The palm has its time: an Ethnoecology ofSabal uresana in Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

Participant observation and formal interviews were used to learn what local people understood of palm natural history and how palms were managed. Ecological and ethnographic methods were combined to assess traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and traditional resource management (TRM). Palm workers understood TEK and TRM for palms. This knowledge was not general in the population, however. Residence, harvester status, and gender were strongly correlated with TEK and TRM. Harvest practices included limiting access, “sparing,” controlling harvest times and levels, and choice of leaf age and palm size. “Alpha” management is proposed as practices which maintain populations long-term. In this case, sparing was the single most important practice. “Beta” management is shorter term and important for obtaining good quality product in sufficient quantities. Although the impacts are more subtle, it can affect population structure over time. This study provides one prototype for identifying practices which function as de facto conservation traditions for wild-harvested species.