Deforestation and fragmentation of seasonal tropical forests in the southern Yucatán, Mexico (1990–2006)

Ramírez-Delgado, Juan Pablo; Christman, Zachary; Schmook, Birgit

doi:10.1080/10106049.2013.868039

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…This reduction in native vegetal cover is not exclusive from our study region; it is rather a worldwide pattern [6] that has increased in recent years in NPAs and different areas from other countries [8, 9,62,63]. Although the causes of these changes were not assessed in this work, recent studies on LULCC [12,25,26] that include the evaluation of NPAs [27,28] and their surrounding areas [31] have shown that deforestation due to overexploitation, uncontrolled logging, agricultural activities, consumer demand, fires, pests, and urban growth, as well as natural phenomena arising from climate change, are some of the main factors that influence the loss of vegetation in Mexico [2]. In other areas, the increase in land cover changes has been caused by the rapid population growth, the multiplication of human settlements, and regional economic development [8- 10,64].…”

Section: Land Use-cover Changes Within the Natural Protected Area Altmentioning

confidence: 90%

Assessment of Land Use-Cover Changes and Successional Stages of Vegetation in the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres, Northeastern Mexico, Using Landsat Satellite Imagery

et al. 2017

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Loss of vegetation cover is a major factor that endangers biodiversity. Therefore, the use of geographic information systems and the analysis of satellite images are important for monitoring these changes in Natural Protected Areas (NPAs). In northeastern Mexico, the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres (NPAAC) represents a relevant floristic and faunistic patch on which the impact of loss of vegetation cover has not been assessed. This work aimed to analyze changes of land use and coverage (LULCC) over the last 42 years on the interior and around the exterior of the area, and also to propose the time of succession for the most important types of vegetation. For the analysis, LANDSAT satellite images from 1973, 1986, 2000, 2005 and 2015 were used, they were classified in seven categories through a segmentation and maximum likelihood analysis. A cross-tabulation analysis was performed to determine the succession gradient. Towards the interior of the area, a significant reduction of tropical vegetation and, to a lesser extent, temperate forests was found, as well as an increase in scrub cover from 1973 to 2015. In addition, urban and vegetation-free areas, as well as modified vegetation, increased to the exterior. Towards the interior of the NPA, the processes of perturbation and recovery were mostly not linear, while in the exterior adjacent area, the presence of secondary vegetation with distinct definite time of succession was evident. The analysis carried out is the first contribution that evaluates LULCC in this important NPA of northeastern Mexico. Results suggest the need to evaluate the effects of these modifications on species.

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Section: Land Use-cover Changes Within the Natural Protected Area Altmentioning

confidence: 90%

Assessment of Land Use-Cover Changes and Successional Stages of Vegetation in the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres, Northeastern Mexico, Using Landsat Satellite Imagery

et al. 2017

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“…The Yucatán Peninsula is characterized by a low‐altitude landscape consisting of a relatively heterogeneous matrix of agricultural, suburban and early successional habitats (c. 20% land cover) within natural tropical forest (c. 80% land cover) (Ramírez‐Delgado, Christman & Schmooka ). Traditional milpa is the usual agricultural practice; forest is cut and burned and the resulting small fields are used for the cultivation of staples (maize and beans), cash crops (chilli, tomato, melon) and various other non‐market plants for 2–5 years before being abandoned, after which secondary forest re‐establishes (Diemont et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), but has suffered severe loss (>70%) of its original vegetation in the last 30 years (Laurance, Sayer & Cassman ). Milpa agriculture has allowed maintenance of a large percentage of secondary and original forest cover (80%), with annual deforestation rates for 1990–2006 on the scale of 0·09% (Ramírez‐Delgado, Christman & Schmooka ). Whether this system of traditional agriculture, with this degree of deforestation across the Yucatán Peninsula, has an impact on pollination services and crop productivity remains an open question.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweat bees on hot chillies: provision of pollination services by native bees in traditional slash‐and‐burn agriculture in the Yucatán Peninsula of tropical Mexico

