Sustainable harvesting and conservation of Laelia furfuracea, a rare epiphytic orchid from Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

Many epiphytic orchids are harvested in Mexico for different purposes. Laelia furfuracea is one of the most intensively traded species. Its inflorescences are used as ornaments during the December festivities. We investigated the effect of severing the flowering pseudobulb. This is the traditional technique frequently used by collectors at the study area. We wished to investigate its effects on the production of new pseudobulbs, as well as on their size and flowering probability. Also, we examined the survival probability and growth of individuals that had fallen on the ground to evaluate their potential as trading resources. Inflorescence collection did not affect the production of new pseudobulbs the following season. However, it affected the size of these pseudobulbs, as well as their flowering probability. Yet, the direction of this effect was not consistent between years. Nearly six percent of all L. furfuracea plants at the study site were found on the ground. Over 80 percent of them survived for at least two years, although most of them showed pseudobulb loss over that period of time. We conclude that harvesting of flowering pseudobulbs may be sustainable in terms of its effects on plant performance, at least in the short term. The active management of plants that have fallen on the ground may reduce the harvesting pressure on natural populations. Harvesting of flowering pseudobulbs may diminish some aspects of plant performance, but its effects need to be evaluated with complete life cycle data and take into account interannual variation in vital rates. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material

Virtual special issue: Social‐ecological systems research in tropical ecosystems

“…Another study examined the impact of human harvesting on the sustainability of a rare orchid in Mexico and found no evidence that traditional harvest methods are unsustainable at least in the short term. (Orozco-Ibarrola et al, 2021). Aditya and Ganesh (2022) used camera traps to reveal that humans and wildlife are coexisting in the same time and space in India's Eastern Ghats; although, this may indicate the potential for future conflict.…”

Categorización del riesgo de extinción y primer registro para Colombia de Cycnoches suarezii (Orchidaceae, Catasetinae)

“…Una estrategia un poco polémica es la extracción de porciones de la planta para su reproducción de forma vegetativa. En algunos casos, como Laelia furfuracea Lindl., se ha demostrado que la población tolera la extracción de un pseudobulbo con flores por planta para fines comerciales, ayudados por la recolección de divisiones o plantas enteras que cayeron de sus forofitos, manteniendo los ejemplares que permanecen sobre los árboles (Orozco-Ibarrola et al, 2021). Esta técnica puede emplearse como una forma de aprovechar sustentablemente este recurso mediante la reproducción y comercialización de plantas.…”

Six-Year Demographic Study of the Terrestrial Orchid, Crepidium acuminatum: Implications for Conservation

“…Both successful conservation and sustainable harvesting depend on detailed studies of demographic structure and population performance, using simulation methods in population projection matrices, as previously done for different medicinal plants (Nantel et al, 1996;Ticktin, 2004;Ghimire et al, 2008;Rokaya et al, 2017) including orchids (García-González et al, 2017;Ticktin et al, 2019;Orozco-Ibarrola et al, 2021). Such studies may help elucidate best practice strategies for population persistence and use by the local people (Ghimire et al, 2008;Rokaya et al, 2017).…”