Hans Van der walEl Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Tabasco, México
Hans Van der wal
Dr
About
72
Publications
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Introduction
Hans van der Wal works at the Departamento de Agricultura, Sociedad y Ambiente, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Tabasco, México. He does research in Agroecology, Forestry and Environmental Science. Current projects are "2ndFOR" on Secondary Forests, "ValUses" on use of sediments in the Usumacinta watershed, "Rural mosaics" on resilient land use patterns, and "LANIES", a laboratory that tailors research to farmers' needs.
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
April 2002 - present
Position
- Researcher
Description
- I try to contribute to building agroecological alternatives in the Tabasco post-deforestation and globalized context, as a part of a small team of researchers and around 10 students (bachelors, MSc and PhD).
January 2002 - February 2016
January 2002 - February 2016
Publications
Publications (72)
Geographical setting and agroecosystem management have been found to influence spore abundance and species composition of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) communities. In this study we determine how abundance and composition vary between five regions in Southeast México and between the main agroecosystems within them. Two-way analysis of variance...
Forests that regrow naturally on abandoned fields are important for restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, but can they also preserve the distinct regional tree floras? Using the floristic composition of 1215 early successional forests (≤20 years) in 75 human-modified landscapes across the Neotropic realm, we identified 14 distinct floristi...
Les sédiments sont d’une grande importance pour les riverains du fleuve Usumacinta. Chaque jour, ils mettent en pratique leurs connaissances sur les caractéristiques, les utilisations et la gestion des sédiments. Traditionnellement, les sédiments ont servi de base à la fabrication de diverses poteries ; les habitants enrichissent les sols en incorp...
En términos de fertilidad de la tierra, los sedimentos cumplen una doble función. Por un lado, su aplicación modifica la textura de los suelos mediante la integración de partículas, lo que mejora su capacidad de retención de agua y nutrientes y aumenta su fertilidad. Por otro, los sedimentos son portadores de agentes biológicos, como las micorrizas...
Resilient secondary tropical forests?
Although deforestation is rampant across the tropics, forest has a strong capacity to regrow on abandoned lands. These “secondary” forests may increasingly play important roles in biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and landscape restoration. Poorter et al . analyzed the patterns of recovery i...
Background: Maize is cultivated under different agricultural management systems, which influence the ecological dynamics of the crop, and
therefore the physiology of the plant.
Questions: What is the effect of different agricultural management on the microclimate and the physiology of maize plants?
Studied species: Zea mays L.
Study site and dates:...
Los sistemas de producción agropecuarios (SPA) en la Península de Yucatán se han analizado con intenciones a su transformación agroforestal. Sin embargo, son escasos los intentos por diseñar sistemas agroforestales desde una perspectiva de integrar a la vegetación natural (VN) con los SPA y de aprovechar el potencial de capacidad de rebrote de la m...
Background: Maize is cultivated under different agricultural management systems, which influence the ecological dynamics of the crop, and therefore the physiology of the plant. Questions: What is the effect of different agricultural management on the microclimate and the physiology of maize plants? Studied species: Zea mays L. Study site and dates:...
Background:
Home gardens (HGs) are hotspots of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. We conducted a case study in Tabasco, México, on HG owners' knowledge of HG ecological, economical and socio-cultural multifunctionality and how it relates to agrobiodiversity as measured by species richness and diversity. The term multifunctionality knowledge re...
La dinámica entre la caída y descomposición de hojarasca forma parte del funcionamiento de los ecosistemas. Se evaluó la producción, pérdida y tasa de descomposición de la hojarasca de selva y vegetación secundaria en unidades ecogeográficas (UE) de laderas de montañas, terrazas y planicies fluviales en la subregión de los Ríos de Tabasco en México...
La langosta común (Panulirus argus) es una especie con alto valor comercial en el Caribe nicaragüense. En las últimas décadas su producción ha alcanzado sus valores máximos, aunado a las fluctuaciones asociadas a la variabilidad climática y su mismo aprovechamiento, demandan la necesidad de incursionar en formas complementarias de producción, como...
Tropical forests are converted at an alarming rate for agricultural use and pastureland, but also regrow naturally through secondary succession. For successful forest restoration, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of secondary succession. These mechanisms may vary across forest types, but analyses across broad spatial scales are lacking....
La adaptación cultural al cambio climático está ocurriendo ahora mismo en las comunidades de Latinoamérica; campesinos del sur de México no esperan pasivamente a los expertos a venir y decirles cómo adaptarse. Los resultados de un ciclo de siete “talleres agroecológicos comunitarios” desarrollados con metodologías de investigación-acción participat...
Estimates of biomass in homegardens are primarily based on the tree component and few studies quantify the perennial herbaceous component. This component is of importance in the humid tropics of Mesoamerica, where distinct varieties and species of banana (Musa spp) are cultivated. This crop represents a dynamically stable biomass within homegardens...
Estimates of biomass in homegardens are primarily based on the tree component and few studies quantify the perennial herbaceous component. This component is of importance in the humid tropics of Mesoamerica, where distinct varieties and species of banana (Musa spp) are cultivated. This crop represents a dynamically stable biomass within homegardens...
Old-growth tropical forests harbor an immense diversity of tree species but are rapidly being cleared, while secondary forests that regrow on abandoned agricultural lands increase in extent. We assess how tree species richness and composition recover during secondary succession across gradients in environmental conditions and anthropogenic disturba...
Societal processes of rural change and globalization may change homegardens and their contribution to the conservation of agrobiodiversity, particularly of species occurring naturally in regional vegetation. The best way to determine if this occurs is through longitudinal studies. We conducted such a study, inventorying tree species in a sample of...
We studied whether agrobiodiversity in home gardens reflects the cultural landscapes that embed them. We compared floristic composition, biomass and cover of trees in home gardens between the cultural landscapes on mountain slopes (MSL), small hills (SHL), and floodplains (FPL) in a segment of the Grijalva–Usumacinta watershed in the tropical lowla...
La escasa información sobre los atributos de los acahuales en Tabasco contribuye a que no se les dé la debida importancia a esos ecosistemas en programas de conservación y como reservorios de carbono. El presente trabajo contribuye a subsanar el poco conocimiento que se tiene de la magnitud de la biomasa existente en acahuales. En tres unidades eco...
The nutrient demands of regrowing tropical forests are partly satisfied by nitrogen-fixing legume trees, but our understanding of the abundance of those species is biased towards wet tropical regions. Here we show how the abundance of Leguminosae is affected by both recovery from disturbance and large-scale rainfall gradients through a synthesis of...
En México y en el mundo, la incorporación de la comunidad científica (entre ellos los ecólogos) a la generación de conocimientos que coadyuven a solucionar los graves problemas ambientales, y avanzar hacia la sustentabilidad, requiere de una visión diferente en la investigación. Más aún, se requiere de herramientas novedosas para acoplar el trabajo...
Analizamos cómo el cambio rural en el sureste mexicano influye en la agrobiodiversidad arbórea y arbustiva en huertos familiares —considerados como entes bioculturales— y cuáles son las implicaciones para la conservación de los bosques tropicales. Partimos de estudios disponibles sobre la relación entre, por un lado, la agrobiodiversidad y, por otr...
Oil palm cropping expands rapidly in the Mexican state of Campeche. The crop has the potential to contribute
to agricultural diversification and economic development of rural communities. At the same time,
the effect of its rapid, unplanned expansion on income strategies and food security of domestic groups in
rural communities is largely unknown....
Tropical homegardens (THGs) are a model system for rural development that may reconcile food production with social resilience and biodiversity conservation, particularly in rapidly changing landscapes. This study quantified the sink function of THGs for wild native trees in relation to tree cover fragmentation, garden management and household soci...
Tropical homegardens (THGs) are a model system for rural development that may reconcile food production with social resilience and biodiversity conservation, particularly in rapidly changing landscapes. This study quantified the sink function of THGs for wild native trees in relation to tree cover fragmentation, garden management and household soci...
In Mexico and in the world, the incorporation of the scientific community (among them ecologists) to the generation of knowledge that contributes to solving the serious environmental problems, and advancing towards the sustainability, requires a different research vision. Moreover, innovative tools are needed to couple the work of the scientific co...
La composición florística y la biomasa en los huertos familiares son importantes para la conservación de especies de plantas y almacenamiento de carbono. Hasta el momento no se conoce cómo influye el paisaje cultural sobre la composición florística y por lo tanto en su biomasa. En la presente tesis se analiza la composición florística y la biomasa...
