Chlorocardium rodiei
– Data Deficient
Taxonomy
|
Kingdom:
|
PLANTAE
|
|
Phylum:
|
TRACHEOPHYTA
|
|
Class:
|
MAGNOLIOPSIDA
|
|
Order:
|
LAURALES
|
|
Family:
|
LAURACEAE
|
|
Scientific Name:
|
Chlorocardium rodiei
|
|
Species Authority:
|
(Schomb.) Rohwer, Richter & van der Werff
|
|
Common Name/s:
|
| English | — | COGWOOD, DEMERARA GREENHEART, GREENHEART |
| Spanish | — | ISPINGO MOENA |
|
Assessment Information
|
Red List Category & Criteria:
|
DD ver 3.1 (2001)
|
|
Year Assessed:
|
2007
|
|
Assessor/s:
|
Red List Standards & Petitions Working Group
|
|
Justification:
|
This revised assessment is a ruling made by the Red List Standards and Petitions Working Group (SPWG) of the IUCN-SSC Biodiversity Assessments Subcommittee after considering material provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission who petitioned against the 1998 assessment of this species. For further details see the IUCN SSC web site.
The SPWG received the justification of the petitioner on 9 November 2006. The SPWG did not receive a justification from the Red List Authority (RLA) or any further evidence from them relating to the listing, so deliberations on the existing listing could only be informed by very limited information available in the IUCN Red List.
The justification of the petitioner, although well over the specified page limit, contained very little information directly relevant to the listing it was arguing against. The lack of any information from the RLA and the shortage of relevant information from the petitioner made it very difficult for the SPWG to make an informed ruling. The available data were not sufficient to make an assessment, and result in the ruling that the appropriate category is Data Deficient (DD).
It is important to note that the DD ruling does not necessarily mean that there are not sufficient data to make a listing. Although the SPWG was unable to obtain sufficient data to make an assessment, it is very likely that a group of experts familiar with the species would be able to do this. In the course of its deliberations, SPWG was able to uncover much data and contacted very knowledgeable and helpful experts. Clearly, it should be possible for these experts to come to a consensus view on the estimates that are needed for a listing. Organizing and facilitating this process is the role of the RLA, which needs to be better engaged to support a listing.
|
|
History:
|
| 1998 | - | Vulnerable (Oldfield et al. 1998) |
|
Geographic Range
|
Range Description:
|
Chlorocardium rodiei occurs primarily in Guyana, but is also found in Suriname and possibly in Venezuela but this is unsubstantiated. If the species occurs in western Venezuela it is only likely to be at very low densities. Similarly the species in Suriname is confined to a small area along Maratakka River.
|
|
Countries:
|
Native:
Guyana; Suriname
Uncertain presence and origin:
Venezuela
|
Population
|
Population Trend:
|
|
Habitat and Ecology
|
Habitat and Ecology:
|
The species is a dominant component of a restricted belt of lowland rainforest on brown sand and is also found occasionally in other forest types.
|
|
System:
|
Terrestrial
|
Threats
|
Threats:
|
Greenheart has been harvested as a commercial timber since the late 1700s, primarily because of the considerable durability and strength of the timber. Estimates based on official reports indicate that almost 4.9 million cubic metres have been harvested since 1850 and that this figure is likely to be closer to 5.5 million cubic metres if unreported harvests are added (Hammond, in litt.). Hammond in litt estimates that this means that between 15.1 and 28.6% of the original population has been harvested. Allegations that production of Greenheart timber has declined significantly over the past 50 years as reported in the The World List of Threatened Trees appear to be unfounded. Hammond in litt. has provided evidence that Greenheart timber production in 1998 was close to 80,000 cubic metres, a similar level of output to that achieved in 1953. Hammond in litt agrees that there was a decline in production between 1963 and 1991, but this was not steady or sustained. It appears this was due to the loss of human capacity and capital resources from the country during that period. Regeneration in natural stands is very slow and poor germination success inhibits the establishment of plantations. According to work done by TROPENBOS (in litt.) the low growth rates are sufficient to maintain viable populations of the species in undisturbed forests, however, this life strategy is at odds with logging.
|
Conservation Actions
|
Conservation Actions:
|
To enable continued harvesting of this species, it is imperative that a sustainable logging programme is developed. The TROPENBOS Foundation along with scientists like Dr. Hammond are working hard with the forestry companies and officials in Guyana to achieve this. The programme is looking at many aspects including the logging process itself, the retention of stands capable of ensuring continued production , the reduction of collateral damage, the reduction in the size of logging gaps, the creation of suitably large protected areas and general education of both the producers and the consumers.
|
