November 2024

Agave utahensis clonal rings: artifacts of indigenous resource management

Abstract

Agave utahensis clonal rings are artifacts of centuries of wild harvesting and indigenous resource management. Populations today appear large and healthy in what is now southern Nevada after centuries of large-scale harvesting under indigenous conservation protocols. In contrast, current harvesting of wild Agave in Mexico threatens several species. The longevity of Agave colonies is not well studied, nor are indigenous Agave conservation practices. I conducted an initial field survey, photographing and measuring A. utahensis colonies. Using estimated ranges for average age and size at flowering, I estimated that one or more of the 96 clusters surveyed were likely more than 150 years old. Some clonal rings may have been alive when indigenous wild harvesting was occurring and may have been harvested by First Peoples. These populations represent a large data bank on the effects of high-volume harvesting via indigenous conservation practices of an important and threatened succulent plant genus.