Spatial distribution and habitats of useful plants: an initial assessment for conservation on an indigenous territory, Panama

In order to examine the spatial distribution of forest resources on local territories and to understand the factors controlling such distributions, we studied the spatial patterns of a group of 23 useful plant species on the territory of a Kuna community in the province of Darien, Panama. A stratified random sampling scheme was used to survey the distribution and abundance of the species across a 3500 ha area around the village. Data on the physical environment as well as the geographic coordinates of the sample plots were also obtained. A series of canonical analyses was conducted to evaluate the species–environment relationships and to identify spatial structures in the species distributions left unexplained by the environmental variables. Four distinct distribution patterns were identified among the species; these were most strongly explained by land-use, the degree of canopy closure and topography. Significant spatial structures, independent of the measured environmental variables, were related to anthropogenic pressure and an edaphic gradient, and the habitat associations of the individual species were described. The results obtained from this case study suggest that land-use dynamics may play a predominant role in structuring inhabited landscapes, and that diversity in distribution patterns and habitat associations will require a combination of spatially explicit management strategies to ensure the local resource base.