Comparative models disentangle drivers of fruit production variability of an economically and ecologically important long-lived Amazonian tree.

ABSTRACT: Trees in the upper canopy contribute disproportionately to forest ecosystem productivity. The large, canopy-emergent Bertholletia excelsa also supports a multimillion-dollar commodity crop (Brazil nut), harvested almost exclusively from Amazonian forests. B. excelsa fruit production, however is extremely variable within populations and years, destabilizing local harvester livelihoods and the extractive economy. To understand this variability, data were collected in Acre, Brazil over 10 years at two sites with similar climate and forest types, but different fruit production levels, despite their proximity (~ 30 km). One site consistently produced more fruit, showed less individual- and population-level variability, and had significantly higher soil P and K levels. The strongest predictor of

SUBMITTER: Staudhammer CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7843625 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature