Abstract
Wild species collected in Mexico are important resources for the subsistence of its inhabitants. Particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of northeastern Mexico, where agriculture and livestock are limited by climatic conditions, human groups that inhabit these sites depend on the rich diversity of its flora and fauna. The largest desert in North America, the Chihuahuan Desert, is one of the world’s biologically richest deserts. To date, extraction of wild resources has been performed sustainably. The farmers that live in this region and depend on the collection of natural resources are mindful of their harvesting practices to secure them as a continuing source of income. The farmers in the area have a wealth of knowledge about the biological characteristics and the most appropriate extraction methods for the native plants. The extraction of candelilla, oregano, mesquite, and lechuguilla remains a very important activity in this region, and the description from farmers of how they harvest these plants is an indication of the sophistication and hard work that their extraction involves.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the support granted by SEMARNAT and CONACYT (0350) for fieldwork in the San Lorenzo ejido, and for the support of CONACYT on the postdoctoral fellowship of the first author. Thank you very much to the members of the San Lorenzo ejido in Cuatro Ciénegas for teaching us about the hard work of the candelilleros.
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Martínez Ballesté, A., Iglesias Chacón, T., Mandujano, M.C. (2020). Between the Arid and the Opulent: Plant Resources of the Mexican Desert. In: Mandujano, M., Pisanty, I., Eguiarte, L. (eds) Plant Diversity and Ecology in the Chihuahuan Desert. Cuatro Ciénegas Basin: An Endangered Hyperdiverse Oasis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44963-6_7
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