatest TCC and free radical scavenging capacity.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThis research demonstrated that production environment, processing methods, and infusion sequence in preparing tea are related to the phytochemical profile, free radical scavenging activity, and flavor of tea. Findings contribute to the ethnomedical literature by supporting previous studies that have hypothesized that the taste of plants, particularly bitterness, may guide societies in the search for medicinal plants and beneficial phytochemicals.

Increased Market Integration, Value, and Ecological Knowledge of Tea Agroforests in the Akha Highlands of Southwest China

This study assesses the persistence and change of traditional land use patterns and ecological knowledge in response to expanded commercialization of tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica (L.) Kuntze Theaceae) in an indigenous Akha (Hani) community in the midlevel montane forests of southwest Yunnan, China. Surveys were conducted in 2005 and 2008, over a period corresponding to a regional tea market boom and bust cycle, to compare the valuation smallholders attribute to land use types and to determine the role that value systems play in shaping environmental behavior and knowledge. At the community level, increased market integration of tea agroforests is associated with reconfiguration of land use, intensified management, reorganization of labor structures, and generation of knowledge on tea resources. Akha have tapped into customary resources and forged new social networks with tea industry agents to take advantage of emerging market opportunities. They have resisted state reforms calling for the cultivation of high-intensity plantations and introduced cultivars. Consequently, they have benefited from price premiums through niche market networks for tea sourced from agroforests and proprietary landraces not available to other communities disempowered by market cycles. Subsistence agriculture, home gardening, and foraging persist for food security despite tea wealth. However, as traditional values are reoriented toward market-based ideologies, the community may risk a breakdown of the social institutions that support sustainability.

The Life and Times of Bursera glabrifolia (H.B.K.) Engl. in Mexico: A Parable for Ethnobotany

The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation has announced that Nathaniel Bletter of the City University of New York Graduate Center and the New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY was awarded a 2003 Lindbergh Grant for his project entitled, ‘‘Quantitatively Analyzing the World’s Collective Knowledge of Medicinal Plants to Discover Those with the Most Potential to Treat Disease.’’ Diseases such as malaria, diabetes, and dysentery, among others, are prevalent and deadly in Third World countries because affordable treatments are not available. Yet, many of these diseases can be treated effectively and affordably using traditional plant-based medicine. With limited resources and thousands of plants to evaluate, Mr. Bletter has developed a mathematical method that combines traditional plant knowledge with high-speed computational and chemical analyses to discover which plant groups have the most potential to improve human health. With this information, low-cost medicinal plants or plantderived drugs can be distributed to areas where the diseases are common and current pharmaceutical [or western-drug] treatments are unaffordable. Cultural and wildlife conservationists could also use this information to help them focus their preservation efforts on those plants with the greatest benefits to individual populations. Bletter received one of nine Lindbergh grants awarded this year, and was chosen from more than 160 applicants from around the world. Grants are made in amounts up to

Otomi bark paper in Mexico: Commercialization of a pre-hispanic technology

10 580, a symbolic amount representing the cost of building Charles Lindbergh’s plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, in 1927. To date, more than

Integrating gene flow, crop biology, and farm management in on-farm conservation of avocado (Persea americana, Lauraceae).

2.25 million has been awarded to 242 researchers. According to Clare Hallward, Chairman of the Selection Committee, ‘‘Lindbergh grants often support innovative ideas at an early stage in their development, young researchers, and provide dollars to establish pilot projects, which often subsequently receive extensive funding from other sources, making it a highly sought-after award.’’ The annual deadline for Lindbergh Grant applications is in mid June. Those who are interested in receiving an application for funding in 2005 should contact The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, 2150 Third Avenue North, Suite 310, Anoka, MN 55303-2200; 763/576-1596. Information is also available on the Internet at www.lindberghfoundation.org.Bursera glabrifolia, a dominant component of the tropical dry forests in southwestern Mexico, is used to illustrate the importance of a broader contextual framework for ethnobotanical studies. The species is currently used as a carving wood to produce small, painted figurines known as alebrijes. Over the past hundred years, however, B. glabrifolia also has been exploited commercially for resin and essential oil, and over-harvesting has pushed the species to the brink of local extinction several times. The destruction of tropical dry forests threatens the ability of the species to recover from the current wave of exploitation. Eight years of study have highlighted two major aspects of the life and times ofB. glabrifolia. First, the ethnobotany of the species is extremely complex and, in addition to local artisans and collectors, involves pre-Columbian tributes, resource substitution, NAFTA duty exemptions, and the spread of cattle pastures. Second, a concerted effort to manage the species in its natural habitat would bolster the thriving alebrije market and provide a much-needed incentive for conserving tropical dry forests in MexicoRésuméBursera glabrifolia, un componente dominante de los bosques secos tropicales del sureste de México, se utiliza aqui para ilustrar la impotancia de adoptar un marco conceptual amplio en los estudios etnobotánicos. La madera de esta especie se usa actualmente en la zona de Vallés Centrales de Oaxaca para elaborar figuras talladas conocidas comoalebrijes. Sin embargo, durante los últimos cien años, B. glabrifolia ha sido también explotada por su résina y su aceite essecial, y la sobrexplotación la ha colocado cerca de la extinction local. La destructión de los bosques secos tropicales pone en riesgo la capacidad de la especie para recuperarse al ritmo actual de explotación. Ocho años de investigatión interdisciplinaria nos han permitado reconocer dos aspectos importantes de la historia deB. glabrifolia. Primero, que la etnobotdnica de la especie es extremadamente compleja, ya que además del uso actual por artesanos e colectores locales, involucra tributos prehispánicos, sustitución de especies, exención de impuestos en el marco del TLC y la expansion de la ganadería. Y Segundo, que un esfuerzo concertado por manejar esta especie en su hábitat natural, le danía un impulse al mercado de losalebrijes y significaría un incentivo, muy necesario, para la conservatión de los bosques tropicales secos en México

