Societal Impact Statement Crop wild relatives (CWR) are plant taxa closely related to crops and are a source of high genetic diversity that can help adapt crops to the impacts of global change, particularly to meet increasing consumer demand in the face of the climate crisis. CWR provide vital ecosystem services and are increasingly important for food and nutrition security and sustainable and resilient agriculture. They therefore are of major biological, social, cultural and economic importance. Assessing the extinction risk of CWR is essential to prioritise in situ and ex situ conservation strategies in Mesoamerica to guarantee the long‐term survival and availability of these resources for present and future generations worldwide. Summary Ensuring food security is one of the world's most critical issues as agricultural systems are already being impacted by global change. Crop wild relatives (CWR)—wild plants related to crops—possess genetic variability that can help adapt agriculture to a changing environment and sustainably increase crop yields to meet the food security challenge. Here we report the results of an extinction risk assessment of 224 wild relatives of some of the world's most important crops (i.e. chilli pepper, maize, common bean, avocado, cotton, potato, squash, vanilla and husk tomato) in Mesoamerica—an area of global significance as a centre of crop origin, domestication and of high CWR diversity. We show that 35% of the selected CWR taxa are threatened with extinction according to The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List demonstrates that these valuable genetic resources are under high anthropogenic threat. The dominant threat processes are land use change for agriculture and farming, invasive and other problematic species (e.g. pests, genetically modified organisms) and use of biological resources, including overcollection and logging. The most significant drivers of extinction relate to smallholder agriculture—given its high incidence and ongoing shifts from traditional agriculture to modern practices (e.g. use of herbicides)—smallholder ranching and housing and urban development and introduced genetic material. There is an urgent need to increase knowledge and research around different aspects of CWR. Policies that support in situ and ex situ conservation of CWR and promote sustainable agriculture are pivotal to secure these resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

ABSTRACT. Seagrasses are aquatic angiosperms that grow submerged in shallow marine and estuarine environments worldwide. Halodule wrightii is a circumtropically distributed seagrass species found primarily in the Atlantic Ocean, but also in parts of the Indian Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean. Along the Pacific coast of Central America, large swaths of the reported distribution of H. wrightii are assumptions based on interpolation between known seagrass point locations, and despite confirmation of H. wrightii occurrence in Bahía de Jiquilisco in El Salvador, little is known about its distribution and associated species, which can hamper efforts to conserve this seagrass ecosystem. To address these gaps in data, we provide the first assessment of H. wrightii distribution and associated macroinvertebrate species in Bahía de Jiquilisco. We identified six areas where seagrasses occurred and two of these were selected for monitoring. At the two sampled areas, heterogeneous patches of H. wrightii covered 27.1 km 2 with 22 associated macroinvertebrate species from three taxonomic groups in three phyla. We conclude by discussing local threats to H. wrightii, including implications for endangered hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata and green (Chelonia mydas agassizii) turtles that depend on these ecosystems, and describe opportunities for conservation in Bahía de Jiquilisco.

Deamia montalvoae sp. nov. (Cactaceae) from the Mesoamerican region (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico) is described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular evidences. The new species is morphologically characterized by stems up to 2 cm in diameter, 7−8-ribbed, flowers (23−)27−30 cm long, with pericarpel covered by bristles and trichomes, but without spines; fruit 5−6 cm long and pale-red, covered by bristles and trichomes, with white flesh; seeds 3.1−3.5 mm long, dark brown, with a smooth microrelief. The phylogenetic analysis using two introns, rpl16 and trnL-trnF, and a spacer, psbA-trnH, shows that D. testudo is the sister species of D. montalvoae and D. chontalensis.

Se presenta una sinopsis del género Meliosma (Sabiaceae) en El Salvador, incluyendo una clave, descripciones, ilustraciones, datos de distribución, fenología y una lista de los especímenes examinados. Se describen un total de dos especies, incluyendo un nuevo taxón, Meliosma echeverriae.

El presente estudio tuvo como propósito establecer los Bienes Naturales no Maderables (BNNM) como una alternativa viable que contribuye al desarrollo sustentable de las mujeres, la conservación de los ecosistemas y biodiversidad en la Reserva de Biosfera Transfronteriza Trifinio Fraternidad (RBTF). El enfoque de la investigación es de tipo no experimental, de nivel exploratorio y descriptivo, con enfoque mixto y de «investigación participatiEva» propia de las ciencias sociales que implica la aplicación de procedimientos dialógicos entre los participantes, y que ha sido adoptado por las ciencias botánicas, con uso de métodos inductivo y deductivo. Entre los resultados más relevantes se tienen: la línea base de BNNM registra en total 357 especies vegetales identificadas, agrupadas en 105 familias botánicas en los usos: alimenticio, medicinal, cultura, artesanal y ornamental. Un 67.2% de las mujeres tiene un conocimiento de medio a muy alto sobre BNNM pues conocen y usan más de 41 plantas; así mismo están realizando más acciones de conservación 54.35% frente a un 18.48% realizadas por hombres. Existe gran desigualdad en el acceso y control de la tierra con una titularidad del 73.75% a favor de los hombres. Aporta un antecedente de marco conceptual para la teorización y análisis de procesos relacionados a bienes naturales no maderables, sustentabilidad de mujeres y conservación de ecosistemas; también provee información en torno al uso, acceso, conocimiento diferenciado que mujeres y hombres tienen sobre BNNM y que genera una línea base inédita de BNNM de los municipios de la RBTF de La Palma, San Ignacio y Citalá.