Landaverde-González

Quezada‐Euán²,

Theodorou

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Traditional tropical agriculture often entails a form of slash‐and‐burn land management that may adversely affect ecosystem services such as pollination, which are required for successful crop yields. The Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico has a >4000 year history of traditional slash‐and‐burn agriculture, termed ‘milpa’. Hot ‘Habanero’ chilli is a major pollinator‐dependent crop that nowadays is often grown in monoculture within the milpa system.We studied 37 local farmers’ chilli fields (sites) to evaluate the effects of landscape composition on bee communities. At 11 of these sites, we undertook experimental pollination treatments to quantify the pollination of chilli. We further explored the relationships between landscape composition, bee communities and pollination service provision to chilli.Bee species richness, particularly species of the family Apidae, was positively related to the amount of forest cover. Species diversity decreased with increasing proportion of crop land surrounding each sampling site. Sweat bees of the genus Lasioglossum were the most abundant bee taxon in chilli fields and, in contrast to other bee species, increased in abundance with the proportion of fallow land, gardens and pastures which are an integral part of the milpa system.There was an average pollination shortfall of 21% for chilli across all sites; yet the shortfall was unrelated to the proportion of land covered by crops. Rather, chilli pollination was positively related to the abundance of Lasioglossum bees, probably an important pollinator of chilli, as well indirectly to the proportion of fallow land, gardens and pastures that promote Lasioglossum abundance. Synthesis and applications. Current, low‐intensity traditional slash‐and‐burn (milpa) agriculture provides Lasioglossum spp. pollinators for successful chilli production; fallow land, gardens and pasture therefore need to be valued as important habitats for these and related ground‐nesting bee species. However, the negative impact of agriculture on total bee species diversity highlights how agricultural intensification is likely to reduce pollination services to crops, including chilli. Indeed, natural forest cover is vital in tropical Yucatán to maintain a rich assemblage of bee species and the provision of pollination services for diverse crops and wild flowers.

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“…Leichenko and O'Brien (2008, 9) argue that there is a double exposure when a particular region, social group or ecological area is simultaneously confronted by exposure to both global environmental change and globalization. Facing these challenges require analyzing social and ecological systems in an integrated approach, as well as building responses based on local realities, knowledge and technical experiences (Ramírez-Delgado et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mismatch between conservational and development policies is leading to higher rates of land-use change and degradation (Gómez-Pompa and Kaus 1999;Ramírez-Delgado et al 2014). Climate change is affecting ecological processes and the way people manage their natural resources, on which they depend as the primary source of food and income (Manuel-Navarrete et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responding to disturbances: lessons from a Mayan socio-ecological system

et al. 2015

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Abstract:The Mayans of the Yucatán Peninsula, together with their environment, conform social-ecological systems with adaptation and resilience to natural, political and economic disturbances. In this study, we use the framework of socialecological systems for describing a mechanism that allows a Mayan community and its natural environment to respond to disturbances over time. We describe (1) the activities that members of the community develop as part of their strategy for managing natural resource management, and (2) the history of the socialecological system focusing on meaningful events: changes in their institutional body, landscape and/or practices for exploiting natural resources, and interactions between these changes. Through both semi-structured and in-depth interviews, historical narratives and participant observation, we found that managers use the environmental heterogeneity to diversify the exploitation of species, manage the secondary vegetation and protect mature vegetation. Formal and informal institutions of access, regulation and administration of natural resources regulate 832 Gabriela González-Cruz et al.productive activities and management practices. These institutions operate differentially at the levels of environmental units (prohibition of the exploitation of the natural resources of mature tropical forests) and species (protection of the jaguar and cougar). Diversification of productive activities, management of environmental heterogeneity and the presence of flexible institutions enable responses in the social-ecological systems that have the potential to contribute to its long-term maintenance. Comprehensive studies like this might help to understand adaptive capacity and social-ecological resilience.

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Deforestation and fragmentation of seasonal tropical forests in the southern Yucatán, Mexico (1990–2006)

Cited by 23 publications

References 70 publications

Assessment of Land Use-Cover Changes and Successional Stages of Vegetation in the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres, Northeastern Mexico, Using Landsat Satellite Imagery

Assessment of Land Use-Cover Changes and Successional Stages of Vegetation in the Natural Protected Area Altas Cumbres, Northeastern Mexico, Using Landsat Satellite Imagery

Sweat bees on hot chillies: provision of pollination services by native bees in traditional slash‐and‐burn agriculture in the Yucatán Peninsula of tropical Mexico

Responding to disturbances: lessons from a Mayan socio-ecological system

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