Tree and palm diversity in homegardens in the Central Amazon

In the recent decades, many studies have shown the important role of agroforestry, and particularly homegardens, in food supply, but few studies conducted in the Amazon include regional coverage and/or a large number of samples. This makes a more thorough assessment of the importance of these agroecosystems in agrobiodiversity conservation difficult. The objective of the present study is to assess the factors that determine the floristic composition and tree and palm diversity of homegardens at different spatial scales in the Central Amazon. 334 homegardens were sampled in rural and urban areas of 14 municipalities in the state of Para. Owners were interviewed for the collection of socioeconomic data. A total of 16,049 individual tree and palm were recorded, distributed in 108 species. Most species were fruit bearing. The correlations between socioeconomic and environmental factors and the floristic gradient established in each ordination were significant only at the local scale. Species richness was influenced by factors related to family income, homegarden size, and topographic environment. The criteria for selecting the species comprised in these homegardens are aimed at the food security of the families that own the homegardens. Thus, the floristic composition of homegardens in the Central Amazon is more strongly influenced by owners’ decisions at a local level than by socioeconomic and environmental factors at broader scales. The importance of homegardens to food security and the autonomy of Amazon families indicate that public policies should be designed to stimulate more diverse production systems as a strategy to strengthen family agriculture and agrobiodiversity conservation in the Central Amazon.