We assessed the effects of seed priming and soil retainers on seed germination and early seedling performance of useful species in a tropical semideciduous forest in Veracruz, México. We determined mass and water and lipid content in the seeds of Albizia saman, Cedrela odorata, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, and Swietenia macrophylla. The seeds were exposed to hydropriming and natural priming (seed burial inside the soil) and germinated at 25 C and 25/35 C. The produced seedlings were grown in a shade house and planted in a plain terrain and a hillside (slope 75%). Seedling growth and survival were evaluated. S. macrophylla and E. cyclocarpum seeds had the lowest and highest water content, respectively. S. macrophylla and C. odorata had oil seeds. A. saman and E. cyclocarpum seeds had physical dormancy. Natural priming improved germination in A. saman, C. odorata, and S. macrophylla while hydropriming and 25/35 C enhanced germination in E. cyclocarpum. In the shade house, natural priming promoted seedling growth in all studied species and in the field survival of A. saman and S. macrophylla. In E. cyclocarpum, this effect was obtained with hydropriming in the plain terrain. In the hillside, hydropriming and natural priming and 25/35 C improved survival of S. macrophylla and E. cyclocarpum, respectively. Seed burial for 8 days improved germination, seedling performance, and survival. To bury seeds inside a pot placed in a shade house induced natural priming in C. odorata. We suggest natural priming for A. saman, C. odorata, and S. macrophylla, and hydropriming for E. cyclocarpum seeds. Germination pretreatments were inexpensive and easy tools potentially applicable in restoration and conservation programs.

The marceño agroecosystem is based on traditional agriculture in the flooded areas of the alluvial plains of Tabasco, Mexico. In the marceño system, the native maize, called "mején", is cultivated during the dry season using residual soil moisture. At physiological maturity, mején is tolerant to flooding. To estimate the potential area where marceño may be implemented, we characterized and defined the areas where it is practiced, using geographic information systems (GIS), and determined the bioclimatic variables of the sites where 16 species of wild plants associated with the management of the marceño grow. We also analysed areas of agriculture and livestock in relation to the cyclical floods. This information was used to generate a probability model of marceño occurrence through MaxEnt, which was superimposed on an elevation model (LiDAR) geoprocessed with GIS. The marceño was observed in 203 localities across eight municipalities of Tabasco (~2% of the state area), at elevations of 1-7 m. The calculated area with potential for implementation of the marceño is about 18.4% of the state area. The implementation of this agroecosystem on a wider area might be an alternative for local agriculture development and a strategy for ecological conservation and restoration of wetlands.2 of 18 economy depending on subsistence farming [4,5]. Promoting productive practices that guarantee sufficient and diversified goods without irreversible deterioration of wetland ecosystems is therefore a priority [2].Wetlands represent nearly 6% of the ecosystems worldwide [3,6]. Nevertheless, on a global scale, wetlands provide about 40% of global ecosystem services related to protection against floods, storm water retention, water quality enhancement, freshwater fisheries, food chain support, feeding grounds for juvenile marine fish, biodiversity maintenance, carbon storage and climate regulation [7,8]. However, these areas have been damaged by altering the hydrological and ecological watershed conditions of the basins due to agricultural and livestock expansion, as well as the effects of urbanisation on the hydrological system and contamination of water [7]. These activities require drainage of marshes or soil tillage, which result in negative environmental effects. This has increased interest in appropriate wetland management and its restoration [9,10].Currently, recession agriculture is globally practiced in flooding areas in alluvial river plains, on lake margins and in other wetlands where water level changes are predictable. The overflow of the rivers promotes the seasonal deposition of sediments that increase fertility, which has been used in agriculture at the borders of several rivers such as the Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, Rhine, Danube, Po, Yangtze, Ganges, Mekong, Mississippi, Amazonas, and others. In flood recession agriculture, the water table falls during the dry season, which allows the residual moisture and natural fertility of the soil to be exploited, making high agricultural productivity possible. The crops are harvested...