Many epiphytic orchids are harvested in Mexico for different purposes. Laelia furfuracea is one of the most intensively traded species. Its inflorescences are used as ornaments during the December festivities. We investigated the effect of severing the flowering pseudobulb. This is the traditional technique frequently used by collectors at the study area. We wished to investigate its effects on the production of new pseudobulbs, as well as on their size and flowering probability. Also, we examined the survival probability and growth of individuals that had fallen on the ground to evaluate their potential as trading resources. Inflorescence collection did not affect the production of new pseudobulbs the following season. However, it affected the size of these pseudobulbs, as well as their flowering probability. Yet, the direction of this effect was not consistent between years. Nearly six percent of all L. furfuracea plants at the study site were found on the ground. Over 80 percent of them survived for at least two years, although most of them showed pseudobulb loss over that period of time. We conclude that harvesting of flowering pseudobulbs may be sustainable in terms of its effects on plant performance, at least in the short term. The active management of plants that have fallen on the ground may reduce the harvesting pressure on natural populations. Harvesting of flowering pseudobulbs may diminish some aspects of plant performance, but its effects need to be evaluated with complete life cycle data and take into account interannual variation in vital rates.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥瓦哈卡州稀有的附生兰花Laelia furfuracea的可持续收获和保护

墨西哥收获了许多附生兰花，用于不同目的。紫草是交易最密集的物种之一。它的花序在十二月的庆祝活动中被用作装饰品。我们研究了切断开花的假鳞茎的效果。这是研究区域的收藏家经常使用的传统技术。我们希望研究其对新假鳞茎的产生以及它们的大小和开花概率的影响。此外，我们检查了那些落在地上的个体的生存概率和成长，以评估其作为交易资源的潜力。花序收集不影响下个季节新假鳞茎的产生。但是，它影响了这些假鳞茎的大小及其开花的可能性。但是，这种影响的方向在几年之间并不一致。接近百分之六在地面上发现了研究地点的糠fu乳杆菌。他们中的80％以上存活了至少两年，尽管大多数人在这段时间内表现出假性灯泡丢失。我们得出结论，就其对植物生长的影响而言，至少在短期内，收获开花的假鳞茎可能是可持续的。主动管理掉落在地面上的植物可能会减轻自然种群的收获压力。收获开花的假鳞茎可能会降低植物性能的某些方面，但需要使用完整的生命周期数据评估其影响，并考虑生命率的年际变化。