La crítica y el "estado de excepción" que es la regla.: Una lectura de Benjamin por y para las luchas de las mujeres.

This essay proposes a reading of the VIII of Benjamin's Theses on history  "using" it, in the sense that Benjamin himself maintained that a materialist presentation of history must make use of fragments of the past to radically question the present, and resist oppression. This thesis is compared to the words of the Zapatista women, spoken on the occasion of the inauguration of the Second International Meeting of Fighting Women, to argue that the "State of exception" that, as Benjamin stated, was the rule, continues to be so today specifically (although not exclusively) for women and other feminized bodies, both individual and collective. It is also argued that the fighting tradition of indigenous women produced by a Capitalist Coloniality that is still ongoing, currently shows us the normality of the contemporary "state of exception". Finally, women's fights are proposed to also be criticism exercises and resistance and inventiveness practices, for a justice “to-come”.Este ensayo propone una lectura de la VIII de las Tesis sobre la historia, de Benjamin que la “emplea”, en el sentido en que el propio Benjamin sostenía que una exposición materialista de la historia debía emplear los fragmentos del pasado para interrogar radicalmente el presente y resistir a las opresiones. Se pone en relación esta tesis con las palabras de las mujeres zapatistas, pronunciadas con motivo de la inauguración del Segundo encuentro internacional de mujeres que luchan, para argumentar que el “estado de excepción” que Benjamin había advertido era en verdad la regla, lo sigue siendo hoy específicamente (aunque no únicamente) para las mujeres y otros cuerpos, individuales y colectivos, feminizados.  Se argumenta también que la tradición de lucha de las mujeres indígenas producida por una colonialidad capitalista que sigue en curso es la que hoy nos muestra la normalidad del “estado de excepción” contemporáneo. Finalmente se propone que las luchas de las mujeres son, también, ejercicios críticos y prácticas de resistencia e invención, para una justicia por-venir

Conservation and Restoration of Pine Forest Genetic Resources in México

Deforestation rates in México are about 670,000 ha/year. This threatens the richness of forest genetic resources in México, causing the disappearance of locally adapted populations and rare and endangered pine species. México is one of the six megadiverse countries in the world, with half of the world’s Pinus species. Pinus is one of the most economically and ecologically important forest genera in México. We suggest that delineation of seed zones and the establishment of a network of Forest Genetic Resource Conservation Units (FGRCUs), linked with forest management and ecological restoration programs will protect this valuable resource. We estimate that FGRCUs should include 25 to 50 ha each, with at least one FGRCU for each priority species in each seed zone. We highlight the need for studies of adaptive genetic variation among pine populations and for new methodologies and techniques to suit ecological restoration under Mexican forest conditions. We briefly describe ongoing research on these topics on forests owned by a well-organized indigenous community in Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoacán, western México

Three decades of remote sensing analysis of forest decline related to climate change

Climate change is predicted to lead to increasingly intense and hotter droughts, causing physiological weakness followed by forest decline in many regions of the world. Long- and short-range remote sensing (satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly called drones) can sense drought-induced changes in vegetation. Although several studies have addressed forest decline events, none have analyzed the forest decline attributable to climate change using remote sensing in a concise manner. A bibliometric analysis was carried out to characterize the scientific production reported in the Web of Science repository. The search descriptors were a combination of keywords related to forest decline and remote sensing. The results showed 278 articles published between 1989 and 2021 in 92 journals, with an average annual increase of 31%. A total of 29 nodes and 220 scientific collaboration links were located, mainly led by researchers from USA, Germany and China. Keyword analysis using World-TreeMap reflected the association of different key forest decline phenomena such as drought stress and climate change. Although the use of satellite information to study and understand forest decline has been reported for just over three decades, the most notable feature of the present research was the limited role of drones with only 5 studies. This reveals an area of opportunity to take advantage of the main strengths of drones, i.e., spatial and temporal resolution, low cost compared to manned flights, and centimeter accuracy. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to increase studies to improve the use of multispectral sensors, thermal and LiDAR technology for long-term monitoring of forest decline related to climate change

Altitudinal assisted migration of Mexican pines as an adaptation to climate change

Since shifts in altitudinal range are expected in response to climate change, we explored the effect on survivorship and growth of moving populations of three Mexican pine species (Pinus devoniana, P. leiophylla and P. pseudostrobus) to higher altitude, aiming to realign the populations to projected future climates in an experimental assisted migration. Twelve populations were collected across an altitudinal gradient (1650-2520 m above sea level [asl]) in a mountainous zone in the central-west region of the Mexican Trans-Volcanic Belt, and were planted in common garden tests at three forest sites of different altitudes (low: 2110, medium: 2422 and upper: 2746 m asl). Climate was estimated using a spline climatic model at the seed source and test sites and also measured using in situ data loggers. Survivorship and seedling height were evaluated in the field during the second and third growing seasons. Results were analyzed using mixed models to include the effect of climatic transfer distances (difference in climate between seed source and test site). Significant differences were found in seedling growth among Pinus devoniana, P. pseudostrobus and P. leiophylla, and among populations within the former two species. These were associated primarily with climatic transfer distances of extreme temperatures (minimum temperature in the coldest month and mean temperature in the warmest month). There was a significant decrease in growth in P. devoniana when the transfer exceeded 650 m of upward altitudinal shift or a reduction of 1.5 degrees C with transfer to colder sites. There was also a decrease of growth in P. pseudostrobus when transfer exceeded 400 m of upward altitudinal shift or 1.5 degrees C, with a significant decrease in survivorship. Pinus leiophylla, however, exhibited similar growth at all altitudes tested, probably due to phenotypic plasticity. Although further research is required with field tests using commercial spacing and trees of older ages, the results suggest that an assisted upwards migration of 300 m in altitude, in order to approach a realignment of the populations to the climate projected for the decade centered around the year 2030, appears to be a viable strategy with which to accommodate the effects of climate change

Nurse-plant and mulching effects on three conifer species in a mexican temperate forest

Nurse-plant effects have been used as an effective reforestation and restoration strategy, and mulching has also effectively ameliorated soil-adverse conditions. However, use of nurse plants is limited by the presence of suitable nurse species before trees are planted, and use of mulching depends on availability of appropriate materials. The effects of Lupinus elegans as a nurse plant and pine-bark mulch were tested on three conifer species: Pinus montezumae, Pinus pseudostrobus, and Abies religiosa. We tested if nurse-plant type effects occurred if the lupines and the conifers were planted simultaneously. Overall survival was 53%, and significant differences among species were found. Survival regardless of cover type was significantly higher (P < 0.01) for P. pseudostrobus 17-month-old seedlings at planting (81%), followed by P. montezumae 7-month-old seedlings at planting (71%), P. pseudostrobus 7-month-old seedlings at planting (42%) and finally A. religiosa 7-month-old seedlings at planting (17%) the differences among the treatments were significant (P < 0.01). As a soil shading agent, lupines had a significant effect (P = 0.02), because they increased survival of P. pseudostrobus and A. religiosa, the effect of mulching with pine bark was not significant. The effects of a shading agent on growth differed among species. In particular lupines reduced height and stem diameter for P. montezumae and P. pseudostrobus, between 22% and 33%, and had no effect on growth of A. religiosa. The positive effects of the simultaneous planting of L. elegans on the survival of the trees suggests that nurse-plant facilitation can be used in areas where no suitable nurse plants are already present