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Annex 2. Profiles of Tree Species: The Americas
155 Cedrela odorata
Meliaceae
cedro amargo, cedro rojo, Central American
cedar, Spanish cedar, zigarrenkitschenholz Distribution
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil,
Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala,
Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico (Quintana Roo),
Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname, Venezuela
Habitat The
species occurs in humid or dry lowland forest, preferring well-drained soils.
It colonises secondary forest, abandoned pastures and
agricultural land. Population Status
and Trends The species occurs in abundance, most
notably in Central America (Americas Regional Workshop, 1996; Arce Benavides,
1998). However exploitation has continued on a large scale
throughout the species range over the past 200 years and large or well-formed
individuals are scarce, especially in Amazonia. In Bolivia, the species’
rarity has resulted in trees only being cut opportunistically
while mahogany, Amburana and Machaerium
are being sought (Killeen, 1997). Natural regeneration is reported
to be generally good but there are reports of trees being felled before they reach
maturity (Americas Regional Workshop, 1996). The species
is included in lists of threatened plants in Panama and Domincan Republic and
by the FAO (Asociación Nacional para la Conservación
de la Naturaleza, 1990; Jiménez, 1978; FAO, 1986) Role
of species in the Ecosystem The species responds
well to disturbance. Threats
Overexploitation, genetic erosion, habitat loss. Utilisation
C. odorata produces
the most
valuable timber
within the
genus.
The wood
is aromatic,
weather-resistant
and durable.
It is
used for ship
or boat-building, joinery, cabinet-making and making cigar boxes. It is also sometimes
maintained as a shade tree in coffee plantations (FAO,
1986). Trade Throughout
the species range Spanish cedar has played a major role in the timber trade. Between
1986 and 1987 three species, one of which was C.
odorata, accounted for 58% of the sawnwood produced
in Belize (Harcourt & Sayer, 1996). It is one of the
most exploited woods in northern Costa Rica (Harcourt & Sayer, 1996). It remains
one of the most valuable trees in the Costa Rican market
but is traded only in the domestic market (Arce Benavides, 1998). In 1994 Brazil
exported 97,000m³ of Cedrela
spp.,
selling at
an average
price of
US$260.00/m³.
Records from
1994 indicate
that Honduras
was exporting
logs, sawnwood,
plywood and veneer of C.
odorata and Peru and Colombia were exporting sawnwood
(ITTO, 1995). In 1995 Ecuador is reported to have exported
6000m³ of C.
odorata sawnwood at an average price of US$584/m³,
and Peru and Trinidad and Tobago exported sawnwood (ITTO,
1997). U.S.A. imported a total of 23,000m³ Cedrela spp. plywood at
US$474/m³ in 1995 (ITTO, 1997). Exports
of Cedrela spp. from Brazil Sawnwood
Veneer Year
Tonnes US$FOB
Tonnes US$FOB
1993 37.197 21,609
1.098 807 1994
32.598 22,165 833
616 1995 22.125
16,510 416 655
Source: IBAMA, 1996 IUCN
Conservation category VU A1cd+2cd according to
the Americas Regional Workshop for the WCMC/SSC Conservation
and sustainable
management of
trees project (WCMC,
1996).
Conservation Measures Numerous
populations are protected within national parks and agricultural landscapes.
Forest Management and Silviculture
Plantations are established throughout the tropics. Regeneration
is hampered by the frequent attack of Hypsipyla spp.
on the apical buds of seedlings. For this reason the
species is not grown in pure stands. Some success has been achieved in Manu,
Peru, where seedlings are planted at a distance from one another
(Americas Regional Workshop, 1996). Trees bear fruit at the age
of 15 years (Lamprecht, 1989). References
Americas Regional Workshop. 1996. Discussions held at CATIE,
Costa Rica, November 1996 at the Second Regional Workshop
of the WCMC/SSC Conservation
and Sustainable
Management of
Trees project. (Unpublished). Arce
Benavides, H. 1998. Comments on species profiles for Costa Rica. Asociación
Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. 1990. List
of threatened
and vulnerable
plants of
Panama. (unpublished).
d'Arcy, W.G. 1987. Flora of Panama: checklist and index. Monographs
in Systematic
Botany 17: 1-1000. Erfurth,
T. & H. Rusche. 1976. The marketing
of tropical
wood. Rome: FAO.
FAO Forestry Department. 1986. Databook
on endangered
tree and
shrub species
and their
provenances.
Rome: FAO. 524pp. García, R.D. & I.
Olmsted. 1987. Listado florístico de la Reserva Sian Ka'an. Puerto Morelos,
Quintana Roo, Mexico 71pp. Harcourt, C.S. & J.A.
Sayer. (eds.). 1996. The conservation
atlas of
tropical forests:
the Americas.
Simon & Schuster, Singapore. Howard,
R.A. (ed.). 1974. Flora of
the Lesser
Antilles; Leeward
and Windward
Islands. Jamaica Plain, Mass., Arnold Arboretum.
6 vols, 1974-1989. Howard, Richard A. Ferns
and flowering
plants of
Montserrat. (unpublished). 36pp.
IBAMA. 1996. Fax to Nigel Varty containing Brazilian export
information for various timber species, dated 11 July 1996. ITTO.
1995. Elements for
the annual
review and
assessment of
the world
tropical timber
situation. Draft Document. ITTO.
1997. Annual review
and assessment
of the
world tropical
timber situation
1996. International Tropical Timber Organization
(ITTO). Jiménez, J. de J. 1978. Lista tentativa
de plantas de la República Dominicana que deben protegerse para evitar su
extinción. Santo Domingo: Coloquio Internacional
sobre la practica de la conservación. CIBIMA/UASD. Killeen,
T. 1997. Comments on the species summaries for Bolivia. Lamprecht,
H. 1989. Silviculture in
the tropics:
tropical forest
ecosystems and
their tree
species; possibilities
and methods
for their
long-term utilization. Dt.
Ges.
für Techn.
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)
GmbH, Eschborn.
Pennington, T.D. 1981. Meliaceae. Flora
Neotropica, Monograph 28. 470 pp. Polak,
A.M. 1992. Major timber
trees of
Guyana.
A field
guide. The Tropenbos Foundation, Wageningen, The
Netherlands. 272 pp. Proctor,
George R. 1984. Flora of
the Cayman
Islands. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: London, HMSO.
834pp. Reynel, C. & T. Pennington. 1989. Reporte
sobre los cedros y su situación en el Perú, una contribucción al
conocimiento y la conservación de las Meliáceas
peruanas. Lima: Universidad Nacional Agaria La Molina, Centro de Datos Para la
Conservación Perú. 100pp. Varty,
N. & D.L. Guadagnin. 1996. Information sources on the biology, conservation
and trade of tree species in Brazil. Unpublished document
for the WCMC/SSC Conservation and
sustainable management
of trees
project. WCMC. 1996. Report of the Second Regional
Workshop, held at CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica, 18-20 November 1996.
Conservation and sustainable management
of trees project.
(unpublished).