About

Karen A. Kainer joined the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences at the University of Florida in 2002. She holds a joint appointment with the Center for Latin American Studies and is a core faculty member of its Tropical Conservation and Development Program. Her research focuses on the advancement and application of ecological sciences to support the conservation of neotropical ecosystems through sustainable use, with a particular emphasis on community-based forest management systems. She initiated her work in the tropics as a forest extensionist with the U.S. Peace Corps in Paraguay. Most of her research has been conducted in Western Amazonia, especially in the Brazilian state of Acre, with recent efforts in Mexico aimed at capacity building. To better understand the broader cultural and socioeconomic context in which communities manage their forest resources, she integrates social science concepts and methods into her research. She is also interested in the role of graduate education as a contributor to conservation and livelihood improvement in tropical regions.

Research topics

• Social Science
• Sociology
• Agroforestry
• Ecology
• Biology
• Political Science
• Geography
• Business
• Environmental resource management
• Economic growth
• Agronomy
• Public relations
• Economics
• Marketing
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• Sociobioeconomias e Financiamento da Conservação na Amazônia: Análise Executiva da Oficina

  Open MIND · 2026-02-09

  report

  Este documento reúne os debates e reflexões do workshop "Sociobioeconomias e Financiamento da Conservação na Amazônia" que ocorreu entre 28 e 31 de maio de 2025 em Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil. Organização: Programa de Desenvolvimento e Conservação Tropical da Universidade da Flórida (TCD/UF), em colaboração com a Fundação Moore. Apoio: Instituto de Pesquisa Ecológica (IPÊ). Documento Relacionado Versão em Inglês: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18700476

  DOI

• Sociobioeconomies and Conservation Finance in the Amazon: Workshop Executive Analysis

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-19

  reportOpen access

  This document brings together the debates and reflections of the workshop "Sociobioeconomies and Conservation Finance in the Amazon" held between May 28 and 31, 2025 in Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil. Organization: University of Florida Tropical Development and Conservation Program (TCD/UF), in collaboration with the Moore Foundation. Support: Institute of Ecological Research (IPÊ).

  PublisherDOI

• Sociobioeconomies and Conservation Finance in the Amazon: Workshop Executive Analysis

  Open MIND · 2026-02-19

  report

  This document brings together the debates and reflections of the workshop "Sociobioeconomies and Conservation Finance in the Amazon" held between May 28 and 31, 2025 in Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil. Organization: University of Florida Tropical Development and Conservation Program (TCD/UF), in collaboration with the Moore Foundation. Support: Institute of Ecological Research (IPÊ).

  DOI

• Sociobioeconomías y Financiamiento de la Conservación en la Amazonía: Análisis Ejecutivo del Taller

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-19

  reportOpen access

  Este documento reúne los debates y reflexiones del taller "Sociobioeconomías y Financiamiento de la Conservación en la Amazonia" que ocurrió entre el 28 y el 31 de mayo de 2025 en Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil. Organización: Programa de Desarrollo y Conservación Tropical de la Universidad de Florida (TCD/UF), en colaboración con la Fundación Moore. Apoyo: Instituto de Investigación Ecológica (IPÊ). Documento relacionado a versión en inglés: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18700476

  PublisherDOI

• Sociobioeconomías y Financiamiento de la Conservación en la Amazonía: Análisis Ejecutivo del Taller

  Open MIND · 2026-02-19

  report

  Este documento reúne los debates y reflexiones del taller "Sociobioeconomías y Financiamiento de la Conservación en la Amazonia" que ocurrió entre el 28 y el 31 de mayo de 2025 en Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil. Organización: Programa de Desarrollo y Conservación Tropical de la Universidad de Florida (TCD/UF), en colaboración con la Fundación Moore. Apoyo: Instituto de Investigación Ecológica (IPÊ). Documento relacionado a versión en inglés: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18700476

  DOI

• Sociobioeconomias e Financiamento da Conservação na Amazônia: Análise Executiva da Oficina

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-09

  reportOpen access

  Este documento reúne os debates e reflexões do workshop "Sociobioeconomias e Financiamento da Conservação na Amazônia" que ocorreu entre 28 e 31 de maio de 2025 em Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil. Organização: Programa de Desenvolvimento e Conservação Tropical da Universidade da Flórida (TCD/UF), em colaboração com a Fundação Moore. Apoio: Instituto de Pesquisa Ecológica (IPÊ). Documento Relacionado Versão em Inglês: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18700476

  PublisherDOI

• Amazonian forest conservation through sustainable use: evidence based on Brazil nut life histories linked to human occupation

  Environmental Conservation · 2025-07-24

  article

  Summary The Brazil nut tree Bertholletia excelsa is an icon of Amazon conservation through sustainable use. Moderate disturbance, such as that caused by swidden agriculture, favours this heliophilic species. Our systematic literature review of Bertholletia studies and historical records addresses the following questions: do slash-and-burn farming systems increase Bertholletia density and growth? What do historical records reveal about the links between Bertholletia life history and human occupation? And what policies and regulations shape the current context for harnessing this synergistic potential for sustainable use? Compared to mature forests, slash-and-burn fallow seedling/sapling densities (11–82 individuals ha –1 , with a mean of 29 individuals ha –1 ) are greater and faster-growing. Extant Bertholletia trees that were cut and burned during swidden preparation resprout as forked individuals and supplement new seeds buried by Dasyprocta spp. The presence of large forked Bertholletia trees and the occurrence of anthropogenic soils, particularly brown soils associated with Brazil nut tree groves, provide evidence that extant Bertholletia groves may be islands of active and passive agroecological management by ancestral Indigenous populations and local communities. This supports the notion that conservation through sustainable use can maintain Amazonian megadiversity. Furthermore, fire has been used in the Amazon since the onset of crop cultivation (including Bertholletia ) c. 4500 years ago, suggesting that a more effective approach than banning fires would be to implement a systematic and methodical fire and fuel management strategy, given the ineffectiveness of command-and-control policies in this regard. The 124 conservation units and Indigenous lands in the Amazon containing Brazil nut trees reinforce the importance of policies to create protected areas. Evidence suggests that the presence of an Amazonian biocultural forest – a phenomenon resulting from the interaction between human activities and natural processes – can be sustainably used to promote what might be termed ‘sociobiodiversity conservation’.

