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Population Dynamics and Sustainable Management of Mescal Agaves in Central Mexico: Agave potatorum in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley
Abstract and Figures
Population Dynamics and Sustainable Management of Mescal Agaves in Central Mexico:
Agave potatorum
in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley. A total of 37 agave species are extracted from forests of Mexico for producing mescal. This activity has caused decline of numerous populations, and their sustainable management is indispensable for preventing species extinctions. Our study analyzed demographic information about Agave potatorum in the Tehuacán Valley with the goal of developing proposals for sustainable use for agaves in general. We studied protected populations in two contrasting environments, and through prospective analyses and real data about extraction and reforestation rates, we simulated different scenarios of actions. Our analyses indicate that the populations’ growth rates (λ) in conserved populations are 0.9903 ± 0.062 and 1.021 ± 0.062, but viability analyses suggest that even those unmanaged populations would decrease 30% to 90% in 30 years. Survival and growth of early agave plant stages contribute most to λ; adult stages and fecundity have low contribution but their conservation is crucial for population recovery. Based on a successful management experience with A. cupreata, we suggest that at least 30% of reproductive plants should be left to ensure seed provision for natural and assisted populations’ recovery. The reintroduction of plants at two early stages of growth is recommended, particularly 1–2-year-old plants, the size categories with the highest contribution to λ. Current efforts by local people to promote cattle exclusion from forest areas, seed collection, and their propagation in nurseries, and actions for recovery and conservation of populations are strategies of high value. Our research contributes to optimizing the effectiveness of such actions and aids in the conservation of other agave species.
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... /fsufs. . -Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015). In this study we identified three producers that distilled on average 180 L of mescal per batch, using A. potatorum or A. marmorata, but they say to have higher yields with A. marmorata, depending on plant size. ...
... For instance, when people went to work with the cattle, they took the fruits and added them to their water to have a refreshing drink with the flavor of S. molle seeds. Nowadays, S. molle is used as firewood and in mescal production, where agave stems are cooked (Delgado-Lemus et al., 2014;Rangel-Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015). It is used because it brings important flavors to the final product. ...
... These results are consistent with the many uses that this genus has in Mexican daily life in several regions. For instance, it is commonly used as non-timber forest products and in the production of foods and beverages in most cases (Delgado-Lemus et al., 2014;Rangel-Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015;Torres-García et al., 2019). The genus Agave belongs to the Asparagaceae family, which comprises nearly 300 species most of them distributed in Mexico with high level of endemism (Good-Avila et al., 2006;Mendoza, 2007). ...
... /fsufs. . -Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015). In this study we identified three producers that distilled on average 180 L of mescal per batch, using A. potatorum or A. marmorata, but they say to have higher yields with A. marmorata, depending on plant size. ...
... For instance, when people went to work with the cattle, they took the fruits and added them to their water to have a refreshing drink with the flavor of S. molle seeds. Nowadays, S. molle is used as firewood and in mescal production, where agave stems are cooked (Delgado-Lemus et al., 2014;Rangel-Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015). It is used because it brings important flavors to the final product. ...
... These results are consistent with the many uses that this genus has in Mexican daily life in several regions. For instance, it is commonly used as non-timber forest products and in the production of foods and beverages in most cases (Delgado-Lemus et al., 2014;Rangel-Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015;Torres-García et al., 2019). The genus Agave belongs to the Asparagaceae family, which comprises nearly 300 species most of them distributed in Mexico with high level of endemism (Good-Avila et al., 2006;Mendoza, 2007). ...
