Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
Departamento de Agricultura, Sociedad y Ambiente, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, 29290, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
Ambio. 2018 Feb;47(1):86-96. doi: 10.1007/s13280-017-0940-8. Epub 2017 Sep 5.
The persistence of traditional cultures and modes of land use within rapidly changing, globalized societies is a central issue in understanding ecological and cultural change in the Anthropocene. Located in the heart of the Green Revolution, the Yoreme (Mayo) people of the Mayo Valley in Mexico still obtain a significant proportion of their sustenance from wild ecosystems in the midst of this intensive technological and agricultural development. They live in and around the thornscrub dominated by pitaya (Stenocereus thurberi (Engelm.) Buxb.). In this study, we hypothesize that pitaya supports Yoreme heritage and sustenance amidst anthropogenic changes to the landscape, and we asked three specific questions: What is the land-use status of the S. thurberi habitat? What are its potential uses? Does S. thurberi provide economic value? To address these questions, we conducted interviews, vegetation surveys, and land-use analysis based on geographic information systems. We found that (a) land conversion of the pitaya-rich thornscrub is occurring at a precipitous rate, (b) local producers preserve and adapt their traditions, and (c) S. thurberi supports Yoreme heritage while providing economic benefit. The resulting land-use projections along with the cultural value of pitaya products shows the importance of conserving land and promoting sustainable projects instead of clearing land for other uses. If habitat shrinking continues at the current rate, it is likely that both Yoreme livelihoods and continued cultural practices will suffer.
在快速变化、全球化的社会中，传统文化和土地利用方式的延续是理解人类世生态和文化变化的核心问题。位于绿色革命中心的墨西哥马约山谷的约雷米（马约）人，在这种密集的技术和农业发展中，仍然有很大一部分是从野生生态系统中获得维持生计的资源。他们生活在以火龙果（Stenocereus thurberi (Engelm.) Buxb.）为主的荆棘灌木丛中。在这项研究中，我们假设火龙果在景观受到人为变化的情况下，支持着约雷米人的传统和生计，并提出了三个具体问题：火龙果栖息地的土地利用状况如何？它有哪些潜在用途？火龙果是否具有经济价值？为了解决这些问题，我们进行了访谈、植被调查和基于地理信息系统的土地利用分析。我们发现：（a）火龙果丰富的荆棘灌木丛的土地转换正在以惊人的速度发生；（b）当地生产者在保护和适应传统；（c）火龙果既支持约雷米人的传统，又带来经济效益。由此产生的土地利用预测以及火龙果产品的文化价值表明，保护土地和推广可持续项目的重要性，而不是为了其他用途而开垦土地。如果栖息地以目前的速度继续缩小，约雷米人的生计和持续的文化实践很可能会受到影响。
