Long eaten by indigenous populations, palm hearts have also popular abroad, usually in fine dining establishments. However, palm hearts are cut-out of the inner core of various palm tree species, in some cases killing the tree. A new study published in mongabay.com’s open access journal Tropical Conservation Science looks at the sustainability of palm heart extraction from the palm species Prestoea acuminata in the Colombian Andes. While harvesting from Prestoea acuminata does not kill the host tree, better management is needed to ensure the practice doesn’t become unsustainable.
The researchers found that it took Prestoea acuminata 23-40 years before it reached a suitable size for palm heart extraction. Given this slow growth, and the fact that over-harvesting from a plant can impact sexual reproduction, the authors recommend that only 10 percent of any population be harvested annually.
“Our results show that the sustainable harvest potential of Prestoea acuminata under natural conditions is too low to be economically viable. However, sustainable household extraction, as for traditional consumption by Indians and campesinos, is possible,” they write.
In the Colombian Andes, palm hearts are extremely popular during Holy Week when eating meat is not allowed. The authors say future research should look at the size of this practice and whether it is unsustainable.
CITATION: Gamba-Trimiño, C., Bernal, R. and Bittner, J. 2011. Demography of the clonal palm Prestoea acuminata in the Colombian Andes: sustainable household extraction of palm hearts. Tropical Conservation Science Vol. 4(4):386-404.
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