Traditional fermented products are disappearing from the local foodscapes due to social pressures and ecological changes that affect their production; it is therefore crucial to document local knowledge, which is crucial to maintain and recover local biocultural heritage and to contribute to food security. This study aims to document and foster the production of local traditional beverages by registering recipes of fermented beverages in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán biosphere reserve in central Mexico, a region recognized for its great biocultural diversity. We conducted a search of peer-reviewed literature. Additionally, we included ethnographic research and participatory methods to engage residents in different steps of the production process. We identified five main fermented beverages in the research area, the most common beverages are those produced by agave species which include, mescal, pulque and an almost extinct beverage known as lapo which involves sugar cane as main substrate. We also identified a fermented beverage produced with several cacti fruits known as nochoctli and a traditional a fermented beverage produced with fruits of Schinus molle known as tolonche. We highlight the production of lapo and tolonche since these involved the incorporation of foreign substrates into the region after the Spaniard conquest and to their restricted distribution and almost extinction. The beverages tolonche and lapo are nowadays almost lost and only a few producers still prepare them to follow modified versions of the original recipe. Lapo and tolonche were once important in the research area but almost became extinct until local people started to recently recover them. Traditional fermented beverages in Mexico play an important role in cultural identity and contribute to the local diet; nevertheless, several fermented beverages have not been recorded and have even become extinct. This work is an effort to promote and conserve traditional fermented beverages as valuable biocultural heritage by empowering people to make decisions about the use of locally available resources, which is crucial in times when food systems are highly vulnerable.
... The species used were seven and are (i) Aloe perfoliate [41,42], (ii) Cereus jamacaru [43][44][45][46][47], (iii) Austrocylindropuntia subulate [48][49][50], (iv) Agave potatorum [51][52][53][54][55], (v) Malephora crocea [56,57], (vi) Kalanchoe daigremontiana [58][59][60][61][62][63] and (vii) Aloe arborescens [64][65][66]. The soil used was a commercial composed of forest residues such as pine bark and sawdust and seaweed residues, with apparent density 0.4-0.7, ...
Excess energy from photosynthesis can be collected through biophotovoltaic platforms to generate green electrical power. This research evaluated the in-situ performance of different CAM (Crassulaceae acid metabolism) plants from Calama city located in the Atacama Desert for energy recovery as biophotovoltaic cell (BPV) using AISI 316L and Cu as electrodes. The species evaluated were Aloe perfoliata, Cereus jamacaru, Austrocylindropuntia subulata, Agave potatorum, Malephora crocea, and Kalanchoe daigremontiana. The results indicate that K. daigremontiana can be used as in-situ BFV because it has a maximum cell potential of 0.248 V and a minimum of 0.139 V with a recurrence close to 89% in the ranges [0.2 - 0.25] V. This is one of the few investigations that evaluate the potential of native CAM plants as BFV energy sources, providing new knowledge for the development of sustainable alternatives for horticultural crop production systems.
... In Mexico, most species of the genus Agave are of ecological, economic, and cultural importance.The Mexican territory is home to 150 of the 200 Agave species worldwide (Delgado-Lemus et al., 2014a;Rangel-Landa et al., 2015). Unfortunaltely, the intensive extraction of wild agave plants for tequila, mezcal, and pulque production has negatively impacted wild populations (Rangel-Landa et al., 2015;Torres et al., 2015). ...
Populations of Agave potatorum Zucc. have been overexploited from their habitat for the commercial production of mezcal, a traditional Mexican liquor. For this species, micropropagation is the only method for cloning selected genotypes. The aim of this study was to establish an efficient protocol for the in-vitro propagation of A. potatorum by use of individual shoots. In the propagation stage, the interaction between different concentrations of the cytokinin benzylaminopurine (BAP: 0, 1.5, and 3.0 mg L–1)and the auxin indole acetic acid (IAA: 0, 1.5, and 3.0 mg L–1) was evaluated. For in-vitro rooting, the interaction between different auxin concentrations, namely naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA: 0, 1.5 and 3.0 mg L–1) and IAA (0, 1.5 and 3.0 mg L–1) was evaluated. In the propagation stage, the highest number of shoots was obtained with the combinations of 3.0 mg L–1 BAP + 3.0 mg L–1 IAA, 1.5 mg L–1 BAP + 3.0 mg L–1 IAA, and 3.0 mg L–1 BAP + 1.5 mg L–1 IAA, which yielded 9.87, 9.73, and 9.73 shoots per explant, respectively. In the rooting stage, the best shoot development was observed in the control treatment and when only 3.0 mg L–1 IAA was supplemented. Finally, after the rooting stage, the plantlets obtained were acclimatized and grown in the field, yielding a survival rate of 98-100%. In conclusion, this propagation protocol contributes to obtaining commercial propagules suitable for establishment in the field.
