Populations in Ecuador and northern Perú are declining due to heavy exploitation of mature trees for timber
Distribution
Ecuador, northern Perú (Piura).
Habitat and Ecology
Podocarpus sprucei is a high montane to subalpine species growing in cloud forest up to the tree line, at altitudes from 1800m to 3900m above sea-level. Only in forests at lower altitudes does it become a tree to 20m tall.
Human Uses
The wood of this species is much in demand and trees are logged from primary forest often unsustainably due to scarcity and slow growth. It is used in house construction and to make furniture as it takes a fine polish. This species is also planted as an ornamental in parks in Ecuador
Conservation Status
Global status
Endangered B2ab(ii,iii,v)
Global rationale
Heavy exploitation of mature trees for timber, ongoing since at least 1945, is causing a continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO) and number of mature individuals. Due to a limited AOO here calculated as ca. 350km² with 5km grid squares around 14 localities and this decline it meets the necessary criteria under B2 for Endangered.
Global threats
Overexploitation for timber has been a problem since at least 1945. Selective felling, not only of this species, leads to forest degradation and is followed by the conversion of forest for agriculture and pastoralism. Remaining forests are increasingly fragmented. Few trees remain in Peru (Vicuña-Miñano, 2005) and there have been significant declines in Ecuador (Kuptz, 2010).
Conservation Actions
This species is present in Chimborazo National Park, Equador. A limited amount of research has been initiated to examine the possibilites of enrichment plantings within degraded areas (Kuptz, 2010).
References and further reading
Kuptz, D., Grams, T.E. & S. Gunter. (2010). Light acclimation of four native tree species in felling gaps within a tropical mountain rainforest. Trees: Structure and Function 24: 117–127
Thomas, P. & Farjon, A. 2013. Podocarpus sprucei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>
Vicuña-Miñano, E.E. (2005). Las Podocarpáceas de los bosques montanos del noroccidente peruano. Revista Peruviana Biologica 12(2): 283–288.
