Unlike some Metroxylon species, Soga never produces
suckers and so seeds are the only agent of regeneration.
The long period between seed germination and a single
fruiting event is a reproductive method which renders even
large populations of Soga vulnerable to sudden and dramatic
disturbance. Unlike Rotumans and Fiji’s neighbors in
Vanuatu, Fijians do not have a cultural history of Soga use.
Although Fijians used Soga extensively as thatching
material during the twentieth century, it is quite likely that
its use as such was learned from Solomon Islanders resident
in Fiji, as indeed the people of Deuba explicitly told
the anthropologist Geddes during his stay at Deuba village,
from 1942 to 1943. Geddes relates that ‘‘. . . the use of the
leaf itself is comparatively recent, having been learnt from
indentured Solomon islanders.…’’ (Geddes 2000). Currently,
Soga is rarely if ever used for thatching materials
for Fijian houses, because it is very labour intensive and
because of the increased use of corrugated iron as a roofing
material. As a result there has been no opposition by
landowners to loss of natural Soga populations. The distribution
of Soga has dramatically decreased to its current
relict populations primarily through a gradual drainage of
coastal swamps and clearing of coastal forests for agriculture,
gardens and pastures. Removal of the normal
closed canopy and swamp drainage dramatically increases
the ability of invasive weeds and creepers to outcompete
young palms and prevents the establishment of germinating
palms. Lowering the water table enables the occasional
penetration of fire during dry seasons, as well livestock,
both of which seriously impact juvenile Soga (NFMV
2008a).