Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Background: Firewood is the main energy resource for rural people in many communities in Mexico. In Morelos, 6.2 % of private dwellings use this resource for cooking and the low deciduous forest is the main ecosystem from which they obtain it. Questions and Hypotheses: What is the consumption of firewood in the dwellings of a peasant community and what factors influence the rates of use? Study site and dates: El Zoquital Community, Municipality of Amacuzac, Morelos. January-December 2021. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were applied to 33 family units to document the species used as fuel. In addition, the consumption of firewood in six households was evaluated through direct measurement. With the data obtained, statistical analyzes were applied (ANOVA, ANCOVA, χ2, Haberman's adjusted residuals and LDA) to evaluate the factors that influence the rates of use. Results: Twenty-three species were identified as firewood. The total annual consumption in the six family units was 13,338.1 kg and was affected by age and the number of members. There are significant differences in firewood consumption throughout the year and between seasonality (rainy vs. dry). The availability and consumption by species were different in the traditional productive units (milpa, paddock, patio and forest) due to the diversity of productive activities among family units. Conclusions: The use of dendroenergetic resources in the southwest of Morelos is the product of causal factors determined by the availability of the species and the composition of each family.

Background: Human management of plant populations can modify the amounts and distribution of their genetic diversity. Questions: What is the phylogeographic structure of Crescentia alata and how is it related to past climatic changes? What are the genetic diversity levels of homegarden populations and how are they associated to human management? Studied species: Crescentia alata Kunth (Bignoniaceae). Study site and dates: Mexico and Central America 2009-2011. Methods: We analyzed 243 trees from 10 homegarden and 25 wild populations. Chloroplast haplotypes were identified through six microsatellite loci. Haplotype relationships were reconstructed with a median-joining network. Genetic diversity and structuring were evaluated with RST and GST indexes and AMOVA. Geographical barriers among populations were identified with Monmonier’s algorithm. The hypothesis of historical demographic growth was evaluated through the paired differences distribution and the species potential distribution was projected onto the past during the Middle Holocene, Last Glacial Maximum and Last Inter Glacial periods. Results: A latitudinal pattern of phylogeographic structure was identified with geographical barriers in the northern Pacific Ocean and the Tehuantepec Isthmus. We detected a significant demographic growth, likely associated to glacial environmental conditions. Most homegarden trees were found to be tolerated and share chloroplast haplotypes with sympatric wild populations. Conclusions: Human management has not modified the natural phylogeographic structure of C. alata and homegarden populations represent a genetic reservoir where introgression processes are favored by seed mediated propagation.

Background: The Boquerón de Tonalá Flora and Fauna Protection Area (APFF) has distinctive climatic, geological and edaphic characteristics, harbouring diverse types of vegetation. The leguminosae of the area have not been inventoried in detail as a whole. Questions: Which are the legume species in the Boqueron de Tonala Natural Protected Area, Oaxaca? Are there differences in species richness by vegetation type? Study site and dates:  Boqueron de Tonala Protection Area (APFF), Oaxaca; June 2017 to June 2018. Methods: Eight localities and 14 sites were chosen corresponding to the dominant plant communities, covering the entire APFF Boqueron de Tonala and the altitudinal gradient. Fifty-eight days of effective field work were covered. Specimens collected by subfamily, genus and species were counted. Results: One hundred and seventy-seven plant specimens were collected plus their duplicates, these correspond to 85 species, from 38 genera, included in three subfamilies and the Mimosoid clade which we treat here as a separate group. The largest number of genera and species found belong to the Papilionoideae subfamily. The genera with the highest number of species are Brongniartia, Mimosa, Senna and Vachellia (formerly part of Acacia). Seasonally, dry tropical forest was the vegetation type with the highest number of species and genera. A new species of the genus Coulteria was found (Caesalpinioideae subfamily) in oak forest. Conclusions: The floristic diversity of legume plants in the APFF Boquerón de Tonalá shows that its management and its conservation strategies should be strengthened in the area.

Restoration is a prominent field of research and of restoration projects that seek to recover degraded and dysfunctional ecosystems and the services they provide. Humanity’s environmental crisis has increased awareness of the urgent need to conserve ecosystems and their biodiversity. Many countries and international organizations have set ambitious plans and restoration targets. This paper emphasizes on current themes such as landscape restoration, invasive species, novel ecosystems, and the necessary involvement of local communities in ecological restoration. It is focused mainly on tropical forest ecosystems. Another aim of this paper is a review of the results obtained in diverse restoration practices that concentrate on inducing secondary succession processes in tropical forests. It draws heavily on case studies from Mexico. Members of society should play an active role in restoration planning and implementation. Social participation is central to the success and sustainability of restoration projects. Traditional ecological knowledge is essential in many projects, and there should be careful consideration of the ethics involved. In the coming years, we will probably see a surge in the unassisted revegetation and reforestation of many abandoned rural areas making the understanding and managing of these restoration processes necessary and crucial. Finally, a set of guidelines that view restoration as a long-term social and ecological process is given.

Elementos Blog Botanical Sciences

Elementos Blog Botanical Sciences

Elementos Blog Botanical Sciences

Elementos Blog Botanical Sciences

Elementos Blog Botanical Sciences

Elementos Blog Botanical Sciences