Genetic conservation of a threatened Neotropical palm through community-management of fruits in agroforests and second-growth forests

The commercial exploitation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted to achieve both conservation and economic outcomes in the management of tropical forests by local communities, but monitoring the impacts of NTFPs harvesting is still challenging. Monitoring genetic diversity is a promising approach to assess harvesting impacts and guide best practices. Here, we evaluated the value of community-managed agroforests and secondary forests for conserving genetic structure and diversity of Euterpe edulis, an endemic palm explored for fruit and palm heart production. We used SSR markers to compare genetic diversity in populations growing in protected areas, in agroforests and in second-growth forests managed for fruit production in the coastal Atlantic Forest of Brazil. In addition, we investigated the genetic diversity of seeds extracted during pulp removal, which have been used in E. edulis reintroduction programs. Overall, high levels of genetic diversity were observed for all populations (mean allelic richness = 7.06; mean expected heterozygosity = 0.787), with no significant differences in genetic diversity among agroforests, second-growth forests and protected areas. Managed forests and protected areas had low to intermediate levels of genetic differentiation (global Fixation Index = 0.085), indicating the existence of gene flow among them. Seeds extracted during fruit pulp removal had as high genetic variability as populations growing in protected areas, thus evidencing the potential of using these seeds to recover overexploited populations. Thus, community-management of NTFPs in agroforests and second-growth forests may support genetic conservation of this threatened species, complementing the conservation role of protected areas.