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Agroforestry systems in the highlands of the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico: indigenous cultures and biodiversity conservation

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Abstract

In this study we analysed: (1) the biodiversity conservation capacity of Agroforestry Systems (AFS) in temperate highlands of the Tehuacán–Cuicatlán Valley, Central Mexico, (2) human cultural motives and actions for conserving such diversity and (3) problems endangering that capacity. We evaluated the richness and diversity of perennial plant species maintained in AFS through vegetation sampling of 14 agricultural plots and compared their composition with that of natural forests (14 plots of 500 m2 each). We examined the situations among communities of Náhuatl, Ixcatec and Cuicatec people, documenting through interviews the management practices of plant species and the whole system, reasons why people maintain vegetation cover within AFS, and factors influencing changes in decisions favouring agriculture intensification. In the AFS studied we recorded a total of 79 species of trees and shrubs, 86 % of them being native species and representing 43 % of all species of trees and shrubs recorded in the sampling of the natural forests the AFS derive from. People leave standing on average a total of 40 individual trees and shrubs per agricultural plot. Reasons for leave plant species standing were more frequently associated with their use as fruit trees, firewood, shade, beauty, respect to nature and other environmental benefits. Water availability for irrigation, land tenure, and dependence on agriculture and forest for peasant's subsistence were main decision factors influencing AFS variation in their composition. AFS in temperate zones are important reservoirs of biodiversity and biocultural heritage and should be keystones for conservation policies in the Tehuacán–Cuicatlán Valley.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico for supporting postgraduate studies and a grant for the first author, respectively. We also thank financial support from CONACYT (Research Project CB-2008-01-103551), and the UNAM-DGAPA-PAPIIT (Research projects IN205111-3, IN2092014 and IA203213), as well as Edgar Pérez-Negrón for fieldwork assistance and Ignacio Torres for the illustration of Fig 7. We emphatically thank people of San Lorenzo Pápalo, Santa María Ixcatlán and Coyomeapan for their hospitality and friendship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Santa María Guido, Apartado Postal 27-3, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Mariana Vallejo, Alejandro Casas, José Blancas, Leonor Solís & Selene Rangel-Landa

  2. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Santa María Guido, Apartado Postal 27-3, 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Ana I. Moreno-Calles

  3. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM, Los Reyes Iztacala, Apartado Postal, 54090, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, Mexico

    Patricia Dávila & Oswaldo Téllez

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  1. Mariana Vallejo
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  2. Alejandro Casas
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  3. José Blancas
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  4. Ana I. Moreno-Calles
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  5. Leonor Solís
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  6. Selene Rangel-Landa
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  7. Patricia Dávila
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Correspondence to Alejandro Casas.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

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Table 5 List of species recorded in the sampling of forests and agroforestry systems studied
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Vallejo, M., Casas, A., Blancas, J. et al. Agroforestry systems in the highlands of the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico: indigenous cultures and biodiversity conservation. Agroforest Syst 88, 125–140 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9660-7

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