Ethnobotany is an integrative, multidimensional research field, whose main purpose is understanding interactions and relationships between humans and plants, and their cultural, ecological, and evolutionary consequences throughout history. This pur�pose is linked with the general interest of science for analyzing interactions between human societies and natures, which is currently relevant not only from theoretical perspectives but also to design strategies to face environmental problems characterizing the global socio-ecological crisis. Ethnobotany, as ethnobiological sciences in general, has advanced in the construction of valuable theoretical and methodological frameworks, which have made visible the enormous value of the local experience of thousands of communities throughout the world, whose knowledge and techniques of managing plants and ecosystems are the foundation of sustainable forms of biocultural interactions. In this chapter, some relevant theoretical and methodological advances and challenges for ethnobotanists working in Mexico are identified, emphasizing the importance of ethnobotany and ethnobiological sciences in establishing bridges of dialogue among different sectors of the societies that make decisions on biodiversity issues. Such role positions ethnobotany as a key transdisciplinary field for research and action for: (1) understanding traditional botanical knowledge, (2) developing criteria to protect biodiversity and intellectual property rights, (3) understanding the origin, diversification, and diffusion of agrobiodiversity, (4) the sustainable management of plants and ecosystems, and (5) to continue biocultural diversity conservation, as the central point in the agenda of ethnobotany. Such agenda is intimately linked to anthropology, ecological economy, and ecological and evolutionary sciences. In addition, main challenge is to link ethnobiological sciences with sustainability science. This is an emerging scientific
approach based on new paradigms for conducting research, which are needed to understand and act in the context of the global environmental crisis. The chapters of this book reflect the different perspectives and research approaches developed by ethnobotanists in Mexico, but also their views about the ways ahead. We emphasize the need of making explicit the insertion of ethnobotany with other research fields for constructing new theoretical and methodological perspectives, but, especially, to promote studies about cultures, ecosystems, and regions scarcely explored. We identify areas and cultures that are research priorities at present. Also, we emphasize the necessity to enhance the insertion of ethnobotany and ethnobiological sciences in educational programs as well as in institutions that make decisions through public policies related to biocultural issues. This final chapter summarizes views emerging from the cases included in the book and provide some reflections we consider relevant to study the ethnobotany of the mountain regions of Mexico but that may also be helpful for ethnobotanists in other regions of the world.
This chapter shows a general panorama of ethnobotanical research and information generated during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries among Mexican cultures, according to the database Base de Datos Etnobotánicos de Plantas Mexicanas (BADEPLAM) of the Botanical Garden at the Institute of Biology, UNAM. This is the most complete database with ethnobotanical information in Mexico, whose construction started nearly 40 years ago. It was a pioneer effort to systematize biocultural information in this country, which has continued until now and has stored nearly 60,000 records on plants used and managed by different cultural groups in different ecosystems of Mexico. It includes information on nearly 7823 useful plant species, which is approximately one-third of the total native vascular flora of the country. Through different approaches, it is estimated that the real number could be more than 11,500 species, which gives an idea of the effort still required to complete the inventory; in addition, the current inventory has information from numerous Mestizo people communities, but only 32 of the 68 main linguistic groups of Mexico; not all the states of Mexico have been studied, and ethnobotanical research has concentrated in one-half of the states composing Mexico. All this information indicates that although BADEPLAM is probably the oldest project of biocultural informatics in Latin America, there is a long way to complete the task of inventorying the ethnobotanical knowledge of the country. BADEPLAM has records for 4222 medicinal plant species, 2265 ornamental, 2051 edible, 1974 used as fodder, and 975 for fuelwood, among other uses. Most species (nearly 64%) are wild and weedy plants collected from forests, mainly tropical dry forests (1995 species), tropical rain forests (1928 species), temperate forests (1440 species) and xerophytic vegetation (1361 species), grasslands, and agricultural areas. However, nearly 3000 species are managed through one or more forms, some of them showing incipient or intermediate signs of domestication. Nearly 500 species are fully domesticated crops, approximately one-half of them (251 species) being native to the Mesoamerican region. Plant families contributing with the highest richness of useful plants are Fabaceae (752 species), Asteraceae (727), Poaceae (476), Cactaceae (474), Euphorbiaceae (233), Malvaceae (198), and Solanaceae (195). Associated with BADEPLAM, several research groups have articulated our work coordinating different approaches to generate inventories of knowledge, management techniques, and different forms of interactions between people and plants. These inventories have been performed at rural community (more than 150 communities) and regional levels (17 main biocultural regions of Mexico) feeding the database while constructing different theoretical frameworks on traditional classification and worldviews, use, management and domestication, and bases for sustainable use of plants and ecosystems. Several approaches have enhanced our studies, but plant management and domestication have been some of the most important issues. We understand that management is a crucial expression of interactions between people and plants, reflecting their knowledge and worldviews, and it is a topic that allows connecting ethnobotany with social, cultural, and economic themes, as well as with socio-ecological bases for sustainable management and studies on evolution of plants through domestication at populations and landscape levels. In this chapter, we show general insights of the research approaches developed by our teams. Most of our studies have been conducted in mountainous regions since Mexico is an eminent mountainous country. Therefore, this text provides general perspectives of the ethnobotanical knowledge of Mexico, as well as methodological approaches that are helpful to contextualize the entire volume of this book.
