Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Avenida Universidad 1001, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, CP 62209, Mexico.
Colegio de Postgraduados, Postgrado en Botánica, Km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco, Montecillo, Texcoco, Estado de México, CP 56264, Mexico.
J Environ Manage. 2018 May 15;214:56-65. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.02.072. Epub 2018 Mar 5.
This research integrates Traditional and Formal Ecological Knowledge (TEK / FEK) of a Tropical Dry Forest in central Mexico, in order to assess harvesting and conservation of the non-timber forest species. We were interested in: knowing the structure and diversity of the forest community; identifying which are the tree resources of common interest to the users through participatory workshops. A further interest was to identify those resources which are important to local people in terms of preservation; explaining the relationship of the species with some environmental factors; and visualizing which management practices endanger or facilitate the conservation of species. Studied areas were defined and labelled on a map drawn by local informants, where they indicated those plant species of common interest for preservation. Ethnobotanical techniques were used to reveal the TEK and assess harvesting and conservation of the species. With the FEK through community and population ecology, we detected the importance of five environmental factors, obtained various ecological indicators of the vegetation, and studied the population structure of the relevant species. The FEK was analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics. As a result, low density and small basal area of trees were registered. Species richness and diversity index were similar to other natural protected areas in Mexico. Tree species harvested shown an asymmetric distribution of diameters. Harvesting, elevation, and accessibility were the most influential factors on tree density. FEK demonstrated that TEK is helpful for the assessment of forest harvesting. Ecological analysis complemented the local knowledge detecting that Lysiloma tergemina is a species non-identified for the people as interesting, although we discover that it is a threatened species by over-harvesting. Haematoxylum brasiletto was identified as important for conservation due to its scarcity and medicinal use. Our results advanced on how the traditional harvesting of tree community has contributed to preserve diversity, when comparing with protected areas. Discrepancies between both kinds of knowledge should be reconciled for contributing to the preservation of priority resources by the local society.
本研究整合了中美洲热带干旱森林的传统和形式生态知识（TEK/FEK），以评估非木材森林物种的收获和保护。我们感兴趣的是：了解森林群落的结构和多样性；通过参与式研讨会确定用户共同感兴趣的树木资源。另一个兴趣是确定那些对当地人在保护方面重要的资源；解释物种与某些环境因素的关系；并直观地了解哪些管理实践会危及或促进物种的保护。在由当地知情人绘制的地图上定义和标记研究区域，他们在地图上指出了那些共同具有保护价值的植物物种。使用民族植物学技术来揭示 TEK，并评估物种的收获和保护。通过社区和种群生态学的 FEK，我们检测到五个环境因素的重要性，获得了植被的各种生态指标，并研究了相关物种的种群结构。FEK 采用描述性和多元统计分析进行分析。结果表明，树木的密度低，基面积小。物种丰富度和多样性指数与墨西哥其他自然保护区相似。收获的树种显示出直径的不对称分布。收获、海拔和可达性是对树木密度影响最大的因素。FEK 表明，TEK 有助于评估森林收获。生态分析补充了当地知识，发现 Lysiloma tergemina 是一种不为当地人所认为有趣的未被识别的物种，尽管我们发现它是一种因过度收获而受到威胁的物种。Haematoxylum brasiletto 因其稀缺性和药用价值而被确定为具有保护意义的物种。我们的研究结果表明，与保护区相比，传统的树木群落收获如何有助于保护多样性。应调和这两种知识之间的差异，以促进当地社会保护优先资源。
