Socratea exhorriza and Iriartea deltoidea are common plants here in western Amazonia. These species are very common in the forest understory while young individuals and are shade tolerant in the early stages of life. In a recent experiment I did, S. exhorriza resprout from the roots after experimental surface fire. Here are some references of articles with palm physiology, hope it helps.

Renninger, H. J., & Phillips, N. (2011). Hydraulic properties of fronds from palms of varying height and habitat. Oecologia. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2038-5

Renninger, H. J., & Phillips, N. (2012). “Secondary stem lengthening” in the palm Iriartea deltoidea (Arecaceae) provides an efficient and novel method for height growth in a tree form. American Journal of Botany, 99(4), 607–13. http://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1100523

Tomlinson, P. B., & Quinn, C. J. (2013). Palms do not undergo secondary stem lengthening: a response to Renninger and Phillips (American Journal of Botany 99: 607-613). American Journal of Botany, 100(3), 461–4. http://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1200550

Renninger, H. J., & Phillips, N. (2013). Secondary stem lengthening in palms: response to commentary by Tomlinson and Quinn. American Journal of Botany, 100(3), 465–6. http://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1300013

Marcus, thank you for your answer and references. I wanted to get an idea of what´s in the literature regarding what is known about the regeneration requirements of these palms. I agree with you based on what I have seen in terms of seedling distribution. However, Iriartea, Socratea and sometimes Euterpe get to the canopy or subcanopy. They should experience ontogenetic niche shifts. Interesting that the literature is meager in the exploration of how palms traverse different environments throughtout their ontogeny. Best, GA

Dear Gerardo,

we studied height growth of Iriartea, Euterpe precatoria and Cryosophila warscewiczii in a permanent plot in Costa Rica:

Homeier, J., Breckle, S. W., Dalitz, H., Leyers, C., & Ortiz, R. (2002). DEMOGRAPHY, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION, AND GROWTH OFTHREE ARBORESCENT PALM SPECIES IN ATROPICAL PREMONTANE RAIN FOREST IN COSTA RICA. Ecotropica 8:239-247.

The study is ongoing but most current data are still not published.

Best regards

Jürgen

Jürgen, thank you for the suggested reference. However, I tried to download it from gtoe, but it was not possible. If it is not too much trouble, could you send me a reprint? My email is [email protected], Best, GA

Jürgen, thank you for sending the reprints by email. All the best, GA