Mahogany-Ecology and Perspectives of Management

1ames Crogan Ph.D.
Pau|o barreto V.Sc.

Ada|berto Verlssimo V.Sc.
Vahogany in the
brazi|ian Amazon:
Eco|ogy and Perspectives
on Vanagement
2002
The Institute of People and the Lnvironment in the Amazon
Lditor:
Lize Barmann
Lditing and Cover:
Janio Olieira
Photographs:
James Grogan
Mahogany in the Brazilian Amazon: Lcology and
Perspecties on Management , J. Grogan, P. Barreto and A.
Verssimo, Belm: Imazon 2002
44 p, il. col.
Includes Bibliography
1 . Ma h o g a n y 2 . lo r e s t Ma n a g e me n t 3 .
Log gi ng 4. Br azi l i an Amazon
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Copyright by Imazon
Caixa Postal, 5101
Belm, Para. 66613-90
www.imazon.org.br
lone: 235-4214,0122
Table of Contents
SUMMAR\................................................................................................................. 5
IN1RODUC1ION...................................................................................................
MAHOGAN\: GLNLRAL CHARAC1LRIS1ICS ....................................... 9
Description ................................................................................................................. 9
Natural Range ............................................................................................................ 9
Distribution and Density Patterns........................................................................ 9
Regeneration and Growth..................................................................................... 12
Management and Siliculture .............................................................................. 15
MAHOGAN\ IN 1HL BRAZILIAN AMAZON ....................................... 1
Natural Range .......................................................................................................... 1
Brie History o Lxtraction ................................................................................. 1
Distribution Patterns ............................................................................................. 19
Demography and Growth ..................................................................................... 19
Reproduction and Regeneration.......................................................................... 21
Post-Logging Regeneration .................................................................................. 24
Lnrichment Planting in Natural lorests and Plantations ............................. 25
MANAGLMLN1 AND CONSLRVA1ION Ol MAHOGAN\ IN 1HL
BRAZILIAN AMAZON ...................................................................................... 26
Remaining Commercial Stocks ............................................................................ 26
Management o Mahogany in Primary lorests ................................................ 2
Management o Mahogany in Logged lorests ................................................. 30
Plantations ................................................................................................................ 31
Conseration............................................................................................................ 32
INICIA1IVLS 1O CON1ROL MAHOGAN\`S LXPLOI1A1ION ..... 35
Management Plans .................................................................................................. 35
Lxport Quotas ......................................................................................................... 36
Conention on International 1rade in Lndangered Species .............................
o \ild launa and llora ,CI1LS, .............................................................. 36
Greenpeace Campaign or the Protection o Old-Growth lorests............ 3
Suggestions or the Control o Mahogany`s Lxploitation ............................ 38
CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 39
RLlLRLNCLS....................................................................................................... 40
Crogav et a.
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Mabogav, iv tbe .vaov
-5-
SUMMARY
Mahogany`s extraordinary commercial alue has ueled intense extraction pressure
across its natural range in Brazilian Amazonia since the early 190s. As the logging
industry approaches the last natural stands o mahogany in south Para, southeast Ama-
zonas, and Acre, Brazilian regulatory agencies hae responded to public concerns about
mahogany`s commercial uture by 1, steadily reducing export quotas since 1990, 2,
reezing authorization o new orest management plans or mahogany since 1996, and
3, prohibiting the transport, processing, and commercialization o mahogany within
Brazil ollowing detection o widespread illegal logging practices in south Para in
October 2001. Assuring mahogany`s uture as a renewable natural resource and national
patrimony now requires translating aailable technical inormation into rational orest
management guidelines that are concordant with public interests, aordable to industry,
and enorceable by ederal and state regulatory agencies.
1his book proides a descriptie account o mahogany across its natural range in
South and Central America, with emphasis on recent research conducted in Brazil.
Mahogany is a large tree that occurs at low densities ,generally less than 1 adult tree per
hectare, in seasonal primary orests, oten clustered together in groups along watercourses
or in highly disturbed transition zones between orest types. Mahogany occurs under
widely ranging climatic, hydrologic, edaphic, and competitie circumstances across its
ast natural range. Said to require large-scale catastrophic disturbances to regenerate
in Central America and Boliia, it has also been shown capable o successul recruitment
ollowing small-scale disturbances in south Para. Its wind-dispersed seeds are highly
germinable but disperse relatiely short distances. Seedlings are hardy and grow rapidly
where light leels are high and soils are ertile. Diameter growth rates by jueniles and
adult trees ,larger than 10 cm diameter at breast height, or dbh, may exceed 1 cm,year
or many years or decades. Howeer, a natural predator - the shootboring moth,
,.i,a gravaea, which eeds on growing plant stem tissues - may limit population
densities in natural orests and is generally too costly to control in plantations.
In south Para, mahogany population structures in natural orests were robust beore
logging, with suicient juenile trees to proide second harests ater approximately
30 years. Howeer, minimum diameter cutting limits were rarely respected during
selectie logging operations, and logging roads opened or mahogany`s extraction
requently led to land-use conersion to pasture or small-holder agriculture. \here
orest coer persists, mahogany`s regeneration in logging gaps is generally poor. 1his
may be attributed to low pre-harest seed production, low post-harest seed aailability
due to tree elling beore seed dispersal, and or competing egetation suppressing
mahogany seedlings and saplings during the years ollowing extraction.
Natural orest management recommendations or mahogany deried rom
ecological studies in south Para include: planned harests to reduce damage to residual
stands, strict adherence to minimum diameter cutting limits ,recommended 55 cm dbh,,
selection criteria or seed-tree retention, directional elling, and seed collection rom
elled trees or redistribution in logging gaps. Instead o relying on naturally occurring
Crogav et a.
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seedling regeneration, which is rare in natural orests, collected seeds should be planted
at low density in enlarged and treated ,cleaned, treeall gaps to ensure establishment o
the next generation o harestable trees. Planted seedlings will require tending at 1- to
5-year interals through the irst decade, and then again ater 25 - 30 years when today`s
juenile trees ,25 - 55 cm dbh, are harested. A second round o enrichment plantings
should accompany the second harest, and so on through successie 25- to 30-year
rotation periods.
1o improe control oer mahogany`s exploitation across Brazilian Amazonia we
recommend the ollowing: 1, a comprehensie national inentory o logged and unlogged
orests within mahogany`s natural range to assess historical and suriing merchantable
stocks, 2, improement o regulatory control relating to orest management plans,
including georeerenced tracking by satellite o source and transport o unsawn logs,
and 3, encouragement o independent certiication mechanisms that could coner
legitimacy to Brazilian mahogany production.
--
INTRODUCTION
Biglea mahogany ,rietevia vacrob,a King, Meliaceae, is the world`s most
aluable tropical timber species - in 2001, a cubic meter o irst-quality sawn mahogany
was sold or US>1200 at port in Belm ,lOB price,. Mahogany`s extraordinary alue
has ueled intense extraction pressure during recent decades throughout its natural range
in tropical America rom Mexico to Brazil ,Rodan et a. 1992, Verssimo et a. 1995,
Snook 1996, Lugo 1999,. Between 191-1992, an estimated 4 million m
3
,cubic meters,
o sawn mahogany were exported rom Brazil, 5 o this to the United States and
Lngland. 1otal production rom Brazil during this period is estimated at 5. million m
3
o sawn timber
J
, assuming that approximately 1. million m
3
were consumed by the
domestic market. Considering an aerage alue o US>00,m
3
, mahogany generated
approximately US>3.9 billion o reenue during this period.
Mahogany`s enormous commercial importance combined with its ecological
ulnerability hae generated controersy oer its conseration and sustainable use. Basic
to resoling this debate is improed understanding o mahogany`s lie history
characteristics, especially regeneration patterns, throughout its natural range. lor
example, research in Central America and Boliia has shown that mahogany regenerates
ater catastrophic disturbances like hurricanes, ires, and loods ,Steenson 192, Lamb
1966, Gullison & Hubbell 1992, Snook 1993, Gullison et a. 1996,. On the other hand,
recent ield studies in the Brazilian Amazon indicate that regeneration may occur
ollowing smaller-scale disturbances such as natural tree-all gaps in closed orest
,Grogan 2001,.
Industrial exploitation o mahogany was one o the most controersial conseration
issues o the 1990s, principally within context o the Conention on International 1rade
in Lndangered Species ,CI1LS,. Some consumer nations and enironmental groups
supported mahogany`s inclusion on Appendix II o CI1LS as a species whose continued
trade at current leels could threaten it with extinction, a measure which would hae
restricted predatory extraction ,Rodan et a. 1992, NRDC 1994, Bass et a. 1999,. In
opposition, producer nations and logging industry adocates argued that aailable
scientiic inormation was insuicient to proe mahogany`s decline towards extinction.
1hey argued as well that existing trade regulatory mechanisms were adequate to assure
mahogany`s conseration and management ,ligueroa Coln 1994,. Brazil ound itsel
at the center o this debate or being the primary producer nation harboring much o
the last natural populations o mahogany in unlogged primary orests.
In Brazil, mahogany`s exploitation has requently been associated with predatory
and illegal logging practices. 1he Brazilian ederal goernment has attempted to restrict
illegal practices by halting issuance o new management concessions or mahogany since
1996. As well, total annual allowable export olumes hae declined steadily since the
early 1990s. Most recently, in 2001, Ibama, the national enironmental regulatory agency,
1 Equivalent to 12.6 million cubic meters of mahogany in logs considering an average conversion factor of 45% from
log to sawn wood.
Crogav et a.
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suspended all remaining management plans or mahogany ater ield reiews demonstrated
widespread technical inadequacy and raud. Stockpiled mahogany logs harested during
the 2001 dry season were impounded ,Ibama 2001a, b, c,.
As the industrial logging sector approaches the last remaining stands o unlogged
mahogany in primary orests o Brazil, Boliia, and Peru, it is important to accurately
describe mahgoany`s current status and to outline possible strategies or its sustained-
yield management and conseration. 1he objectie o this report is to summarize the
state o current knowledge about the ecology and management o mahogany in
Amazonia. \e reiew the scientiic literature and recent research on mahogany lie
history in natural orests and plantations, irst proiding a descriptie oeriew o
mahogany across its tropical American range and then summarizing aailable inormation
rom the Brazilian Amazon, where most internationally traded natural supplies originate.
\e describe possible natural orest and artiicial management systems deried rom
biological understanding o mahogany lie history, and options or conseration o this
most aluable natural resource and national patrimony. linally, we close by proposing
measures that would improe control o mahogany`s exploitation and commercialization
in Brazil.
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MAHOGANY: GLNLRAL CHARACTLRISTICS
Description
Mahogany is an emergent tree that may grow to enormous stature, attaining stem
diameters as large as 3.5 m with crowns rising as high as 0 m tall ,aeraging 30 - 40 m,
and stretching up to 40 - 50 m across ,\illiams 1932, Lamb 1966, Pennington & Sarukhan
1968,. Solid clean boles may rise 20 - 25 m beore branching and, in Central America,
present deeply urrowed, black bark that oers excellent ire resistance. Buttresses are
common and may reach 5 m aboe the base o the tree ,Lamb 1966, Chudno 199,.
Natural Range
Mahogany`s natural range stretches rom Mexico at 23 N o the equator down the
Central American Atlantic coastal strip into South America, continuing in a broad
southeasterly arc rom Venezuela through the Colombian, Lcuadorian, Peruian,
Boliian, and Brazilian Amazon regions to points as ar south as 18 S ,Lamb 1966,
Pennington et a. 1981, ,ligures 1 & 2,. Its distribution generally corresponds to orests
classiied as tropical dry`, with annual temperature aerages o greater than or equal to
24 C, 1000 - 2000 mm annual preci pi tati on, and a year-round rai nal l -to-
eapotranspiration ratio o 1.0 - 2.0 ,Holdridge 196,. It also grows in humid and
subtropical zones, at eleations ranging rom sea leel in Central America up to 1400 m
in the Andean oothills o Lcuador, Peru, and Boliia, in a wide ariety o soil types -
deried rom alluial, olcanic, metamorphic, and calcareous materials - and soil
conditions - deep, shallow, acid, alkaline, well-drained, and gleyed ,Oliphant 1928,
Steenson 1928, \illiams 1932, Lamb 1966, Negreros-Castillo 1991, Snook 1993,
Gullison et a. 1996,.
Distribution and Density Patterns
Mahogany was earliest known as a rierine species growing along coastal rierways
on the Atlantic seaboard o British Honduras ,now Belize, in Central America ,Swabey
1941, Lamb 1966, \eaer & Sabido 199,. Lamb ,1966, described caoba orest
associations ,caoba being the Spanish word or mahogany, with highest densities o
mahogany on deep, well-drained rier alley soils and moist slopes just aboe them.
Descriptions rom South America emphasize mahogany`s association with rier
loodplains in the upper reaches o the western Amazon Basin. lrom Lcuador, Peru,
Boliia, and Brazil obserers hae described its tendency to grow at highest densities
C
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o
g
a
v

e
t

a
.
-
1
0
-
Figure 1. Mahoganys natural range across Central America. Based on Lamb (1966).
M
a
b
o
g
a
v
,

i
v

t
b
e

.
v
a
o
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-
1
1
-
Figure 2. Mahoganys natural range in South America. Based on Lamb (1966) and on the authors field observations.
Crogav et a.
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on drier, irmer soils slightly aboe seasonally inundated loodplains, where loods occur
inrequently ,\illiams 1932, Hoy 1946, Irmay 1949, Lamb 1966, \hite 198, Gullison
& Hubbell 1992,. Gullison et a. ,1996, ound aggregations o mature trees along rier
courses as well as perched atop steep erosion gullies in loodplain ecosystems o lowland
Boliia.
Non-rierine associations hae also been described. Moing into interluial and
upland ecosystems in Belize, mahogany characteristically occurs at highest densities in
transition zones where dierent egetatie communities grade into each other, on soils
with medium to good drainage. Lxamples include the .eqvear, between saanna and
orest, and botavae.coba palm associations on well-drained soils that are transitional
communities between wooded swamps and upland climax egetation ,Lamb 1966,.
Negreros-Castillo ,1991, reported rom Mexico`s \ucatan Peninsula, where subsurace
water low characterizes an essentially lat landscape ,Snook 1993,, that mahogany grows
in topographical depressions where poorly drained acid soils accumulate, as well as on
well-drained alkaline soils aboe them. In general, drier, more disturbance-prone areas
tend to hae higher stockings than wetter, more stable enironments ,Lamb 1966,.
Mature trees are typically ound scattered through the orest matrix at densities o
less than 1 per hectare. 1hese tend to grow in aggregations o seeral tens to hundreds
o trees, oten with expanses o empty orest separating aggregations. Highest
densities hae been reported rom Central America: in the Petn district o northern
Guatemala densities o 12 trees,ha were once ound oer large areas. Limited areas
with extremely high densities - 55 to 0 trees per hectare - hae been described in
Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico ,Lamb 1966,. Gullison et a. ,1996,,
working in the loodplains o lowland Boliia, reported that mahogany occurs in orest
areas up to seeral hundred hectares in size, with 0.1 - 0.2 merchantable ,larger than 80
cm dbh, trees,ha and comparable densities o sub-merchantable stems. Outside these
areas mahogany may not reappear or distances up to 10 km. On similar landscapes,
Queedo ,1986, and Saa et a. ,1996, recorded similar distribution patterns, with
densities up to mahogany trees,ha within aggregations separated by 300 m or more
o uncolonized orest.
Regeneration and Growth
Commonly classiied as a pioneer, large-gap, or late secondary tree species ,.ev.v
Budowski 1965, Denslow 198, Swaine & \hitmore 1988,, mahogany regenerates in
orest gaps ollowing canopy disturbance. \inged seeds are produced in woody capsules
held aboe the crown, with up to 600 ruit capsules and 30,000 seeds produced by
indiidual trees in a single year ,Pennington et a. 1981, Gullison et a. 1996, ,ligures 3
& 4,. Most seeds disperse within 80 m o parent trees during the late dry season ,Gullison
-13-
Figure 3. Mahogany fruit capsules.
et a . 1996,. Seed ger mi nati on occurs
rapidly in the orest understory ater the
onset o wet season rains ,Morris et a.
2000,, with delayed germination in the drier
eni r onment s o open gaps a t er
disturbance ,Grogan 2001,. Seedlings and
sapl i ngs ,li gures 5 & 6, are strongl y
heliotrophic, requiring high light leels
associated with oerhead canopy openings
or prol onged rapi d ert i cal growt h
,Steenson 192, Lamb 1966, Gullison &
Hubbell 1992, Gullison et a. 1996, Grogan
2001,. Aerage diameter increment rates
reported or trees larger than 10 cm dbh
in natural orests range rom 0.26 - 1.09
cm,yr, with indiidual trees capable o
annual diameter growth exceeding 2 cm,
yr oer two to seeral years ,A. Lamb 1945
in Lamb 1966, Snook 1993, Gullison et a.
1996, Grogan 2001,.
Figure 4. Mahogany seeds.
Disturbance scenarios known to a-
or mahogany include hurricanes, ires,
loods, agricultural clearings, abandoned
loading yards and roadsides associated
with timber extraction, and treeall gaps
,\olsohn 1961, Lamb 1966, Snook 1993,
Gullison et a. 1996, Grogan 2001,. Lamb
,1966, noted that l i ght condi ti ons i n
hurricane-damaged orests were suitable
or mahogany regeneration, and concluded
that seedlings growing igorously ater the
1942 hurricane in Belize began as adance
regeneration. In Quintana Roo, Mexico,
Snook ,1993, documented si ze cl ass
requency di stri buti ons o mahogany
stands ranging rom 15 - 5 years old.
1hese indicated regeneration associated
wi th hurri cane and i re di sturbances
occur r i ng acr oss l ar ge ar eas, wi t h
dierential growth rates spreading pulsed
Crogav et a.
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Figure 5. Mahogany seedling.
Figure 6. Flushing mahogany sapling.
-15-
recruitment through contiguous 10-cm size classes oer time. Gullison et a. ,1996,
described population structures o trees larger than 60 cm dbh in Boliia as unimodal,
suggesting single-aged cohorts established ater large-scale disturbance eents which
dierences in growth rates had spread through a range o size classes. 1hey attributed
een-aged population structures to regeneration opportunities pulsed at long interals
between landscape-scale looding eents, which open growing space at large spatial scales
through oerstory mortality. As well, large stems growing aboe erosion gullies on
high terraces suggested that a single massie disturbance eent in the distant past was
responsible or a single cohort o adult trees.
Management and Silviculture
Regeneration failures
Regeneration ailure by mahogany ollowing logging has been reported in the
literature ,Steenson 192, Lamb 1966, Queedo 1986, Snook 1993, Verssimo et a.
1995, Gullison et a. 1996, Saa et a. 1996, Dickenson & \higham 1999, Grogan et a. in
press, and oered as eidence that low-impact logging practices ,Gullison & Hardner
1993, \hitman et a. 199, lead to mahogany`s local and regional extirpation ,Snook
1996,. Based on these indings, Snook ,1993, recommended silicultural treatments or
mahogany mimicking regeneration conditions ollowing catastrophic disturbances:
creation o large clearings with remoal o adance regeneration, accompanied by soil
scariication, remoal o secondary egetation ,or example, through controlled burning
or cleaning,, and retention o seed trees. lrom similar indings, Gullison et a. ,1996,
recommended retenti on o l arge seed trees i n areas appropri ate or seedl i ng
regeneration, adjustment o harest schedules to a monocyclic system with rotations o
100 or more years ,considering obsered mean annual diameter increments,, and
inclusion o secondary species in harest plans to improe inancial iability.
Silviculture based on natural regeneration
Larliest silicultural experiments with mahogany were implemented by the British
Honduran lorest Department in the 1920s. Shelterwood systems opening growing space
at ground leel with partial retention o oerhead canopies successully established
abundant seedling regeneration, but growth rates were slowed by high shade. As well,
many stems reed by cleaning rom competing egetation and ines were attacked by
the mahogany shootborer ,,.i,a gravaea, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae,, a nocturnal moth
whose laral instars eed on the growing apical leader, disabling it and destroying growth
orm ,Steenson 192, Lamb 1966, see also Negreros-Castillo & Mize 1993, Negreros-
Castillo & Hall 1996,. Because o the shootborer`s impact in open growing conditions,
enrichment eorts turned to secondary egetation on abandoned agricultural land.
Crogav et a.
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Agroforestry systems
In tavgv,a systems, mahogany was planted at regular spacing among ood crops
like corn ater orest elling and burning. 1hese systems returned promising short-term
height and diameter growth ,Lamb 1966,. Lxperimental enrichment plantings in moist
secondary orests near Veracruz, Mexico indicated that seedling height growth correlates
positiely with degree o canopy opening ,Ramos & del Amo 1992,. Howeer,
plantation management o mahogany in the American tropics has proen largely
unsuccessul because o the shootborer, which repeatedly inests high-density stands,
damaging growing stems and reducing timber alue ,Newton et a. 1993, Mayhew &
Newton 1998,. Many authors hae obsered that planting at low densities in secondary
egetation reduces shootborer attack rates ,Steenson 192, Swabey 1941, Marie 1949,
Brienza 1980, \ared & Carpanezzi 1981, Olieira 2000,.
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MAHOGANY IN THL BRAZILIAN AMAZON
Natural Range
In Brazil, mahogany occurs in natural orests coering an estimated 1.5 million
km
2
along the southern and southeastern rim o legal Amazonia. Its range extends as
ar north and east as the 1ransamazon Highway ,BR-230, at Altamira and the 1ocantins
Rier alley east o Maraba. lrom these limits mahogany occurs in a broad southwesterly
swath across northwest 1ocantins, south Para, north Mato Grosso, southeast Amazo-
nas, and most o Rondonia and Acre ,Lamb 1966, Contente de Barros et a. 1992,.
Regions o highest landscape-scale density beore the onset o industrial logging in the
early 190s were southeast Para between the Xingu Rier and orest-cerrado transition
zones along the PA-150 rom Xinguara to Redenao, and across northern and central
Rondonia. In southeast Para densities approached 3 trees,ha larger than 10 cm dbh
within local areas beore logging ,Verssimo et a. 1995, Baima 2001, Grogan 2001,
Jennings & Brown 2001,. Outside these regions densities are ,or were, beore logging,
much lower, on the order o 1 tree in 5 to 20 hectares.
Brief History of Lxtraction
Little is known about the history o mahogany`s extraction in the alluial lowlands
o western Amazonia. Commercial exploitation along Peruian tributaries o the
Solimoes Rier had begun by the irst decade o this century, and accelerated to indus-
trial scales by the 1920s with the construction o sawmills in Iquitos ,Hoy 1946, Lamb
1966,. Diicult access to terra firve orests limited early logging to the icinity o larger
riers, with trees elled and rolled or dragged to the nearest lowing water or loating
downstream or processing.
Acre
Mahogany`s exploitation in Acre occurred in two phases. lirst, in the 1930s and
40s, logging was concentrated along the margins o major western riers - or example,
the Jurua, 1arauaca, Lnira, and Purus Riers. During this phase, rierside trees were
elled and loated out in timber rats or processing in Manaus and Belm. 1he second
phase began in the late 190s in the eastern portion o the state with the inlux o
immigrants arriing by the improed Porto Velho landbridge. Mahogany logged and
processed in the eastern portion o the state was consumed locally or exported oerland
to the port o Paranagua ,Parana, and Sao Paulo.
Crogav et a.
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Par and Mato Grosso
By the early 1940s mahogany was known to grow in orests as ar east as the
1ocantins Rier ,lroes 1944, Lamb 1966,, but exploitation in the state o Para was
delayed by access and transport diiculties. Construction o the Belm-Braslia and
1ransamazon highways in the mid 1960s opened this region to a broad spectrum o
socioeconomic interests, including the logging industry. 1he irst wae o mahogany
exploitation occurred along the Araguaia Rier and its tributaries. By the early 190s
these supplies had been exhausted and the mahogany rontier shited west to orests
adjacent to the new state highway ,PA-150,. As commercial stocks were liquidated
through the late 190s and early 1980s the logging rontier shited again west along the
unpaed PA-29 towards Sao lelix do Xingu on the Xingu Rier ,Schmink & \ood
1992, Verssimo et a. 1995,.
1hrough the 1980s the mahogany-rich south- and northeast corners o Para and
Mato Grosso were parceled up by independent and industrial-scale loggers exploiting
untitled ederal orests ,terra aerovta, and Indigenous Areas through a ariety o access
arrangements, both legal and illegal, by both consent and coercion. New areas rich in
mahogany were located by spotters criss-crossing the landscape in small planes. 1he
rontier moed steadily west on a broad north-south ront, crossing the Xingu Rier,
remoing commercial stands o mahogany rom there west to the Iriri Rier, and then,
in recent years, beyond into southwest Para ,the region surrounding Noo Progresso
along the unpaed Cuiaba-Santarem highway, and southeast Amazonas. 1hroughout
this period mahogany`s remoal continued within the Middle Land between the Iriri
and Xingu Riers, as loggers returned in search o trees deemed inaccessible or sub-
merchantable during the irst wae o extraction. In many cases this second cut remoed
trees smaller than 45 cm dbh ,Greenpeace 2001,.
Rondnia
Mahogany exports rom Para were matched in the early 1980s by a spectacular
boom rom Rondonia, where colonization projects along the southern 1ransamazon
highway, the BR-364, proided access to ast tracts o mahogany orests within a ew
short years. Until 1980 mahogany stumpage had been purchased piecemeal by
independent loggers rom agriculturists holding 100-ha parcels o land. An export
subsidy program underwritten by the Brazilian linance Ministry ueled a mahogany
rush by large-scale exporting companies on ter ra aerovta and in protected and
Indigenous Areas rom 1980-1985, during which Rondonia`s commercial stocks o
mahogany were essentially liquidated ,Browder 1986, 198, CLDI 1992,.
-19-
Distribution Patterns
Mahogany`s distribution within Brazil roughly correlates with terra firve orests on
undulating terrain o the Brazilian Shield and the upper reaches o the western alluial
basin. In southeast Para, three distribution patterns occurred beore logging: 1, along
the margins o aseasonal riers lowing east and west towards the Araguaia and Xingu
Riers, respectiely, 2, along or near seasonal streams on gently undulating landscape
between aseasonal riers, and 3, on rocky slopes to the tops o isolated inselberg
mountains or mountain ranges ,Grogan 2001,.
Mahogany was common in Xingu Rier Basin liana orests ,Pires & Prance 1985,.
Moing west o the Xingu and Iriri Riers across Para into steeper terrain receiing
higher annual rainall, mahogany occurs at lower densities in larger-statured, more species-
rich orests. No clear physiographic associations hae been described or this region,
nor or Rondonia, where mahogany reportedly occurred at high densities on rich terra
roa soils ,alisols,. Moing urther west into Acre, mahogany occurs at low densities
along the margins o aseasonal riers draining the Andean highlands o Peru and Boliia,
and on the highly dissected landscape between riers. Densities all approaching the
state`s western region where annual rainall totals rise, and on relatiely lat landscape
characterizing the state`s eastern margins.
Mahogany`s strong correlation with low ground adjacent to seasonal streams in
southeast Para has been attributed to 1, increased disturbance requencies associated
with alternating excess and deicit water cycles on low ground through wet and dry
seasons, and 2, optimal seedling growth rates in nutrient-enriched low-ground soils
compared to nutrient-impoerished soils on high ground ,Grogan 2001,.
Demography and Growth
On the seasonally dry landscape o southeast Para ,distribution type 2 described
aboe,, size class requency distributions o trees larger than 10 cm dbh coupled with
spatial, growth, and mortality data indicate that recruitment o new indiiduals occurs
within local aggregations o adult trees at shorter time interals and at smaller spatial
scales than predicted by research rom Central America and Boliia ,Grogan 2001, see
Snook 1993, Gullison et a. 1996,. Catastrophic disturbances such as hurricanes and
loods hae not been documented rom mahogany`s Brazilian range, though a growing
body o eidence suggests that region-wide ires may be associated with mega-Ll Nino
Southern Oscillation eents occurring at centuries-wide interals ,Meggers 1994,.
Size class requency distributions o trees larger than 10 cm dbh within this region
indicate that trees smaller than 55 cm dbh may represent up to 50 o total stems
Crogav et a.
-20-
beore selectie logging ,ligure ,. 1hat is, substantial numbers o sub-merchantable
trees may surie in standing logged orests. \ith appropriate silicultural treatments,
these trees could represent a uture second cut. Howeer, most orests logged or
mahogany in this region hae been conerted to pasture ,ligure 8,, agriculture, or
subjected to uncontrolled burns ,Grogan 2001,.
#

o
f

t
r
e
e
s
diameter
Figure 7. Size-class frequency distribution for mahogany stems larger than 20 cm dbh
in 1035 hectares in south Par. (Source: Grogan 2001)
Figure 8. Overhead view of south Par landscape showing seasonal drainage courses
where mahogany occurred at highest densities.
-21-
Commonly thought to be absent in closed orest, these small trees are requently
missed by woodsmen ,vateiro., exploring primary orest or mahogany because search
images o bark and crowns dier greatly or small ,sub-merchantable, and large trees
,Grogan 2001,. In regions where mahogany`s landscape-scale densities decline ,southwest
Para, southeast Amazonas, Acre,, reports that small size classes are rare or absent rom
populations must be iewed with caution, considering how diicult small trees are to
locate in highly dierse, tall closed orest. Just because only large trees are being ound
and harested does not necessarily mean that these represent single-aged cohorts
recruiting episodically ater large-scale catastrophic disturbances as documented in
Mexico and Boliia by Snook ,1993, and Gullison et a. ,1996,.
Reproduction and Regeneration
Rates and annual patterns o ruit production at indiidual tree and population
leels are poorly understood. In southeast Para, ecundity rises as a unction o stem
diameter, as reported rom Boliia by Gullison et a. ,1996, and Mexico by Camara &
Snook ,1998,. Howeer, ruit production rates are highly idiosyncratic - not all large
trees produce abundant ruit crops, some small trees are among the most ecund
indiiduals, and inter-annual production aries widely at both indiidual and population
leels. lor these reasons, rates o seed aailability or dispersal are highly unpredictable
at a gien tree o any size in any gien year ,Grogan 2001,.
Seed dispersal and germination
Prealent dry season winds blow east to west across southeast Para, and most seeds
disperse within 100 m to the west o parent trees beore the onset o wet season rains.
Between 60 - 0 o seeds are iable at the time o dispersal. Seed surial on the
ground until germination depends on length o time beore the onset o wet season
rains and the temporal pattern o early season rainall ,Grogan 2001,. \hile up to 50
o seeds in experimental plots may be lost to animal and insect predators and to ungal
pathogens, systematic oraging patterns and or losses were rare in lightly logged orest
compared to predation rates by spiny rats ,Proecbiv,. spp., reported rom heaily logged
orests ,Clements 2000, Grogan 2001, Jennings & Brown 2001,.
Germination rates by suriing seeds are astest in shaded, moist orest understory
conditions ,Morris et a. 2000,. Delayed germination in gaps where daily sun exposure
dries lea litter and seeds ater early wet season rains means that exposure to predators
and pathogens is prolonged, increasing seed mortality rates ,Grogan 2001,.
Growth by juveniles and adult trees
Ater germination, most seedling mortality is attributable to orest pathogens, insect
Crogav et a.
-22-
predators, alling debris, and dry season moisture stress. Seedlings may establish at
densities aeraging 1 per m
2
within 50 m radius o parent trees producing heay ruit
crops ,Grogan 2001,. 1hough seedlings establishing in the orest understory grow little,
rare indiiduals may surie many years in understory shade ,ligure 9, ,Gullison &
Hubbell 1992,. Howeer, ater one to two years o suppression, these seedlings may
lose their ability to rapidly accelerate ertical growth rates ollowing oerhead canopy
disturbances which eleate ground-leel light aailability ,Grogan 2001,.
Figure 9. Survivorship by naturally established seedlings around eight parent trees in south Par
between 1995-2000. Each line represents seedlings associated with a single tree. (Source:
Grogan 2001)
Vigorous early seedling growth requires higher light leels than are aailable under
aerage orest understory conditions. Saplings taller than 50 cm height and poles 5 - 10
cm dbh are rare in primary orest, occurring only in large or small canopy gaps within
dispersal distance o parent trees. In ideal growing conditions in canopy gaps with ine-
textured, well-draining, nutrient-rich soils, annual seedling and sapling growth rates
exceeding 3.5 m height and 3 cm dbh hae been recorded ,Lopes et a. 2000, Grogan
2001,.
In southeast Para, early growth rates correlate positiely with soil nutrient status.
Lxperimental studies hae shown seedling growth rates in low-ground hydromorphic
soils where adult trees cluster to exceed growth rates in high-ground dystrophic soils
s
u
r
v
i
v
a
l

(
%
)
months

-23-
where adults are rare. 1his indicates that enriched soil nutrient status in low-ground
soils may inluence recruitment rates along with light enironment and leel o
competition. Indeed, zones o high-nutrient soils within the seasonally dry landscape
are thought to harbor merchantable trees at highest densities, especially slightly eleated
areas surrounding irst-order streambeds where aboeground streamlow originates ,ca
beceira.,. As soil ertility declines moing away rom streambeds, the scale and intensity
o canopy disturbance required or successul recruitment by mahogany likely increases
,Grogan 2001,. 1hese results echo obserations rom the lower Araguaia Rier basin
by Sombroek & Sampaio ,1962,, who reported that mahogany occurred most commonly
in areas with poor drainage ,low ground, on yellow podzols ,ultisols, with high base
saturation and exchangeable bases ,primary nutrients,.
Recent ield studies per mit preliminary projections o mahogany`s long-term
deelopment patterns. Diameter increment data rom southeast Para or trees larger
than 10 cm dbh demonstrate aerage population-wide growth rates ranging rom 0.49
- 0.9 cm,year among our study sites ,ligure 10,. Potential or optimal growth rates
represented by mean alues or the ast-growing quartile by 10-cm size class exceeded
1 cm,year or nearly all size classes below 0 cm dbh at all sites, indicating that
merchantable trees 55 cm dbh may require 50 to 60 years to attain that size ,Grogan
2001,.
Figure 10. Annual diameter growth by 214 trees by diameter size class at one site in south
Par, 1996-1999. Error bars indicate one standard error. (Source: Grogan 2001)
i
n
c
r
e
m
e
n
t

(
c
m
/
y
r
)
diameter
Crogav et a.
-24-
Post-Logging Regeneration
Mahogany saplings and poles tend to occur in logged orest where canopy
disturbance is widespread, along skidtrails and access roads, and around the perimeters
o persistent ponding water where logging roads impede drainage. Howeer, Verssimo
et a. ,1995, ound mahogany seedlings in only 30 o 69 plots placed in gaps created
by mahogany`s extraction at our sites in southeast Para, and none o these appeared to
be growing igorously. Grogan et a. ,in press, ound seedling and sapling regeneration
in 65 o 40 treeall gaps opened by mahogany`s remoal in sureys conducted two to
three years ater logging. lour o these gaps accounted or 55 o all indiiduals tallied,
while the remaining 22 gaps with regeneration aeraged only 2.6 seedlings and saplings
in area aeraging 535 m
2
per sampled gap. Secondary egetation was illing all gaps,
and most mahogany regeneration appeared to be suppressed by shade cast by taller
woody competition. Jennings & Brown ,2001, reported scarce or absent seedling, sapling,
and pole regeneration at two sites in southeast Para 8 - 13 years ater logging.
1he basic acts o mahogany lie history help explain why regeneration is rare or
absent ater logging in southeast Para and in regions outside Brazil ,Steenson 192,
Lamb 1966, Queedo 1986, Snook 1993, Gullison et a. 1996, Grogan et a. in press,.
Low stocking or the absence o saplings and poles within aggregations o adult trees in
primary orest indicates that conditions necessary or recruitment - abundant seeds,
high light leels, aailable soil nutrients, and reduced aboe- and belowground
competition - occur rarely, whether at interals seeral years to many decades apart, or
at spatial scales rom hundreds o square meters to hundreds o hectares in extent.
1reeall gaps created by mahogany`s extraction may not proide necessary conditions
or sustained growth by seedlings, either because the gaps are too small ,Snook 1993,
Gullison et a. 1996, or because they are opened at sites where growing conditions are
not ideal. 1he likelihood that seeds are abundantly aailable in logging gaps is reduced
by the act that ew trees produce large seed crops in any gien year, indeed, some large
trees rarely produce ruit at all. Since trees smaller than the legal minimum diameter
cutting limit o 45 cm dbh are commonly logged rom primary orests, low ecundity
by young adult trees guarantees that ew seeds will be aailable or their potential
replacement ,Grogan 2001,.
Current logging practices dictate that most trees are elled in the late rainy season
or early dry season, beore seeds disperse ,Verssimo et a. 1995,. \here logging occurs
beore seeds disperse, seedlings established in the orest understory during the years
preious to extraction will be in short supply due to high mortality rates in understory
shade. Growth response ability by preious years` seedling suriors to suddenly
eleated light leels in treeall gaps may be compromised by prolonged suppression in
understory shade. \here logging occurs ater seed dispersal, increased seed mortality
rates can be expected in gaps compared to the orest understory due to delayed
germination ,Grogan 2001,.
-25-
linally, many tree crowns are elled away rom the zone o highest seed and seedling
density west o parent trees, leaing most potential regeneration in understory shade.
Collateral damage to seedling crops caused by alling trees and logging equipment may
urther reduce seedling numbers.
Low rates o post-logging regeneration documented years ater extraction are
thereore not surprising when we examine the many actors limiting seedling
establishment at a gien tree in a gien year. Successul regeneration and recruitment
ollowing logging will require two types o silicultural interentions: irst, seed dispersal
,or seedling, i outplanting, to appropriate growing sites, and second, tending operations
in subsequent years to maintain growth rates as canopy gaps close. 1hese treatments
will be discussed below in the section on management practices.
Lnrichment Planting in Natural Iorests and Plantations
Lnrichment plantings o mahogany in secondary or logged orest in Brazil hae
seen mixed results. At Belterra near Santarm, Para, \ared & Carpanezzi ,1981, reported
high seedling suriorship and growth rates our years ater outplanting at 4 to 6 m
spacing into logged orest where all trees smaller than 25 cm dbh had been cut. No
shootborer attacks were obsered, attributed to protection aorded growing mahogany
seedlings by secondary egetation. Brienza ,1980, also documented shootborer attack
rates o 0 on seedlings planted into secondary egetation, compared to 54 in open
ields near Capitao Poo, Para. In a tavgv,a system in the 1apajs region, Brienza et a.
,1983, recorded 82 shootborer attack rates ater two years. In Acre, Olieira ,1996,
2000, planted mahogany into logging gaps and skidtrails ater clearing by chainsaw.
Declining shootborer attack rates oer time were attributed to increasing protection
proided mahogany seedlings by regenerating secondary egetation. Lxtensie line
plantings in logged orests in southeast Para returned poor results due to inadequate
light aailability in partial oerstory shade ,Verssimo et a. 1995,.
Plantation management in southeast Para, where thousands o hectares o mahogany
hae been planted in pure stands since the early 1990s, has been unsuccessul due to
shootborer inestation, ire, and poor site selection on a landscape where mahogany
grows poorly on high ground characterized by nutrient-impoerished soil ,Grogan 2001,.
Lxperimental plantations hae been established in east Para, north o mahogany`s natu-
ral range in the Brazilian Amazon, examining resistance o mahogany seedlings rom
dierent regions in Brazil to the mahogany shootborer. As well, protection oered to
mahogany seedlings by closely related exotic species ,1oova ciiata or Australian cedro,
that are toxic to the shootborer is being tested, and protection rom the shootborer
when mahogany is planted at wide spacing in mixed-species systems ,A. 1erezzo, er.ova
covvvvicatiov, see Costa et a. 2000, Ohashi et a. 2000,. Anecdotal reports indicate early
success intercropping mahogany in high-input ,ertilizer, black pepper plantations near
Paragominas, Para.
Crogav et a.
-26-
MANAGLMLNT AND CONSLRVATION OI MAHOGANY
IN THL BRAZILIAN AMAZON
In this section we ocus on technical aspects o mahogany`s management and
conseration in Amazonia. It is important to emphasize that successul management
and conseration will require market pressure ,or example, demand or certiied wood,
and rigorous control mechanisms. In the absence o eicient control, mahogany`s
extraordinary alue - determined by international demand - has only encouraged short-
term proit-taking. Here we discuss the history o and possibilities or control o
mahogany`s exploitation.
Remaining Commercial Stocks
In order to design eectie conseration and management strategies or mahogany
it is essential to assess remaining natural stocks. 1he Brazilian goernment conened a
\orking Group on Mahogany in 1998 at which a national inentory to ealuate
commercial stocks was approed. Howeer, this initiatie has yet to be realized, and
inormation regarding aailable stocks remains scarce and unreliable.
It is diicult to quantitatiely assess the status o remaining Brazilian mahogany
stocks or seeral reasons. lirst, mahogany`s ast range across remote stretches o the
Amazon Basin make region-wide inentories logistically challenging and costly. Second,
scant inormation about historical distribution and density patterns combined with
unreliable inormation rom the logging industry about olumes extracted rom any
gien locale or region means that no basis exists or comparing logged olumes with
historical stocks to estimate remaining supplies. 1hird, changes in land-use ollowing
mahogany`s extraction - or example, orest conersion to pasture and agriculture, or
orest degradation by periodic dry season ires ,see Cochrane et al. 1999, Nepstad et al.
1999, - occur at scales too large and ariable to accurately quantiy. linally, little is
known about how suriing trees ,usually smaller than 40 cm dbh, and potential
regeneration ,seedlings and saplings established beore or ater logging, are in logged-
oer orests.
Contente de Barros et a. ,1992, attempted to quantiy remaining harestable
olumes o naturally occurring mahogany in Brazil. 1hey estimated that 16 - 21 million
m
3
o commercial stocks remained in 500,000 km
2
o orests outside Indigenous and
other protected areas. 1his stock, according to the authors, is suicient to proide
500,000 m
3
per year oer a period o 32 - 42 years. 1hey estimated as well that an
additional 13. million m
3
o mahogany remained in approximately 340,000 km
2
within
Indigenous and protected areas.
1hough an important contribution, this unpublished report suered serious
methodological laws. Its conclusions were based on data sources that were out o date
at the time o writing. In act, a signiicant portion o orests within mahogany`s natural
-2-
range had been subjected to predatory logging, ire, and or conersion to other uses,
principally pasture, by 1992. Another problem with this report is that inentory data
sources, including Radambrasil, were not suited to region-wide extrapolation or were
not comparable due to dierences in objecties and methods. linally, mahogany
populations occurring within Indigenous Areas and conseration areas hae not escaped
loggers` attentions. Lxcept in remote pockets o orest within Indigenous Areas,
commercial stands o merchantable mahgoany will not persist many years longer in south
Para. Indeed, the current second wae o extraction within the so-called Middle Land
between the Xingu and Iriri Riers is remoing nearly all suriing accessible trees larger
than 45 cm dbh.
1he rontier or mahogany extraction is presently centered in southwest Para along
the Cuiaba-Santarm highway and in southeast Amazonas. Ater these stocks hae been
exhausted, the inal rontier or mahogany in Brazilian Amazonia will be in the western
state o Acre. In order to accelerate the inentory process, it is important that alternatie
methods or identiying intact and logged populations be deeloped. lor example, it is
probable that logging companies specializing in mahogany already possess empirical
inentories delineating areas o occurrence and remaining stocks. During the exploration
phase, these companies conduct aerial sureys rom small planes oer unlogged orests,
identiying mahogany trees by their shiny leaes and by their irregular crown outlines
generally occurring on low ground. 1his expertise could be incorporated into rapid
inentories at regional scales. Satellite images could be used to map logging roads and
loading patios to indicate areas already exploited. More detailed inentories could be
conducted within regions where remaining stocks are concentrated.
Management of Mahogany in Primary Iorests
In this section we present recommendations or managing mahogany in natural
orests. Beore doing so, howeer, it is important to point out that management plans
or mahogany could encounter legal problems associated with Permanent Preseration
Areas ,PPAs, as designated by the Brazilian lorest Code. Most merchantable mahogany
trees occur along the margins o riers and seasonal streams deined as PPAs. 1hese
areas were originally excluded rom production actiities except those beneitting the
public interest. 1he current Proisional Measure ,Meaiaa Prori.ria, regulating the lorest
Code`s implementation states that egetation within PPAs can be exploited under certain
circumstances. Management actiities are possible within PPAs when such use coneys
beneits to broad social interests and utilization is eentually discontinued, with minimal
impact on egetation ,article 4, paragraph 3 o Proisional Measure 2166-6, August
2001,. Len so, regulations speciying management practices within PPAs hae not yet
been ormally enacted. In the meantime, the lack o clear guidelines to production
actiities within PPAs and the limited number o cases inoling interpretation o the
current Proisional Measure could complicate management o mahogany in natural
orests. \e suggest that technical recommendations presented below could sere as a
reerence or uture regulations speciying management practices or this species.
Crogav et a.
-28-
1he basic premise underlying sustained-yield orest management is that harested
timber olumes must be replaced during the length o the cutting cycle by growth o
sub-merchantable trees - those too small to remoe at the time o irst harest - and
by recruitment into pole and sub-merchantable size classes o new indiiduals rom
seeds and seedlings, whether naturally or artiicially occurring ,that is, through enrichment
planting,. Management recommendations presented here are deried rom ield studies
conducted in south Para and Acre since 1995 ,see Grogan 2001, Baima 2001,. As
discussed preiously, remaining orests with intact mahogany populations are located
principally in Acre and in restricted areas within southeast Amazonas and southwest
Para. Management o these remaining stocks will require careul extraction o mature
trees combined with silicultural treatments to stimulate growth by sub-merchantable
trees and seedling regeneration as summarized in 1able 1.
Target population
of treatments
Trees
> SS cm dbh:
1
st
harvest
Trees
> 2S cm dbh:
2
nd
harvest
Seedlings:
3
rd
harvest
Seedlings:
+
th
harvest
Year of
intervention
0
0
0
~ 1, 3, 6, 10, 30
~ 30 ...
Treatments
- Plan logging.
- Respect minimum diameter
cutting limit.
- Select seed trees and collect
seeds.
- Cut vines from sub-merchantable
mahogany trees.
- Thin competing crowns.
- Establish artificial regeneration
through enrichment plantings in
logging gaps.
- Accelerate growth by natural
regeneration in logging gaps.
- Clean around planted
regeneration, cut vines.
- Establish artificial regeneration
through enrichment plantings in
logging gaps.
- Clean around planted
Time until harvest
relative to year
zero
{years)
0
~ 30
~ 60
~ 90
Table 1. Management procedures for mahogany and projected harvest lengths.
-29-
Procedures for harvesting merchantable trees (J
st
harvest)
7h. nunug.n.n: jIun. Planned extraction should include mapping o all
merchantable trees and pre-harest design o road and skidding networks, reducing
costs and damage inlicted on orest structure ,that is, through reduction in orest area
opened by roads, eliminating unnecessary orest clearings, reducing the number o injured
or killed juenile trees, and minimizing damage to surace drainage systems,. As well,
reduced orest canopy opening lowers the risk o post-harest orest ires ,Holdsworth
& Uhl 1998,.
1.oj..: n1n1nun d1un.:.r .u::1ng I1n1:o und o..d :r.. o.I..:1on .r1:.r1u.
Only trees larger than 55 cm dbh should be harested. Small trees should be retained
to grow to merchantable size or remoal during the second cut. Large hollow
unmerchantable mahogany trees may be perectly healthy otherwise and capable o
producing high-quality seeds. Because landscape-scale densities are low in Acre
compared to southeast Para, seed trees may need to be retained in groups to maintain
reproductie capacity. Complete remoal o merchantable mahogany outside groups
o trees designated or retention should be considered, coupled with enrichment plantings
detailed below. Seed trees should be retained as sources or seed collection and re-
distribution across management areas, not or purposes o natural regeneration through
dispersal. 1his is because the seed shadow downwind o any gien tree is small relatie
to the total area requiring seeds ater logging.
11r..:1onuI 1.II1ng und o..d .oII..:1on. \here possible, trees should be elled
directionally to open canopy gaps where seeds and seedlings are most likely to occur
naturally, that is, in the direction o preailing dry season winds. I elling occurs beore
seed dispersal, undehisced ruit should be remoed rom crowns or seed collection.
Treatments for sub-merchantable trees (2
nd
harvest)
7h1nn1ng .onj.:1ng .rovno und +1n.-.u::1ng. At the time o irst harest ,year
0 in 1able 1,, ines and neighboring tree crowns competing or canopy space with sub-
merchantable mahogany trees ,those 25 - 55 cm dbh, should be cut and thinned.
Preliminary results rom south Para indicate that suppressed trees are capable o
accelerating diameter increments in response to canopy thinning operations within two
years ater treatment ,Grogan, unpublished data,. 1hese trees can be harested
approximately 30 years ollowing the irst cut.
Crogav et a.
-30-
Treatments for establishing the 3
rd
harvest
1hese treatments are designed to establish mahogany regeneration representing
the third cutting cycle, approximately 60 years ater the irst harest. At the time o
irst harest the ollowing treatments should be implemented:
Cj.n1ng .I.ur1ngo 1or nu:uruI r.g.n.ru:1on. Canopy gaps should be opened
downwind o logged and suriing mahogany trees where seeds are likely to disperse.
Prior knowledge o ruiting rates and patterns by indiidual trees could indicate trees
with highest ecundity or treatments, or, gaps could be opened whereer trees are
conirmed to ruit heaily.
1nr1.hn.n: jIun:1ng. Seeds ,or seedlings, should be planted directly into artii-
cial gaps opened where site quality increases the likelihood o sustained growth and
recruitment. 1hese could be in cabeceira., or along the banks o higher-ordered seasonal
streams where adance regeneration is not dense with ines, bamboo, or babau ,.ttaea
.ecio.a, Palmae,. Planting densities should be low to aoid build-up o resident
shootborer populations, or protection rom the shootborer, seedlings should grow
within a matrix o secondary egetation. Site preparation should include soil scariication
and burning within gaps to enrich soils and reduce aboe- and belowground competition
,Grogan 2001,. Burns should be strictly monitored to aoid escaped orest ires.
51I+1.uI:uruI :r.u:n.n:o. Periodic silicultural treatments will be necessary during
the irst 10 years ollowing outplanting. 1he precise sequence o tending operations
,principally cleaning around growing saplings and poles and occasional gap enlargement,
will depend on local site conditions and should be determined experimentally. \e
anticipate tending operations 1, 3, 6, and possibly 10 years ollowing establishment.
At the time o the second cut approximately 30 years ollowing the irst harest,
indiiduals established through enrichment plantings in year 0 will likely require tending
operations to stimulate growth rates. In this case, thinning operations and ine cutting
are equialent to those described aboe or sub-merchantable trees. Harest o this
generation o trees should occur approximately 30 years ater tending during the second
cut, or 60 years ater the irst cut.
Management of Mahogany in Logged Iorests
Unlogged commercial stands o mahogany are rare east o the Iriri Rier in
southeast Para, whether on terra aerovta, within Indigenous Areas, or within nominally
protected areas. Mahogany`s extraction across this ast region since the early 190s was
essentially a mining operation, remoing all trees o commercial alue ,Verssimo et a.
1995,. A second wae o extraction targeting lesser-alue species beginning in the 1990s
remoed most suriing merchantable mahogany trees.
-31-
lorests logged during the irst wae o mahogany extraction should retain sub-
merchantable trees at densities suicient to consider silicultural interentions ,Baima
2001, Grogan 2001, Jennings & Brown 2001,. Management options outlined here
consider suriing mahogany populations where orests hae been logged only once.
1hese practices include treatments aoring second- and third-rotation trees.
Treatments for sub-merchantable trees (2
nd
harvest)
7h1nn1ng .onj.:1ng .rovno und +1n.-.u::1ng. 1hese treatments should ree
mahogany trees o intermediate size ,25 - 55 cm dbh, rom competition by neighboring
crowns and ines, as described in 1able 1. 1his stock could be harested approximately
30 years ollowing treatment.
Treatments for establishing the 3
rd
harvest
1reatments described or natural orests are appropriate or establishing trees to
be harested during the third cutting cycle. Howeer, in regions where mahogany has
already been logged once, enrichment planting should occur in logging gaps created by
extraction o secondary timber species and by remoal o intermediate sized suriing
mahogany trees with low growth potential ,or example, with damaged crowns,. Remoal
o secondary species seres the dual purpose o opening growing space or outplanted
mahogany and subsidizing treatment costs ,Snook 1993, Gullison et a. 1996,. \here
logging secondary species is not economically iable, it may be necessary to open growing
space by elling non-commercial trees. In this case, incenties or loggers and landowners
interested in orest management are greatly reduced, as they are orced to return to
preiously logged orests to implement silicultural treatments without beneit o short-
term returns on their inestment.
Plantations
In southeast Para, a substantial portion o the landscape is unsuitable or plantation
establishment, particularly nutrient-impoerished soils on high ground between seasonal
streams. Only costly ertilizer inputs can correct soil nutrient deiciencies. Low ground
nearest streams is also unsuitable or mahogany in plantations due to increased
swampiness ater orest clearing. Best seedling perormance in plantations as currently
practiced is restricted to slightly eleated ground set somewhat back rom streams
,Grogan 2001,.
Best perormance in artiicial systems may be achieed where secondary egetation
is elled and burned, mimicking small-holder agricultural establishment, and seedlings
are outplanted into heay debris. Ash inputs and partial protection rom the shootborer
aorded by dense regenerating secondary egetation enable mahogany to grow robustly
Crogav et a.
-32-
under these conditions. \oody regrowth rapidly restores canopy shade, reducing weedy
groundcoer and lowering ire susceptibility. Outplanting density should be low,
approximately 50 planting sites per hectare at 15 m spacing to reduce mahogany
shootborer attack rates.
Mahogany is a poor candidate or reorestation eorts on degraded soils ,e.g., in
pastures or abandoned pastures,. It competes poorly belowground with grasses, and
grows poorly in nutrient-impoerished soils ,Grogan 2001,. As well, ire is a constant
threat in these systems. Howeer, mahogany may grow igorously enough to oercome
repeated shootborer inestations when inter-planted into agricultural systems on short
rotation cycles ,one to ie years, where ertilizer inputs are high ,e.g., in black pepper
plantations,.
Conservation
lorest management could contribute to conseration by maintaining reproductiely
iable populations across mahogany`s natural range. Additional measures recommended
to strengthen conseration o mahogany in Brazil include:
1.o1gnu:. n.v jro:..:1on ur.uo 1or nuhogun,. 1his would assure conseration
o representatie phenotypes and genotypes across mahogany`s Brazilian range. 1hese
might include, or example, isolated populations on scattered mountain outcrops
,inselbergs, in southeast Para, and small patches o logged populations in orest types
that are currently unprotected.
1ro:..: .x1o:1ng .ono.r+u:1on un1:o ugu1no: 1ur:h.r .xjIo1:u:1on. Mahogany`s
extraordinary alue renders merchantable quantities in protected areas ulnerable to
illegal exploitation. \ithout actie ederal or state protection combined with heay
and enorced penalties or unlawul extraction, mahogany`s disappearance as an adult
tree rom any landscape is ineitable.
1n1or.. r.:.n:1on o1 1.guI 1.o.r+.o on jr1+u:. jroj.r:1.o. Across mahogany`s
natural range in Brazil a signiicant portion o the orested landscape is being conerted
to other uses without precautions taken to consere aunal and loral communities that
are unique to each region and locality. Some o these orests contain sub-populations
o mahogany trees that suried the irst wae o logging as well as isolated indiiduals
at inaccessible locations ,or example, on the steep slopes o inselberg mountains in
southeast Para,. 1hese populations could be protected by properly enorcing legislation
mandating retention o lorest Reseres within priate landholdings.
1n+.o: 1n r.o.ur.h :ovurdo 1njro+.d nunug.n.n: und .ono.r +u:1on.
Silicultural techniques or managing trees in natural or artiicial settings are based on
thorough understanding o how a species reproduces, suries, and grows within a gien
-33-
landscape. Current research programs on mahogany, summarized in Box 1, oer
opportunities to extend obserations o growth and reproduction oer many years,
opportunities which or mahogany are not likely to arise again in the near uture on
these increasingly ragmented landscapes. New research initiaties should be included
as an integral part o management projects in southwest Para, Rondonia, and Acre where
mahogany grows on landscapes ery dierent rom southeast Para.
1ox 1. Research programs on mahogany in the Brazilian Amazon.
Major research programs on the ecology, genetic structure, and management
o mahogany in natural orests hae been initiated in Brazil in recent years. 1hese
include:
Kayap / Conservation International. Since 1993 at the Pinkait Research
Station near the illage o Aukre within the Kayap Indigenous Area, southeast
Para. 1his program addresses mahogany`s distribution patterns, growth, and
natural regeneration in unlogged primary orest. Collaborating institutions
include the Uniersity o Sao Paulo, the Uniersity o 1oronto ,Canada,, and
the lundaao Nacional do ndio ,lUNAI,. 1he Pinkait Research Station is
located within a 5000-ha biological resere set aside by the Kayap or research
and conser at i on pur poses. Cont act : Dr. Barbara Zi mmer man,
b.zimmermanutoronto.ca.
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia (INPA). Since 1995 at
sites in southeast Para, Mato Grosso, Rondonia, and Acre. 1his research addresses
genetic structure and patterns o gene low within mahogany populations, and
the impacts o logging and ragmentation on mahogany`s mating system, using
DNA microsatellite markers. Collaborating institution is LMBRAPA - Recursos
Genticos e Biotecnologia. Contact: Dr. Maristerra Lemes, mlemesinpa.go.br.
Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amaznia (IMAZON) / Yale
University School of Iorestry & Lnvironmental Studies. Since 1995 in
selectiely logged orests near Redenao and Agua Azul in southeast Para. 1his
research addresses mahogany`s spatial distribution patterns across seasonal
landscapes, population structures, adult growth and mortality rates, reproductie
phenology, ruit production, seedling ecology, and implications o mahogany
l i e hi stor y or management i n natural orests and pl antati on systems.
Collaborating institutions include the IAN Herbarium at LMBRAPA,CPA1U,
Belm, the Uniersity o Sao Paulo, Pennsylania State Uniersity ,USA,, and
the College o \ooster ,USA,. Research sites include timber industry-owned
management areas ,Serraria Marajoara Ltda, Madeireira Juary Ltda, Peracchi
Crogav et a.
-34-
1imber Ltda,, and priately held orests ,Sr. Honorato Babinski, owner,. Contact:
Dr. James Grogan, jgroganimazon.org.br.
Lmbrapa Amaznia Oriental (LMBRAPA/CPATU), Belem / DIID
Iorestry Research Programme (UK). Since 1998 in primary and selectiely
logged orests near Rio Maria, Maraba, and Parauapebas in southeast Para. 1his
research addresses mahogany`s spatial distribution patterns, population structures,
ruit production, seed predation, natural regeneration ater logging, seedling
ecology, and silicultural management prescriptions deried rom ecological
studies. Collaborating institutions include the Oxord lorestry Institute, Bep
Noi Association o the Xikrin Indians, and the Instituto Socioambiental. Research
sites include timber industry-owned management areas ,MG Madeireira e
Agropecuaria Ltda, Nordisk 1imber Ltda, and the Xikrin Indigenous Area.
Contacts: Jos do Carmo Ales Lopes, carmocpatu.embrapa.br, Dr. Jos Na-
talino Macedo Sila, natalinocpatu.embrapa.br, and Dr Olegario Caralho,
olegariocpatu.embrapa.br.
IMAZON, World Wide Iund for Nature (WWI), and the Government
of Acre. Since 2001 on priately held orested land south o Sena Madureira,
Acre. Project objecties include: to test management practices deried rom
ield studies o mahogany and associated high-alue timber species, to ealuate
the technical and inancial easibility o these management practices, and to
document and disseminate inormation about orest management to the orest
industry, small-holder agriculturists, extractiist communities, and goernment
agencies. Collaborating institutions include Madeireira A.l.G. Olieira, the State
Department o lorestry and Lxtractiism ,SLlL,, the 1echnology loundation
o Acre ,lUN1AC,, USAID, and the U.S. lorest Serice - International Institute
o 1ropical lorestry. Contact: Dr. James Grogan, jgroganimazon.org.br.
-35-
INICIATIVLS TO CONTROL MAHOGANY'S
LXPLOITATION
Recent initiaties to control mahogany`s exploitation include those by the Brazilian
ederal goernment, bilateral international treaties, and enironmental groups at national
and international leels. \e discuss these increasingly eectie initiaties below along
with possible new mechanisms or control.
Management Plans
Any commercial logging operation in the Brazilian Amazon, including those
inoling mahogany, must be implemented according to ederal enironmental
regulations. 1imber extraction rom primary orests may be authorized under two
categories: orest management plans, and orest conersion to other uses through clear-
cutting. By ar the majority o mahogany logged in Brazil is legalized through orest
management plans. Unortunately, state and ederal superision o these management
plans has been extremely weak. A study by Lmbrapa ,1996, reealed that most required
management practices are not implemented in the ield. Management plans within a
gien region are requently used to legalize timber extracted without authorization rom
other areas. Mahogany`s illegal extraction rom untitled ederal land ,terra aerovta, and
Indigenous Areas is made possible through transer o these raudulent credits. 1he
transport o illegal timber is easily legalized because the control mechanism -
documents speciying olumes to be transported - is easily circumented ,Barreto &
Souza Jr. 2001,.
Beginning in 1995, when Ibama began to systematically reiew all management plans
registered within Brazilian Amazonia, weaknesses in control mechanisms began to be
more eident ,Ibama 1998, 1999, 2001c,. An Ibama report published in 1999 reealed
problems with ield ealuations o management plans including mahogany during the
years 1995-1998 ,Ibama 1999,. Re-ealuation o these management plans by technical
adisors rom outside the region led to suspension o 85 o management plans still
operational. In 1996, indications that control mechanisms were being systematically
circumented led the President o Brazil to declare a two-year moratorium on
authorization o new management plans inoling mahogany ,Presidential Decree 1963,
July 1996,. In 1998 and 2000 this moratorium was renewed ,Decrees 268,1998 and
3559,2000, respectiely,.
By October 2001 it had become clear that the remaining alid management plans
or mahogany were being used to legitimize continued illegal extraction o mahogany.
Ibama and the lederal Police launched Operation Mahogany to shut down illegal
actiities, principally in south Para between the Xingu and Iriri Riers within the so-
Crogav et a.
-36-
called Middle Land. Lleen remaining alid management plans or mahogany were
suspended ,Normatie Instruction 1,2001, Ibama, in lieu o ield ealuations by
independent consultants. Ater ealuation, 10 o these management plans were cancelled
in December 2001 due to technical improprieties or raudulent practices ,Normatie
Instruction 22,2001, Ibama,. \ith this decision Ibama prohibited export o mahogany
that had been logged based on permits rom these cancelled management plans, on the
understanding that this timber originated illegally rom orests outside these management
areas and that management plans were not being ully implemented.
