Estrutura populacional e uso da semente de morototó em comunidades na Flona Tapajós

Abstract

The communities of the Tapajós National Forest are formed by small family units that collect or manage non-timber forest products. Among the many products handled are the seeds of the morototó - Schefflera morototoni used in the production of bio-jewelry in the communities of São Domingos, Maguari and Jamaraquá. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze the non-timber forest product used in the communities of the Tapajós National Forest, describing its handling and use as a product. In order to establish the research theme, an interview with the representative of the Mixed Cooperative of the Tapajós FLONA (COOMFLONA) was carried out, followed by a Rapid Rural Diagnosis (RRD) with community collectors and artisans to know the forest products used by the communities. Ten people from the three communities using non-timber forest products (NTFPs) were interviewed. From this knowledge of the products handled, the morototó seed was pointed out by the majority of the interviewees as the NPFP most used in the production of handicrafts and biojóias. After the choice of morototó, a study of the population and spatial structure of the morototó trees in areas of seed collection of the three communities studied was carried out, and in a so-called control area without seed collection to compare if there is influence in the occurrence of seed management. For the analysis of spatial distribution of S. morototoni, the Morisita index was used, in which it was verified that the 200 morototó trees, distributed among the four study areas are aggregated, without differences between the areas, thus delimiting the localities of fruit collection by the community, facilitating the obtaining of seeds. Based on the ecological knowledge of the species in the study area, it was possible to describe the traditional management of the morototó seed in these communities, where it was followed the processes of collection, processing and production of morototó bio-jewelry, using the method of direct observation and application of structured questionnaires with the actors involved in these processes. For the analysis of the questionnaires, the Value Links methodology was applied. The data obtained from the direct observation and the questionnaires show that there are two methods of fruit extraction: the thinning and the collection of branches by climbing. In addition, the beneficiation of the seed is all artisanal, being two techniques used: the boiling of the fruits or the use of the pestle to remove the residue of the bark. The amount of morototó seeds varies in price between communities, being R$ 30.00/Kg-1 in Maguari and Jamaraquá and R$ 17,00/Kg-1 in São Domingos. The value attributed to these parts is the difficulty of obtaining the input and its processing, by the size of the part and the complexity of the production of this part. The pieces vary according to the composition with values from R $ 4.00 to R $ 30.00. The main problems and difficulties pointed out in the analysis were the collection of seeds with thinning of the tree and the lack of safety equipment in the collection of climbing and the main potentialities and opportunities are for being a sustainable activity generating income and dissemination of the communities through their bio-jewelry.