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

Abstract

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.

Seasonal and successional dynamics of size-dependent plant demographic rates in a tropical dry forest

“…Noy-Meir (1974) first proposed the pulse-reserve paradigm for arid and semi-arid environments, where resources such as water and nutrients are available during pulses and unavailable during the interpulses, when plants adapted to these environments survive on carbon and water reserves. Goldberg & Novoplansky (1997) proposed that, in productive environments, competition would be the most important factor limiting species persistence, while in environments with low productivity and prolonged interpulses, survival during interpulses would drive species persistence. Our results suggest that the community dynamics in the SDTF of our study are driven mostly by competition during pulses (wet seasons).…”

Mayan Homegardens in Decline: The Case of the Pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus), a Vine Cactus With Edible Fruit

“…Previously, concern about the loss of homegardens has been expressed in many countries, with a diversity of solutions proposed. Among the recommendations for conserving homegardens is the creation of flexible government institutions that are able to provide solutions within social-ecological systems to contribute to the long-term maintenance of homegardens using a biocultural conservation approach (Berkowitz & Medley, 2017;Gonza´lez-Cruz, Garc ıa-Frapolli, Casas, & Dupuy, 2015). Another solution is to recognize and incorporate knowledge and practices of elderly women into local level planning for the sustainable conservation of homegardens or small agrosystems (Singh et al, 2013).…”

Producir y conservar: nuevos horizontes en torno a los modelos de integración y separación territorial

“…Los sistemas tradicionales son aquellos desarrollados y perfeccionados a través del conocimiento local, indígena y campesino (Altieri, 2001). La producción agrícola no es el único objetivo que persiguen los sistemas tradicionales; representan paisajes multifuncionales en los que se llevan a cabo diferentes actividades culturales, extractivas, de recuperación ambiental y de conservación biológica (González-Cruz et al, 2015). Culturalmente representan formas diversas de estar en el mundo y de interactuar con él (Ulloa, 2015).…”

“…En términos de manejo, este tipo de sistemas desarrolla el uso de múltiples especies, por lo que se disminuye la presión de aprovechamiento monoespecífica y se incrementa la variedad de recursos disponibles (Altieri, 2001;Toledo, 2005). Asimismo, la compleja dinámica de manejo que los caracteriza favorece la heterogeneidad ambiental, taxonómica y sucesional, de forma que comúnmente propicia la presencia de mayor diversidad biológica que los sistemas naturales aledaños (González-Cruz et al, 2015). Además, brindan autonomía y soberanía alimentaria, propiciando la complementariedad de recursos para el bienestar humano y la preservación de la biodiversidad (Altieri, 2001(Altieri, , 2004.…”

“…Sin embargo, esto no sucede en la mayoría de los países tropicales, donde los gobiernos suelen tener problemas para vigilar y administrar las áreas naturales protegidas, y donde la población rural, usualmente empobrecida, depende de los recursos naturales para su subsistencia (Wilshusen et al, 2002;Ortega-Álvarez et al, 2017). Además, los sitios altamente biodiversos son propiedad de comunidades rurales e indígenas (conabio, 2006); esto no es una coincidencia, pues las comunidades indígenas han sido altamente eficientes en la generación y protección de sitios biológicamente diversos, ricos en especies de interés para la conservación y claves para la sucesión ecológica (González-Cruz et al, 2015). En gran medida, esto ocurre gracias a un ordenamiento territorial eficaz, un conocimiento preciso del medio y el desarrollo de sistemas socioecológicos multifuncionales sumamente complejos (Boya Busquet, 2008;Casas y Parra, 2016).…”