Resumen

BASURTO-GARCIA, Emir et al. Influence of traditional ecological knowledge and altitudinal gradient on richness, structure and tree diversity of live fences in the Chichinautzin Biological Corridor, Mexico. Polibotánica [online]. 2023, n.56, pp.115-150.  Epub 18-Sep-2023. ISSN 1405-2768.  https://doi.org/10.18387/polibotanica.56.7.

The Chichinautzin Biological Corridor (COBIO) is a Protected Natural Area located in the north of the state of Morelos, important for its richness of species, agricultural land and aquifer recharge, where its original and recently urban inhabitants manage biodiversity. However, COBIO does not escape the process of landscape fragmentation. A strategy of cultural resistance to the mentioned problem are the live fences (CV), which are found throughout the anthropic mosaic within agricultural matrices, whose structure within the landscape provides ecosystem services. The effect of traditional ecological knowledge (CET) and altitude on the richness, structure and diversity of species in three types of vegetation was documented: tropical deciduous forest (BTC), pine-oak forest (BPE) and the ecotony between them. To document the CET, semi-structured interviews were applied to the managers who are original and recently urban peasants with the purpose of recording the cultural practices for the establishment and management of the CV, the local use and the destination of the production of each species. Obtaining the ecological parameters was generated by sampling in five COBIO municipalities, in which 10 sites were chosen in an altitudinal gradient that goes from 1212 to 2561 m, where 23 transects of 100 x 2 m each were established. The Jaccard diversity index, the importance value index (IVI) and the forest value index (IVF) were determined. The heat dendrogram allowed to identify the communities with the most similarity. The Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling Analysis (NMDS) was used to determine which variables influence tree richness, structure, and diversity. The registered tree species were 35, belonging to 30 genera and 21 families, of which 71% are native to Mexico and of these, 8% are endemic to the country. These taxa provide six use values. There were four cultural management practices. The CV located in the transition zone and in the BTC showed the highest species richness, while in the BPE this metric was lower. In both IVI and IVF, the hierarchically dominant species were Erythrina americana Mill., Ipomoea murucoides Roem. & Schult. and Spondias purpurea L. The dendrogram visualizes the existence of two large groups tham show a low rate of species turnover along the altitudinal gradient. The NMDS shows that three cultural practices associated with CET are statistically significant and that they directly influence tree richness, structure, and diversity. The presence of CVs is important for biocultural conservation because its shelter mostly native species, both wild and cultivated, in addition to providing food and fuel to cover basic needs. Contrary to expectations, the structural ecological parameters are not influenced by the altitudinal gradient and by the vegetation types, but by the kind of species cultivated or favored by peasants.

Palabras llave : Live fence; Conservation; Diversity; agricultural landscapes; altitudinal contrast.

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