Los bosques templados de México representan la distribución más sur de este ecosistema en el hemisferio norte y constituyen alrededor de 20% de la cobertura forestal de México, lo que los hace la clase de bosques más ampliamente distribuida. No obstante la importancia de su extensión geográfica es el tipo de vegetación menos estudiado desde el punto de vista socioecológico. El enfoque de estudio que ha predominado en este tipo de vegetación es el silvícola, guiado por la visión de mantener un flujo continuo de madera para el mercado e ingresos de los propietarios forestales, sin considerar la provisión de otros beneficios y servicios ecosistémicos. En este estudio se propone la integración de un enfoque socioecológico que promueva integrar las dependencias sociedad-naturaleza que ocurren en los bosques templados. En este contexto es imperativo: 1) entender la influencia de las especies de pinos y encinos de los bosques templados en la estructura y funcionamiento de estos bosques, en particular sobre la productividad primaria; 2) entender el impacto que tienen el cambio de uso del suelo, la extracción regulada y no regulada de biomasa sobre la estructura y el funcionamiento del ecosistema y 3) entender los aspectos sociales y económicos relacionados con diferentes herramientas de conservación (áreas naturales protegidas y pago de servicios ambientales), que representan esquemas de interacción sociedad-naturaleza. Se discute cómo la investigación y evaluación bajo este enfoque puede contribuir a reducir el enorme déficit en la producción maderable que persiste en México, proteger la diversidad biológica y mantener la provisión de los servicios ecosistémicos para el bienestar humano.

<p><strong>Background</strong>. Soil ecological functions such as C mineralization, enzyme activity, and microbial biomass determine the maintenance of soil fertility in the short and long term. Microbial activity is a sensitive indicator of changes in soils under agricultural management. <strong>Objective</strong>. Evaluate the metabolic response of soil microbial communities in two temperate maize agroecosystems with different management intensities. <strong>Methodology</strong>. This study evaluated total soil nutrient concentrations, C mineralization, and microbial metabolic activity by comparing two agricultural regimes. The first one is an intensive regime (IR) characterized by the exclusive use of synthetic fertilizers in a maize monoculture. The second one is a traditional regime (TR) characterized by the use of mixtures of organic matter (maize and bean residues and manure) with synthetic fertilizers in a rotation system of maize and beans. Physical, chemical, and biological properties were tested in the laboratory, and the specific enzyme activity (SEA) and metabolic quotient (qCO₂) were calculated. <strong>Results.</strong> Total soil C concentration was 19% higher in TR (26.6 mg g^-1) than in IR (5.1 mg g^-1); total C biomass was 30% higher in TR (279 mg C g^-1) versus IR (83.9 mg C g^-1), and potential C mineralization was 40% higher in TR (356 µg C g^-1 d^-1) than IR (214 µg C g^-1 d^-1); in contrast, SEA and qCO2 were lower in TR versus IR. These results support the hypothesis that the microbial community is more efficient under TR than IR because it produces extracellular and intracellular enzymes while growing in biomass. <strong>Implications</strong>. The present study provides new information about the effect of agricultural management on microbial activity, which is important for farmers not only in Mexico Highlands but also in any agricultural scenario exposed to changes in management practices. <strong>Conclusions</strong>. Assessment of biological soil properties is a sensitive indicator of changes in soil properties induced by management. Metabolic indices are suitable for the evaluation of ecological functions in cultivated soils.</p>

The concept of food environment refers to the opportunities; environments; and physical, economic, political, and socio-cultural conditions that frame the interaction of people with the food system and shape decisions about food acquisition and consumption. This study analyzes the relationships between the characteristics of urban environments and the availability of retail food through the evaluation of physical and financial access to food in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (MAVM) between 2010 and 2020. Using Geographic Information Systems (GISs), both physical access through network distance to economic food retail units and financial access through socioeconomic status at the block scale were evaluated. The network distance and socioeconomic status results were used as criteria for the spatially explicit classification of the MAVM into food deserts, oases, and swamps. Food deserts are the most abundant food environments but only increased in the third and fourth metropolitan contours. Swamps have increased throughout the city, related to the proliferation of convenience stores that have replaced grocery stores. This study contributes evidence at a local and regional scale required for the future urban planning of the MAVM and for public health and sustainability programs focusing on treating food-related diseases.