Jaime Ernesto Rivera-Hernández

La conservación de los polinizadores es importante, ya que la mayoría (75 %) de los 111 cultivos agrícolas en el mundo dependen de la polinización.

Antecedentes y Objetivos: El estado de Veracruz ha sido estudiado desde el punto de vista botánico desde finales del siglo XVI. No obstante, aún quedan zonas poco exploradas de su territorio. De esta forma, el objetivo de la presente investigación fue recopilar y generar conocimiento más completo y actual sobre la flora y vegetación del Parque Nacional Cañón del Río Blanco (PNCRB), en el centro de Veracruz, México.Métodos: A través de recorridos de campo durante dos periodos (2012-2014 y 2016) se realizaron colectas botánicas y observaciones, lo cual se complementó con una revisión bibliográfica, de herbario y de bases de datos de herbarios. Se elaboró un mapa de vegetación y una recopilación de información sobre la riqueza florística del PNCRB.Resultados clave: Se registraron seis tipos de vegetación; se presenta el mapa de uso de suelo y vegetación del área de estudio y se obtuvo una lista florística de 2062 especies en el territorio del PNCRB. De ellas, 93 son especies bajo alguna categoría de riesgo, dos representaron nuevos registros para el estado de Veracruz, 373 son especies endémicas y 145 cuasiendémicas de México.Conclusiones: El PNCRB aun resguarda tipos de vegetación con una importante riqueza florística. Al comparar esta característica con la de áreas naturales protegidas cercanas, se enfatiza la importancia de este Parque Nacional.

Based on biological and ethnobiological data from 2020 to 2022, this study provides a base line for the biocultural conservation of stingless bees. These bees in Mexico, like many other pollinators, are facing population declines and this biological loss impacts traditional human knowledge and its uses. This paper aims to record the traditional ecological knowledge about these bees to establish sustainable meliponiculture. Cultural values were obtained through participant observation, interviews, free listing, and structured questionnaires, and a bee inventory was conducted. Data were analyzed using Smith’s Prominence Index and descriptive statistics using SPSS v. 25 software. Inhabitants recognized 21 floral visitors, including invertebrates, mammals and birds. ‘Tenchales’ (local term for Scaptotrigona mexicana), hummingbirds and butterflies are the most culturally prominent floral visitors. The meliponini belonging to Scaptotrigona mexicana were recognized as ‘tenchal’, although different common names were obtained for other meliponini, denoting morphological and behavioral differences among the following species: Partamona bilineata, Plebeia pulchra, Scaptotrigona pectoralis, Scaura argyrea, Trigona corvina, Trigona fulviventris, Trigona fuscipennis and Trigona nigerrima. Although the research area is located near a large city, there is substantial diversity of melliferous flora, floral visitors, and traditional ecological knowledge used by the inhabitants in their daily activities. Stingless bees are perceived as the primary pollinators that help maintain their forests and thus help sustain their lives. This paper promotes better awareness of bioculturally effective community conservation strategies.

Rural roadsides represent an important alternative for biodiversity conservation. The objective of this study was to estimate the effective diversity and ecological importance in two herbaceous communities along rural roadsides. Twenty quadrats with an area of 1 m2 were systematically established across two 50-m transects. Data on richness, abundance, and plant coverage were obtained. Forty-two species were recorded, comprising 18 families, with Asteraceae being the most abundant (28.57 %). The estimated effective diversity for both transects was greater than 15 effective species, which may be equal to a quarter of the effective diversity of a cloud forest, four times greater than that of an edge of agricultural land, and comparable to that of an edge of a tropical evergreen forest. The importance value index indicated that Cenchrus ciliaris and Syagrus romanzoffiana for transect one and Sida rhombifolia and Aldama dentata for transect two are the species most likely to determine the composition, structure, and functioning of the two plant communities studied. Estimates of these indices allow more useful comparisons with similar studies and facilitate the visualization of the species that probably determine the existence of these ecological systems. This study is expected to eventually provide scientific knowledge in the ecological and environmental fields, which will allow the implementation of effective and viable conservation strategies for ecosystems present in rural roadsides.

La acuaponía es un sistema de producción agrícola resultado de la combinación de otros dos sistemas: la hidroponía (cultivo de vegetales que utilizan soluciones acuosas con nutrientes disueltos) y la acuicultura (cultivo de peces). El objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar el crecimiento de cultivos de Lactuca sativa var. longifolia Lam. y L. sativa var. angustana Irish ex Bremer, coexistiendo con “mojarra tilapia” (Oreochromis niloticus L.), en un sistema acuapónico familiar de raíz flotante. