Background and Aims:

One of the main strategies for the protection of biological diversity is the establishment of systems of areas for conservation, whose management minimizes the risks of extinction. Currently, in Mexico, protected areas cover approximately 12% of the country's surface. However, there is a need to increase efforts to conserve plant diversity, especially at the middle altitudes of the mountainous areas of the country. Oaxaca is one of the states with greater biological diversity and endemisms; however, the natural areas that are decreed in the state are not sufficient to conserve their biological richness. This study aims to define a network of conservation areas in the Sierra Norte of the state of Oaxaca, a region that is recognized for its great biodiversity. The Sierra Norte is an area of extensive forestry use and to date there are no areas decreed for the conservation of its biodiversity.

Methods:

Using climatic data and information about presence records of the species of the Asteraceae family, ecological niche models were developed to determine patterns of richness and to identify priority conservation sites.

Results:

The results identify a network of priority conservation sites within the forestry zones that would assist in the conservation of its great floristic richness.

Conclusions:

The important areas where conservation strategies could be proposed in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca are identified. The use of species of Asteraceae as surrogates of biodiversity would work as an axis to concentrate future efforts of inventory and protection of floristic richness in such sites. The Network of Conservation Areas structured in this work will allow in the future to detect and select, with more solid conceptual bases, areas that can be integrated into the National System of Protected Areas.

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