Revisiting Camu-camu ( Myrciaria dubia ): Twenty-seven Years of Fruit Collection and Flooding at an Oxbow Lake in Peruvian Amazonia

The Otomi village of San Pablito in northern Puebla has preserved the tradition of making bark paper for over 400 yr, and today is the only papermaking center in all of Mexico. In the past 20 yr, bark paper has become highly commercialized and severalaspects of the Otomi papermaking process have changed. Unprecedented production levels have caused the total depletion of traditional sources of raw material. In response to this situation, the Otomi have been forced to change the types of bark that are utilized, the logistics of bark collection, and the treatment of the bark fiber prior to use. The majority of the paper currently produced in San Pablito is made from the bark ofTrema micrantha imported from the state of Veracruz. A plantation of this species is being established near San Pablito to reduce the Otomi dependence on outside sources of raw material.

The missing skill set in community management of tropical forests

Maintaining crop diversity on farms where cultivars can evolve is a conservation goal, but few tools are available to assess the long-term maintenance of genetic diversity on farms. One important issue for on-farm conservation is gene flow from crops with a narrow genetic base into related populations that are genetically diverse. In a case study of avocado (Persea americana var. americana) in one of its centers of diversity (San Jerónimo, Costa Rica), we used 10 DNA microsatellite markers in a parentage analysis to estimate gene flow from commercialized varieties into a traditional crop population. Five commercialized genotypes comprised nearly 40% of orchard trees, but they contributed only about 14.5% of the gametes to the youngest cohort of trees. Although commercialized varieties and the diverse population were often planted on the same farm, planting patterns appeared to keep the two types of trees separated on small scales, possibly explaining the limited gene flow. In a simulation that combined gene flow estimates, crop biology, and graft tree management, loss of allelic diversity was less than 10% over 150 yr, and selection was effective in retaining desirable alleles in the diverse subpopulation. Simulations also showed that, in addition to gene flow, managing the genetic makeup and life history traits of the invasive commercialized varieties could have a significant impact on genetic diversity in the target population. The results support the feasibility of on-farm crop conservation, but simulations also showed that higher levels of gene flow could lead to severe losses of genetic diversity even if farmers continue to plant diverse varieties.

Community forestry and sustainability research at The New York Botanical Garden

Revisiting Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia): Twenty-seven Years of Fruit Collection and Flooding at an Oxbow Lake in Peruvian Amazonia Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia HBK McVaugh; Myrtaceae) is an important riparian species in the floodplain forests of Peruvian Amazonia, and its fruits have been harvested commercially for over 30 years. We examined the population impacts of intensive fruit collection on this species by remeasuring a 1,000 m2 inventory transect that was established in 1984 in a dense stand of M. dubia along an oxbow lake. We found that regeneration rates had declined notably since the original survey, and that the number of M. dubia individuals had dropped from 693 to 161 genets. While this dramatic shift in population structure would appear to be caused by excessive fruit collection, the same decline in regeneration was noted for Eugenia inundata DC, an associated species of similar growth form and phenology that is not harvested. The life cycles of both species are closely tied to the rise and fall of the river. In addition to annual fruit collection, we suggest that the extreme hydrological events that have occurred in the Amazon Basin over the last few decades, as well as the successional development of the ox-box lake study site that has been slowly filling up with sediment, also play a role in the observed reduction in M. dubia numbers.Revisitando camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia): Veinte y siete años de la recolección de frutos y la inundación en una cocha en la Amazonía peruana Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia HBK McVaugh; Myrtaceae) es una especie importante en los bosques inundables de la de la Amazonía peruana, y sus frutas han sido cosechados comercialmente por más de 30 años. Examinamos el impacto de la cosecha intensiva de frutas en una población de esta especie por la re- medición de un transecto de inventario de 1,000 m2 que fue establecido en 1984 en un área densa de M. dubia al lado de una cocha meandro. Encontramos que las tasas de de regeneración había disminuido notablemente desde la encuesta original, y que el número de individuos de M. dubia había caído de 693 a 161 ginetas. Aunque este cambio dramático en la estructura de la población parece estar causada por la excesiva recolección de frutas, la misma disminución de la regeneración se observó por Eugenia inundata DC, una especie asociada con forma similar de crecimiento y de fenología pero que no es cosechada. Los ciclos de vida de ambas especies están estrechamente ligados a la subida y bajada del río. Además de la colecta anual de frutas, sugerimos que los fenómenos hidrológicos extremos que se han ocurrido en la cuenca del Amazonas en los últimos decenios, así como el desarrollo sucesional de la cocha de estudio que se ha llenanda lentamente con sedimentos, también fueron responibles por parte de la reducción observada en los números de M. dubia.

VALUATION OF AN AMAZONIAN RAINFOREST

MIGUEL N. ALEXIADES,∗ CHARLES M. PETERS,† SARAH A. LAIRD,‡ CITLALLI LOPEZ BINNQUIST,§ AND PATRICIA NEGREROS CASTILLO∗∗ ∗School of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT27NR, United Kingdom, email m.n.alexiades@kent.ac.uk †Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458–5126, U.S.A. ‡People and Plants International, P.O. Box 251, Bristol, VT 05443, U.S.A. §Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales-Universidad Veracruzana, Ex-Hacienda Lucas Martin, Privada de Araucarias s/n, Col. Periodistas C.P. 91019, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico ∗∗Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Universidad Veracruzana, Parque Ecologico ‘El Haya’, Carretera antigua Xalapa-Coatepec, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico