Extracción de hojas de la palma Brahea dulcis en una comunidad otomí en Hidalgo, México: Efecto sobre algunos parámetros poblacionales

the palm brahea dulcis is exploited commercially in the center of mexico. this species is used as raw material for the elaboration of traditional crafts. in this work we evaluate how harvesting leaves of this palm by indigenous otomíes can affect some population parameters in the biosphere reserve of barranca de metztitlán, hidalgo, méxico. the economic relevance of the resource for the otomíes was also determined. the study was carried out in three sites differing in the quantity and intensity of extraction of leaves (continuous, restricted, and null exploitation). the continuous cutting of leaves causes a physognomic change in the population, leading to higher density, smaller plants and higher production of leaves. these characteristics are favorable for the exploitation of the palm. in the null extraction site, the plants are significantly taller, with low density. the restricted site had an intermediate pattern with regard to the other two sites. otomí traditional management of the b. dulcis population is simple and limited to the constant cutting of leaves, but that helps the economy of the community in satisfying their basic needs. this palm management has maintained the population from pre-hispanic times; however, it could be affected by laws that do not consider the traditional management and the characteristics of each species.