Integration and management of bitter palm (sabal mauritiiformis, arecaceae) in agroforestry systems in the caribbean region of Colombia

Abstract

Bitter palm (Sabal mauritiiformis) is a useful species in the colombian Caribbean; its leaves are used mainly for thatching rural homes and buildings for tourism. Its wild populations are part of traditional agroforestry systems, where it has been favored in spite of the transformation of the original ecosystem. The purpose of this study was to characterize vegetation composition and structure, and silvicultural management of the agroforestry systems of bitter palm in Piojó (Atlántico, Colombia). Woody vegetation composition was studied in 16 farms, vegetation structure was characterized in seven monitoring plots and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 producers. Agroforestry systems were classified as fallows, silvopastoral and agrisilvicultural according to their use. Based onspecies composition, the agrisilvicultural systems were more diverse than the fallows and these, in turn, were more diverse than silvopastoral systems. The palms reached densities up to 553 ± 336.5 ind/ha and their stems occupied more than half the basal area in all systems studied, but their coverage was less than that of arboreal species. Regarding the silvicultural management of the palms stands we found that insect and weed controls were carried out across all systems. One the biggest and most commonly reported phytosanitary problems was the infestation of palm stems by termites (Isoptera). We propose guidelines to optimize agroforestry systems with bitter palm based on efficient use of space and the characteristics of forestry species present in the systems.