  PublisherDOI

• Burning perceptions that integrate wellbeing and ecosystem services to inform fire governance in the Peruvian Andes

  Journal of Rural Studies · 2025-02-26 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Drivers of spatial and temporal patterns of non-timber forest product extraction in Southern India

  Global Ecology and Conservation · 2025-07-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) support the livelihoods of 2.77 billion people in the Global South. However, their extraction can have a significant impact on forest ecosystems. To formulate policy and regulatory practices that serve both human livelihood needs and biodiversity conservation goals, we need to understand people’s engagement in NTFP extraction. We identified drivers of NTFP extraction among people living across eight forested landscapes in southwestern India. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 641 households and categorized them along a latent scale of increased self-reported engagement in extraction, coded ‘0’ to ‘3’: 0–households not involved in NTFP extraction (38.68 %); 1–those gathering only fuelwood and leaf litter (8.73 %); 2–those extracting NTFPs solely for domestic use (24.80 %); and 3–those extracting at least one species for commercial purposes (27.76 %). Using an ordinal regression, we found that tribal households, those relying on daily wages and agriculture, and those residing in the same location for > 50 years, have a higher propensity to extract NTFPs. We found differences across geography and states that were not explained by household-level drivers. A majority of respondents perceived a reduction in extraction over the last decade, which they attributed to restricted access to forests, lower resource yield, and alternative livelihood opportunities. We highlight the utility of including, but distinguishing, domestic NTFP extraction from commercial practices in conservation planning. Our findings, complemented by sustainability assessments, can inform context-specific policies that recognize the role of forest products in rural livelihoods, guiding extraction of forest resources in a sustainable manner to support forest-dependent livelihoods while achieving conservation goals. • We interviewed 641 people to assess non-timber forest product (NTFP) extraction. • Tribal identity and agricultural and daily wage livelihoods increased NTFP extraction. • It is important to account for and distinguish domestic and commercial use for policy. • NTFP use has declined due to reduced access, yield, and alternative livelihoods.

  PublisherDOI

• What affects the sustainability of a non-timber forest product value chain? A case study of an endemic palm harvested by local communities in Brazil

  Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · 2025-08-20 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Traditional harvest of non-timber forest products (NTFP) offers an economic alternative to local communities by providing income without significantly altering current land use while reinforcing deeply rooted local knowledge. Analyzing NTFP value chains helps understand the actors, relationships, stages, and sustainability of these products. This study focuses on the piassava palm (Attalea funifera Martius), examining its value chain structure, social and economic indicators, and sustainability challenges. METHODS: Our study focused on communities in the Environmental Protection Areas of Pratigi and Tinharé-Boipeba in Bahia, Brazil. We examined five local communities involved in piassava harvesting, using semi-structured interviews and participant observation to gather data on actor roles, socioeconomic aspects, and sustainability issues, like economic vulnerabilities, social challenges, and environmental threats. Using a mixed-methods approach-combining semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and quantitative descriptive analysis-we investigated the roles of key actors, relationships, and threats within the piassava value chain. Findings were analyzed using content analysis and basic statistical measures to understand the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability. RESULTS: We observed diverse stages, actor roles, and final products in the piassava value chain, identifying three primary raw materials: fibers, leaves, and fruits. Four main stages were noted: harvest, transportation, fiber separation, and product sales, with ecotourism emerging as a potential stage in the value chain analyzed here. The piassava value chain's structure varies based on the materials and products involved, with key actors being harvest workers, partitioners, roofing artisans, and handicraft artisans. Respondents identified 20 threats to the piassava value chain, categorized into economic, social, and environmental issues, with the most cited being the scarcity of harvest workers, lack of interest among young people, and deforestation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest policy recommendations for reconciling social, economic, and ecological aspects. These include promoting community-based tourism as a complementary income source. Recognizing and disseminating piassava value chain outcomes as sociobiodiversity products, for example, strengthening legal and commercial frameworks to certify piassava products, or encouraging investment in local processing infrastructure to enhance value addition and market access. Finally, the results analyzed here underscore the importance of including local perspectives in discussions and highlight the need for further research to evaluate strategies for sustainable community forest management.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• IGERT: Working Forest in the Tropics

  NSF · $3.3M · 2002–2011

Frequent coauthors

• L. H. de O. Wadt

  Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

  38 shared

• Christina L. Staudhammer

  University of Alabama

  20 shared

• D. A. P. Gomes-Silva

  12 shared

• Glenn H. Shepard

  Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

  9 shared

• Christie A. Klimas

  DePaul University

  9 shared

• Peter Coventry

  9 shared

• Luciana L. Simões

  Scunthorpe General Hospital

  9 shared

• Rogério Gribel

  National Institute of Amazonian Research

  9 shared