A group o logging companies whose timber had been coniscated by Ibama
subsequently won a sustaining order in state court allowing export o mahogany in port
at the time o suspension. 1he Brazilian goernment ,Ibama 2002a, and enironmental
groups , Greenpeace 2002a, request ed i nt ernat i onal assi st ance i n bl ocki ng
commercialization o this timber. As a result, mahogany shipments were detained by
Luropean and United States customs authorities. loreign goernments indicated that
legal commerce could be re-instated only ater eriication that impounded mahogany
had originated rom legal sources ,Greenpeace 2002b,. In April 2002, the President o
Brazil announced on his weekly radio program that he would maintain the ban on
mahogany`s extraction and commended Ibama and NGOs contributing to its control
,Ibama 2002b,.
Lxport Quotas
1he Brazilian goernment has attempted to limit mahogany`s extraction through
export quotas since 1990, a policy that implicitly acknowledges the threat o commercial
exhaustion to national mahogany stocks. Lxport quotas ell dramatically during the
1990s, rom 150,000 m
3
to 65.000 m
3
in 1998 and urther to only 30.000 m
3
in 2001.
Len so, this policy`s actual impact on illegal logging is diicult to assess. lor example,
t r ue expor t ol umes ar e sai d t o exceed expor t quot as due t o mahogany`s
commercialization under alse names. More likely, howeer, is that the steep decline in
reported exports is due more to shrinking natural stocks than to alling export quotas.
Convention on International Trade in Lndangered Species of Wild
Iauna and Ilora (CITLS)
CI1LS is a United Nations-sponsored treaty regulating international trade in species
under threat o extinction. Mahogany`s inclusion on Appendix II o CI1LS as a species
potentially threatened i current practices are not modiied was proposed at treaty
-3-
conentions in 1992, 1994, and 199. Appendix II proides or increased control oer
supply at the point o origin towards aoiding urther drastic reductions in natural
populations. 1his proposal`s principal proponents, including countries like the
Netherlands and the United States as well as NGOs, emphasized mahogany`s ulnerability
to local and regional extinction and the possibility o genetic erosion across mahogany`s
range ,Rodan et a. 1992, NRDC 1994, Bass et a. 1999,. Opponents o mahogany`s
inclusion on Appendix II, including Brazil and other major producing countries, argued
that this would represent a non-tari barrier to international trade in tropical timber.
1hey asserted that criteria listed by CI1LS do not justiy mahogany`s listing on Appendix
II, gien insuicient proo o population declines across its natural range ,ligueroa
Coln 1994,. No proposal or listing was supported by the two-thirds majority ote
necessary or inclusion, and no proposal or listing was submitted during the most recent
CI1LS conention in Kenya in April 2000.
Neertheless, in April 1999 the ederal goernment registered Brazilian mahogany
populations on Appendix III o CI1LS, requiring that producer nations proide
documentation certiying that exported mahogany was legally extracted. 1he CI1LS
Secretariat adised its member countries to halt imports rom Brazil in March 2001 on
grounds that the Brazilian goernment had suspended management plans and prohibited
mahogany`s export. Based on this recommendation, the General Director o the
Luropean Commission`s Lnironment Ministry also adised its member countries to
suspend all purchases o Brazilian mahogany.
Greenpeace Campaign for the Protection of Old-Growth Iorests
Mahogany`s illegal extraction has been the ocus o intense pressure by international
enironmental groups. Greenpeace has been one o the most actie NGOs applying
pressure within context o its global campaign or the protection o old-growth orests.
1his campaign opposes uncontrolled logging in primary orests around the world,
including tropical, temperate, and boreal orests. Greenpeace`s contributions to the
mahogany debate hae ranged rom documentation o illegal extraction to media
campaigns against illegal commerce. In Brazil, Greenpeace has pressured the ederal
goernment to improe control oer extraction while at the same time supporting
goernment initiaties to do so by proiding inormation about illegal logging actiities
,Greenpeace 2001,. At the international leel, pressure exerted by Greenpeace has
inluenced the decision by many countries to suspend Brazilian mahogany imports.
Among other measures, Greenpeace has proposed that management plans or mahogany
should be certiied according to socio-economic and enironmental standards set by
the lorest Stewardship Council ,Greenpeace 2002a,.
Crogav et a.
-38-
Suggestions for the Control of Mahogany's Lxploitation
Largely uncontrolled extraction o mahogany has already occurred across most
o its Brazilian range. But recent pressure exerted by the goernment, by enironmental
groups, and by market orces indicate that uture commercial prospects or illegally
harested mahogany are limited. 1he only option or credible trade lies in adoption o
rational orest management and improed control mechanisms. 1he most important
additional control mechanisms include the ollowing:
1njro+. go+.rnn.n: .on:roI o1 nunug.n.n: jIuno. 1he current system or
control o logging could be improed through adoption o new technologies and
auditing procedures. Management plans should be periodically audited by non-
goernmental technical consultants. Studies supported by Ibama and the Ministry o
the Lnironment indicate that new technologies could be employed towards control o
logging. 1he boundaries o management projects and rural properties could be
demarcated on satellite images noting egetation coer by type ,orest, deorested areas,
etc.,. Recently deeloped methodologies permit identiication o logged areas by
satellite images and could be used to monitor management areas and priate properties
,Souza Jr. & Barreto 2000, Barreto & Souza Jr. 2001, Monteiro et a. no prelo,. 1he state
o Mato Grosso is using this system to grant licenses or orest clearing. Control oer
log transport could be improed by installing georeerencing deices on transport
ehicles that would allow trucks loaded with mahogany to be tracked between points o
embarkation and deliery, alerting authorities when ehicles stray rom authorized routes.
As well, this system would rationalize the current credit system or log transport,
proiding conirmation by olume o actual delieries. More details about remote
systems or tracking transport can be ound in Barreto & Souza Jr. ,2001,.
1n.ourug. :h. 1nd.j.nd.n: ..r:111.u:1on jro..oo. Independent socio-economic
certiication is one o the ew options remaining or maintaining market credibility or
Brazilian mahogany, being accepted by most enironmentalists and international
consumers. 1he Brazilian goernment recently recognized the importance o encouraging
certiication, enacting orest legislation proiding beneits such as reduced project
ealuation costs to certiied management projects or to those in process o certiication
,Normatie Instruction 04,2002, Ministry o the Lnironment,.
-39-
CONCLUSION
Mahogany is a late secondary orest species that moes easily about on the landscape,
its seeds dispersing by wind. It has highly germinable seeds, grows rapidly in partial or
ull sunlight, and may achiee giant stature during a lietime that may span centuries.
Mahogany`s weaknesses include susceptibility to the shootborer, ,.i,a gravaea,
during sapling and pole stages, which may damage and indirectly kill deeloping stems,
and poor growth response to nutrient-impoerished soils. Its highly speciic regeneration
requirements combined with the shootborer`s regulating eect help to explain why
mahogany occurs at extremely low densities in natural orests, and why conersion o
these orests to high-density production systems, whether in managed orests or
plantations, has proen so diicult in the past.
Robust population structures obsered in southeast Para indicate that sub-
merchantable mahogany trees surie in logged orests een ater repeated exploitation,
except where orest habitat is conerted to other uses or degraded by repeated ires.
Intact populations are also still present in primary orests o Acre and southeast Ama-
zonas. Howeer, without management inter entions directed at retention o
reproductie capacity ,seed trees,, tending sub-merchantable trees ,ine cutting, crown
release,, and establishing the next generation o merchantable trees through seedling
regeneration ,enrichment plantings,, mahogany aces commercial extinction across most
o its Brazilian range within the coming decade, and possible biological extinction at
local scales where logged populations are not allowed to recoer regeneratie capacity.
Lstablishing a credible Brazilian mahogany supply will require implementation o
new regulatory mechanisms inoling new technologies ,globally positioned management
plans, eectie tracking o log transport, and extra-regulatory processes such as
independent socio-enironmental certiication. Continued predatory extraction o
mahogany - Brazil`s most aluable timber species - would represent a seere blow to
the goal o achieing sustained-yield production o this national patrimony. Consumers
and producers alike hae limited time to demonstrate that this aluable resource can be
used responsibly.
Acknowledgments: Inormation presented here is based largely on the irst
author`s Ph.D. dissertation presented to the \ale Uniersity School o lorestry &
Lnironmental Studies ,USA,. Grogan`s ieldwork was supported by the U.S. lorest
Serice`s International Institute o 1ropical lorestry, USAID, 1he Lindbergh loundation
o Minneapolis ,USA,, and the International 1ropical 1imber Organization`s lellowship
Programme. 1he ollowing logging companies permitted research access to orest
management areas in southeast Para: Serraria Marajoara, Madeireira Juary, and Peracchi.
Paulo Barreto and Adalberto Verssimo were supported by the \orld \ide lund or
Nature ,\\l,, USAID, and the \illiam & llora Hewlett loundation. 1he authors
thank Glaucia Barreto or translating parts o the manuscript. Inormation reerring to
mahogany`s historical and current status in the state o Acre was collected during
collaboration between Imazon and the Goernment o Acre.
Crogav et a.
-40-
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