Usos tradicionales y prácticas de manejo de <em>Piper auritum</em> en comunidades maya rurales de Yucatán

Background: Plant domestication is a continuous, multidirectional process that is directed via plant selection and management. In the current study we use Piper auritum, an aromatic plant frequently used in Mexican cuisine and for medicinal purpose, to characterize the domestication level using information about its cultural relevance, management practices and leaf traits differentiation in managed and ruderal populations. Questions: What is the level of domestication of the aromatic plant Piper auritum? Are there any morphological or phytochemical differences between home garden and ruderal populations? Studied species: Piper auritum, Kunth Study site and dates: Ten communities in eastern Yucatan, México, from 2019 to 2021. Methods: Fifty-three Semi-structured interviews were applied (72 % women and 28 % men). Morphological and phytochemical leaf traits were measured to test management effects using home garden and ruderal populations. Results: People interviewed knew P. auritum and its uses. Five culinary and 12 medicinal uses were registered. P. auritum is grown in homegardens and the main management activity is irrigation. The selection occurs at the leaf level according to their size and resistance. Home garden plants registered greater foliar area and hardness and decreased safrole, compared to ruderal. Conclusions: Piper auritum is widely known in the communities and has a variety of culinary and medicinal uses. Management is vital for its survival in home gardens, but the species germinates spontaneously and is not usually planted. We found differences in leaf traits in managed and unmanaged populations. With this evidence we propose that P. auritumis under incipient domestication

New Proposal of Epiphytic Bromeliaceae Functional Groups to Include Nebulophytes and Shallow Tanks

The Bromeliaceae family has been used as a model to study adaptive radiation due to its terrestrial, epilithic, and epiphytic habits with wide morpho-physiological variation. Functional groups described by Pittendrigh in 1948 have been an integral part of ecophysiological studies. In the current study, we revisited the functional groups of epiphytic bromeliads using a 204 species trait database sampled throughout the Americas. Our objective was to define epiphytic functional groups within bromeliads based on unsupervised classification, including species from the dry to the wet end of the Neotropics. We performed a hierarchical cluster analysis with 16 functional traits and a discriminant analysis, to test for the separation between these groups. Herbarium records were used to map species distributions and to analyze the climate and ecosystems inhabited. The clustering supported five groups, C3 tank and CAM tank bromeliads with deep tanks, while the atmospheric group (according to Pittendrigh) was divided into nebulophytes, bromeliads with shallow tanks, and bromeliads with pseudobulbs. The two former groups showed distinct traits related to resource (water) acquisition, such as fog (nebulophytes) and dew (shallow tanks). We discuss how the functional traits relate to the ecosystems inhabited and the relevance of acknowledging the new functional groups

In situ germination database

1) It includes the record of the in situ germination of two Tillandsia species, the times in which the seeds were depredated are recorded for July and October. 2) It shows the record of the photographs obtained by the photo-trap cameras in the months of October and November. The time each time the local fauna appeared was recorded, especially that the Tillandsia seed predator, Yucatan deer mouse, in order to estimate the time it takes to remove the seeds, as well as the days of visiting the tree

Data from: Drought, post-dispersal seed predation and the establishment of epiphytic bromeliads (Tillandsia spp.)

Post-dispersal predation in epiphytes is poorly documented. In the course of a study on in situ germination of two Tillandsia species in a deciduous forest in Yucatan, Mexico, post-dispersal seed predation rates by the Yucatan deer mouse (Peromyscus yucatanicus) averaged 90%. Post-dispersal predation was thus more limiting than drought

Changes in the Socio-Ecological System of a Protected Area in the Yucatan Peninsula: A Case Study on Land-Use, Vegetation Cover, and Household Management Strategies

Protected areas (PA) are effective means for protecting biodiversity, but less is known about their effect on the social-ecological system (SES). Using a semi-experimental approach and a descriptive case study based evaluation, we analyzed the effect of a PA in the Yucatan Peninsula on land-cover and household resource management strategies in time and space (before and after the PA establishment; inside and outside its limits). To assess the changes of land-use practices in the areas surrounding the communities inside and outside the PA, and their change over time (from 2003 to 2015), we used remote sensing analysis and semi-structured interviews. Our results show that after the PA was established, the forest increased and agricultural plots decreased inside and to a lesser extent outside the PA. However, fires reduced the area of old-growth forest and increased young secondary forest, highlighting the system’s vulnerability to uncommon events. Resource management strategies were also affected: while inside the PA households tended toward specializing on tourism, outside the PA household strategies implied a diversification of productive activities. Overall, the establishment of the PA proved to be an effective tool to promote forest recovery and prevent deforestation in the regions surrounding the communities both inside and outside the PA

Cambios de cobertura y uso del suelo (1979-2000) en dos comunidades rurales en el noroeste de Quintana Roo

El análisis de los cambios de cobertura y uso del suelo (ccus) en relación con las actividades humanas es esencial para entender y predecir la dinámica del paisaje. Se analizan los ccus en Solferino y San Ángel, dos comunidades rurales del noroeste de Quintana Roo, a partir de fotografías aéreas de 1979 y 2000, recorridos de campo y entrevistas para documentar la historia de uso del suelo. Contrario a la mayoría de estudios, se registró un aumento en la cobertura de selvas, proveniente principalmente de la regeneración de áreas quemadas, lo cual resalta el papel de los incendios como agentes de cambio de cobertura y la capacidad de recuperación de las selvas. El cambio en el uso del suelo favoreció ligeramente la deforestación en Solferino, debido en parte a una mayor disponibilidad de selvas para usos agropecuarios en las cercanías del poblado. En San Ángel se observó una mayor regeneración de selvas, debido en parte a una mayor deforestación previa, asociada a un gran aumento poblacional y a la implementación de programas federales de fomento a la ganadería. Se discuten los escenarios de cambio y las posibles repercusiones de las actuales tendencias institucionales, socioeconómicas y climáticas sobre los futuros ccus

Changes in the Socio-Ecological System of a Protected Area in the Yucatan Peninsula: A Case Study on Land-Use, Vegetation Cover, and Household Management Strategies

Protected areas (PA) are effective means for protecting biodiversity, but less is known about their effect on the social-ecological system (SES). Using a semi-experimental approach and a descriptive case study based evaluation, we analyzed the effect of a PA in the Yucatan Peninsula on land-cover and household resource management strategies in time and space (before and after the PA establishment; inside and outside its limits). To assess the changes of land-use practices in the areas surrounding the communities inside and outside the PA, and their change over time (from 2003 to 2015), we used remote sensing analysis and semi-structured interviews. Our results show that after the PA was established, the forest increased and agricultural plots decreased inside and to a lesser extent outside the PA. However, fires reduced the area of old-growth forest and increased young secondary forest, highlighting the system’s vulnerability to uncommon events. Resource management strategies were also affected: while inside the PA households tended toward specializing on tourism, outside the PA household strategies implied a diversification of productive activities. Overall, the establishment of the PA proved to be an effective tool to promote forest recovery and prevent deforestation in the regions surrounding the communities both inside and outside the PA