COMUNIDADES DE PALMAS EN DOS BOSQUES DE CHOCó, COLOMBIA

we studied the richness, abundance, composition and structure of the palm communities in two localities of the central chocó, colombia. we made 14 transects (1.5 ha) in tutunendo and 12 transects (1 ha) in angostura. in each transect we counted and identified all palm individuals, including all size classes (seedlings, juveniles, and adults); additionally, local names and uses for the species were documented through interviews with 16 knowledgeable men, older than 45 years. palm richness (29 species in 1.5 ha and 23 species in 1 ha) is among the highest recorded in the neotropics and supports a richness pattern associated with high rainfall. most species were represented by a few individuals while a few species were highly abundant and dominant. a group of species (wettinia quinaria, welfia regia, iriartea deltoidea, socratea exorrhiza, oenocarpus bataua, in the canopy, and geonoma cuneata in the understory) is particularly ecologically important because it characterizes and shapes the vegetation at the study sites and probably also throughout the biogeographic chocó region. based on these results and on other floristic data, we suggest that although palms are important at all levels throughout the biogeographic chocó region, their greatest abundance and richness seem to occur towards the central zone, which corresponds with an increase in the rainfall gradient. twenty-seven of the 33 species had some use in one of seven use categories, which stresses the importance of palms to local people.