| Título | Synthesis of mahogany natural history and management in the American tropics. Meeting of the working group on Mahogany. |
| Autores | Adalberto Veríssimo
James Grogran |
| Cidade | Brasília |
| Ano de publicação | 1998 |
| Download |  |
Veríssimo, A., & Grogan, J. 1998. Synthesis of mahogany natural history and management in the American tropics. Meeting of the working group on Mahogany. Reunião do Grupo de Trabalho sobre o Mogno, 9. Brasília.
Introduction
Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) is by far the most valuable timber species in tropical America, selling for approximately $1100 per cubic meter of export-grade sawn boards in 1998. S. macrophylla (referred to simply as “mahogany” throughout the remainder of this paper) is prized for its attractive color, durability, dimensional stability, and workability, it is used for decorative woodwork, furniture, door and window frames, shingles, beams and veneer (Lamb 1966, Verissimo et al. 1995).
2. Mahogany has been extracted for almost 500 years from Mexico and Central America. In the Brazilian Amazon, significant commercialization of this species did not begin until the 1960s with the extension of highways into the southern Amazon Basin. Declines in mahogany supplies from Central America and Mexico has meant that demand for this species has been high in Bolivian and Brazilian Amazon in the last three decades (Rodan et al. 1992. Verissimo et al. 1995).
3. Mahogany is currently being harvested throughout its natural range-from Mexico south through Central America in a a continous arc to the southern Amazon Basın in Bolivia and Brazil-from primary forests. As result, severe depletion of natural stands is evident in Central America and the eastern Brazilian Amazon (Rodan et al. 1992, Verissimo et al. 1995). Very few plantations of mahogany have been successfully established in areas where this species is native due to attacks by the shoot-boring moth. Hypsipyla grandella Zeller (Rodan et al. 1992).
4. In Brazil, forest tracts containing mahogany are frequently localized using small airplanes: pilots search for mahogany in low-lying terrain, distinguishing it from other species by its large, shimmering, light-green crown. Reconnaissance and tree felling typically occur during the rainy season, boles are extracted and transported to sawmills during the dry season. After trees are felled, bulldozers open roads and log landings. Logs are then transported up to several hundred kilometers to sawmills on roads built by logging companies. Approximately 60% of processed malłogany is exported to external markets, principally to the United States and the United Kingdom. The remainder is trucked to the south of Brazil for domestic consumption (Verissimo & Lima 1998)
5. There is now concern that mahogany is threatened by unregulated logging activities (Rodan et al. 1992). Indeed, two relatives of generic mahogany, Swietenia, mahagoni and S. humulis, are now listed in Appendix II of CITIES (Rodan et al. 1992). There is now growing pressure to also add mahogany to Appendix II. This would mean that mahogany could only enter international markets after producer country governments determine that trade will not lead to significant population reductions. Listing mahogany might also reduce mahogany export quotas, increase prices, assist range states’ efforts to manage the species, help distinguish legal from illegal timber, and provide incentives to manage supplies for the long term (NRDC 1994, Verissimo et al. 1995). Brazil and Bolivia have been at the center of this debate because they are the major suppliers of mahogany for the international market and because they retain the majority of natural stocks of this species (Verissimo et al. 1995).
6. This paper has three objectives. First, we present an overview of mahogany life history. Second, we discuss genetic issues. Finally, we consider progress from an on-going forest research project and potential for sustainable managemen, of mahogany in the Brazilian Amazon.