Although our biological knowledge regarding cactus species is thorough in many areas, only in recent years have ecologists addressed their demographic behavior. Here we attempt a first review of the present knowledge on cactus demography, including an analysis of the published information on species with different growth forms and life-history traits. Our review shows that cactus distribution ranges are determined by environmental heterogeneity and by species-specific physiological requirements. Temperature extremes may pose latitudinal and altitudinal distribution limits. At a more local scale, soil properties dramatically affect cactus distribution. Most cacti show a clumped spatial distribution pattern, which may be the reflection of a patchy resource distribution within their heterogeneous environments. The association of cacti with nurse plants is another factor that may account for this aggregated distribution. Many cacti grow in association with these perennial nurse plants, particularly during early life-cycle phases. The shade provided by nurse plants results in reduced evapotranspiration and buffered temperatures, which enhance cactus germination and establishment. In some cases a certain degree of specificity has been detected between particular cactus species and certain nurse plants. Yet some globose cacti may establish in the absence of nurse plants. In these cases, rocks and other soil irregularities may facilitate germination and establishment.
Cacti are slow-growing species. Several abiotic factors, such as water and nutrient availability, may affect their growth rate. Competition and positive associations (i.e., mycorrhizae and nurse-cacti association) may also affect growth rate. Age at first reproduction varies greatly in relation to plant longevity. In general, cactus reproductive capacity increases with plant size. Populations are often composed of an uneven number of individuals distributed in the different size categories. This type of population structure reflects massive but infrequent recruitment events, apparently associated with benign periods of abundant rainfall.
A few cactus species have been analyzed through the use of population-projection matrices. A total of 17 matrices were compiled and compared. Most of them reflect populations that are close to the numerical equilibrium (λ = close to unity). Elasticity analyses revealed that the persistence of individuals in their current size category (“stasis”) is the demographic process that contributes the most to population growth rate. Also, adult categories (rather than juveniles or seedlings) show the largest contributions to λ. No differences were apparent regarding this matter between cacti with different life-forms. This review shows that our knowledge of cactus population ecology is still incipient and rather unevenly distributed: some topics are well developed; for others the available information is still very limited. Our ability to preserve the great number of cactus species that are now endangered depends on our capacity to deepen our ecological understanding of their population processes.
Indigenous groups offer alternative knowledge and perspectives based on their own locally developed practices of resource use. We surveyed the international literature to focus on the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in monitoring, responding to, and managing ecosystem processes and functions, with special attention to ecological resilience. Case studies revealed that there exists a diversity of local or traditional practices for ecosystem management. These include multiple species management, resource rotation, succession management, landscape patchiness management, and other ways of responding to and managing pulses and ecological surprises. Social mechanisms behind these traditional practices include a number of adaptations for the generation, accumulation, and transmission of knowledge; the use of local institutions to provide leaders/stewards and rules for social regulation; mechanisms for cultural internalization of traditional practices; and the development of appropriate world views and cultural values. Some traditional knowledge and management systems were characterized by the use of local ecological knowledge to interpret and respond to feedbacks from the environment to guide the direction of resource management. These traditional systems had certain similarities to adaptive management with its emphasis on feedback learning, and its treatment of uncertainty and unpredictability intrinsic to all ecosystems.