SEED Madagascar

Palms on the Brink: Conservation Status of the Threatened Palms Dypsis saintelucei and Beccariophoenix madagascariensis in the Littoral Forests of Sainte Luce, Southeastern Madagascar

Sam Hyde Roberts, Stephanie Harris, Kathryn Strang, Jason Alex Guy, Retsiraiky Jean Rossizela, and Lucia Chmurova.

Initial population assessment of the palms Dypsis saintelucei and Beccariophoenix madagascariensis in the littoral forests of Sainte Luce between 2008 and 2011 revealed that despite their integral role as community resources, local populations were under significant pressure. Given their low abundance in the area, high utility and an increasing demand for resources driven by a rapidly expanding human population, these threatened species warranted systematic and rigorous monitoring. Eight years later, we reassessed the subpopulations of each species across five forest fragments. All previously recorded individual palms (n=239) were revisited, and additional individuals (n=38) were identified. Results indicate that D. saintelucei has experienced a substantial decline, with a total mortality of 64% over an 8-year period, whilst B. madagascariensis has experienced more modest but still substantial losses (25%). The majority of palm losses (63%) can be attributed to anthropogenic factors. Our findings underline the need for urgent conservation intervention, and in this paper, we offer several suggestions to mediate further losses and potentially reverse the trend.

Key topics:

Environment

Year of publication:

2020

Published in:

Palms (Vol. 64(4) 2020)