Resumen: Los sistemas acuapónicos de baja intensidad son una alternativa sustentable a la inseguridad alimentaria y el ingreso familiar; pero requieren una valoración técnica-financiera para su transferencia como esquemas comprobados de producción y operación y asegurar su éxito en el ámbito práctico. Se analizaron resultados productivos y económic...
El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo determinar si la salinidad del suelo incide en la composición de
especies arbóreas y arbustivas en los huertos familiares de la costa del estado de Tabasco, México, y si la tolerancia a la salinidad varía entre las tres especies más frecuentes en el área. Se determinó la frecuencia y abundancia de especies ar...
Considerable research has examined the social, cultural, economic, and community benefits of urban gardening. Few studies, however, have empirically assessed factors that influence urban community garden agrodiversity or its relationship to these dimensions of gardening. We conducted an interdisciplinary study of agrodiversity and cultural identity...
Regrowth of tropical secondary forests following complete or nearly complete removal of forest vegetation actively stores carbon in aboveground biomass, partially counterbalancing carbon emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, burning of fossil fuels, and other anthropogenic sources. We estimate the age and spatial extent of lowland secon...
Land-use change occurs nowhere more rapidly than in the tropics, where the imbalance between deforestation and forest regrowth has large consequences for the global carbon cycle. However, considerable uncertainty remains about the rate of biomass recovery in secondary forests, and how these rates are influenced by climate, landscape, and prior land...
Agrobiodiversity in tropical home gardens is thought to decline with increasing urbanization, but information in this regard is scarce. We characterized livelihoods and compared attributes of home gardens of rural, semi–rural, and peri–urban families in Campeche, México. We hypothesized a decline of agrobiodiversity of cultivated trees and shrubs,...
http://revistas.ecosur.mx/ecofronteras/index.php/eco/article/view/1580/1522
In the last three decades, self-governed robust institutions and design principles were emphasized for effective management of the commons including forests. However, little attention was given to institutional change and institutional performance. This paper addresses the relationship between institutional change and institutional performance unde...
En las cuencas de los rios Escondido y Kukra River de Nicaragua se utiliza, para las actividades agropecuarias, cantidades considerables de plaguicidas que confluyen en la Laguna de Bluefields, principalmente por los escurrimientos de agua. Con el objetivo de identificar el riesgo ambiental al que estan expuestos el sistema lagunar y las poblacione...
Estudiamos la composición y la estructura de la vegetación en los huertos familiares para evaluar sus funciones en las estrategias familiares de supervivencia en comunidades rurales. El trabajo se realizó en tres condiciones geomorfológicas: la planicie costera, la planicie palustre y el área tierra adentro, que comprende la planicie fluvial, lomer...
Rapid increases of secondary forest areas in the tropics make understanding of their carbon dynamics critical to estimate net CO2 emissions and uptake. This understanding is needed for performance based mechanisms that aim to halt global warming (REDD+). Despite the importance of secondary forests to global C cycling, the impacts of recovering seco...
We studied species, functional groups, and habitat preferences of birds in five classes of agroforestry systems: agroforests, animal agroforestry, linear agroforestry, sequential agroforestry, and crops under tree cover in Tabasco, Mexico. Sampling sites were >2 km from natural forest fragments. Observations were made at 38 sites using 30-min point...
Economic Stratification Differentiates Home Gardens in the Maya Village of Pomuch, Mexico. In this paper, we analyze if economic stratification of peasant families in a Maya village in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico influences species composition and structure of home gardens. Our general hypothesis was that composition and structure reflect a hig...
We studied species, functional groups, and habitat preferences of birds in five classes of agroforestry systems: agroforests, animal agroforestry, linear agroforestry, sequential agroforestry, and crops under tree cover in Tabasco, Mexico. Sampling sites were >2 km from natural forest fragments. Observations were made at 38 sites using 30-min point...
This article analyses assets that apiculture producers use to identify perspectives of sustainable honey production. The study used and adapted the Sustainable Livelihoods theoretical framework. The results reveal that the production strategy is an interaction and combination of assets largely dependent on experience and family capabilities. The UN...
We studied the composition of soil invertebrate communities and vegetation in 50 home gardens in the humid tropical lowlands of Tabasco, Mexico, located in five geomorphological regions. Five monoliths were made in each home garden and soil invertebrates were hand sorted, weighed and classified to morhospecies, functional groups and orders. We dete...
