Abstract

MARTINEZ, Miguel Ángel et al. Useful plants of the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2007, vol.78, n.1, pp.15-40. ISSN 2007-8706.

Coffee plantations in the Sierra Norte de Puebla (SNP) are agroecosystems with variable composition and structure. These agroecosystems include native and introduced plant species, as well as cultivated and wild ones. Plant diversity in coffee plantations is closely related to the social, economic, and ecological context into which coffee production is inserted. In the last decade, coffee cultivation has been in crisis due to low prices. Nevertheless, farmers of the SNP maintain their plantations as a source of income, with new strategies such as the introduction or increase of plants with economic value, like allspice (Pimenta dioica), mamey (Pouteria sapota), and medicinal plants, taking advantage of the versatility and possibilities for reorganization of these agroecosystems. In this paper we provide an inventory of the useful coffee plantation flora of the SNP, having recorded 319 species, 238 genera and 99 families of plants, some of which could represent new sources of income. A total of 256 species are native and 63 introduced, grouped in 13 anthropocentric categories, of which medicinal and food plants are more numerous.

Keywords : coffee plantations; useful plants; plant diversity; Puebla; Mexico.

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