Plant management and biodiversity conservation in Náhuatl homegardens of the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID4716352
AuthorsCarolina Larios, Carolina Zequeira Larios (0000-0002-6180-5529), Alejandro Casas (0000-0002-8181-5118, Centro de Investigaciones de Ecosistemas Costeros, corresponding author), Mariana Vallejo (0000-0002-0350-5333), Ana I Moreno-Calles (0000-0003-2526-2739, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), Jorge Blancas (0000-0002-2097-5337), José Blancas
Year2013
Volume9
Issue1
Pages74
Publication date2013-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1746-4269 • E-ISSN: 1746-4269
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/1746-4269-9-74
PMID24195962
PMCIDPMC3827996
OpenAlexW2096593535
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited29

BACKGROUND: The Tehuacán Valley is one of the areas of Mesoamerica with the oldest history of plant management. Homegardens are among the most ancient management systems that currently provide economic benefits to people and are reservoirs of native biodiversity. Previous studies estimated that 30% of the plant richness of homegardens of the region are native plant species from wild populations. We studied in Náhuatl communities the proportion of native plant species maintained in homegardens, hypothesizing to find a proportion similar to that estimated at regional level, mainly plant resources maintained for edible, medicinal and ornamental purposes. METHODS: We analysed the composition of plant species of homegardens and their similarity with surrounding Cloud Forest (CF), Tropical Rainforest (TRF), Tropical Dry forest (TDF), and Thorn-Scrub Forest (TSF). We determined density, frequency and biomass of plant species composing homegardens and forests through vegetation sampling of a total of 30 homegardens and nine plots of forests, and documented ethnobotanical information on use, management, and economic benefits from plants maintained in homegardens. RESULTS: A total of 281 plant species was recorded with 12 use categories, 115 ornamental, 92 edible, and 50 medicinal plant species. We recorded 49.8 ± 23.2 (average ± S.D.) woody plant species (shrubs and trees) per homegarden. In total, 34% species are native to the Tehuacán Valley and nearly 16% are components of the surrounding forests. A total of 176 species were cultivated through seeds, vegetative propagules or transplanted entire individual plants, 71 tolerated, and 23 enhanced. The highest species richness and diversity were recorded in homegardens from the CF zone (199 species), followed by those from the TRF (157) and those from the TDF (141) zones. CONCLUSION: Homegardens provide a high diversity of resources for subsistence of local households and significantly contribute to conservation of native biodiversity. The highest diversity was recorded in homegardens where the neighbouring forests had the least diversity, suggesting that management of homegardens aims at compensating scarcity of naturally available plant resources. Cultivated species were markedly more abundant than plants under other management forms. Diversity harboured and management techniques make homegardens keystones in strategies for regional biodiversity conservation

Agroforestry · Biodiversity · Biology · Biomass (ecology · Geography · Introduced species · Native plant · Ornamental plant · Plant community · Rainforest · Species diversity · Species richness · Vegetation (pathology · Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies · Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies · Plant and animal studies · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Ecology