The regional biodiversity of Yucatan Peninsula includes native tree species with potential to be used en reforestation; however, to use this potential, it is necessary to know the ecological preferences of the species. Therefore, the emergence of seedlings of native timber trees were assessed under different levels of shade (0, 35, 60 and 90%) at t...
The evaluation of species and structural diversity of home gardens strongly depends on the methods used. We distinguish the biosocial and the bionumerical method. The first is widely used and takes data of the whole population of trees of home gardens to calculate diversity. The bionumerical method calculates diversity from data of a fixed number o...
Los huertos familiares en comunidades rurales cumplen con una serie de funciones ecológicas, económicas y sociales. Entre estas funciones se encuentra la conservación de la biodiversidad. Había 153 especies de árboles y arbustos en una muestra de 54 huertos en el estado de Tabasco. También había una diversa macro-fauna edáfica asociada. Tanto la fl...
In order to prepare land for pasture, trees in 9 and 20 year old secondary vegetation were selectively harvested in Campeche, México, leaving useful trees untouched. Survival was calculated after burning. In 9 year old vegetation, 25% of the standing trees survived, and in 20 year old vegetation, 65% survived. Selective clearance may modestly contr...
The effect of land use on ants was compared in Tikinmul, Campeche, Mexico. The research was carried out in cedar monocultures and home gardens, during dry and wet seasons. TSBF method modified to agroforestry systems was used to collect ants. 37 species were collected, nine of which were exclusive to both systems, while 19 were present in both syst...
Guaiacum sanctum (guayacan) is a characteristic species of dry tropical forests. Owing to the properties of its wood, it has been harvested from its natural habitat for more than 100 years. At present, it is considered to be at risk of extinction and is protected by its listing in Appendix II of CITES. In spite of its economic importance, existing...
The effect of land use on ants was compared in Tikinmul, Campeche, Mexico. The research was carried out in cedar monocultures and home gardens, during dry and wet seasons. TSBF method modified to agroforestry systems was used to collect ants. 37 species were collected, nine of which were exclusive to both systems, while 19 were present in both syst...
El estudio de los problemas ambientales tales como la contaminación del río Zahuapan, generalmente se han abordado desde la perspectiva disciplinar, teniendo como resultado poco impacto en su solución. En las últimas décadas se han desarrollado metodologías con un enfoque holístico para el estudio de problemas de este tipo. Tal es el caso del análi...
Los huertos familiares son agro-ecosistemas ampliamente distribuidos y cuyas características
de composición y biomasa pueden ser adaptados a las condiciones fisiográficas vigentes. Se
investigó si existen diferencias en la composición botánica del componente leñoso y la biomasa
en huertos familiares entre las regiones fisiográficas de Tabasco. Se s...
Los cacaotales son agro-ecosistemas diversos que contribuyen a la conservación de una cubierta arbórea formada por árboles de sombra y de cacao. Sin embargo, actualmente el cacao deja de ser atractivo para los productores por la afectación por Moniliophthora roreri (moliniasis), los consiguientes bajos rendimientos y los bajos precios. Se realizó u...
: Since 1997 the Mexican government has promoted Management Units for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wildlife (UMAs) on private and community lands as an economically attractive mean for the conservation of biodiversity. To date, compliance of UMAs with stated sustainability goals has not been evaluated. Thus, we designed multicriteria evaluat...
Crecimiento y afectación por Hypsipyla grandella (Zeller) de Cedrela odorata L. en plantaciones bajo dosel y a cielo abierto en Campeche, México. Desde el año 1970 se han realizado plantaciones de cedro (Cedrela odorata) en Campeche, de dos modalidades: plantaciones bajo dosel y plantaciones a cielo abierto. Las plantaciones a cielo abierto son mon...
Shifting cultivation is still widely practised for subsistence production of maize in México. The related area demands diminish the area available for conservation goals. Increase of maize yields per hectare may reduce these area demands. In this article the relation between plant densities and yields in maize under shifting cultivation on steep sl...
Shifting cultivation is still widely practised for subsistence production of maize in México. The related area demands diminish the area available for conservation goals. Increase of maize yields per hectare may reduce these area demands. In this article the relation between plant densities and yields in maize under shifting cultivation on steep sl...
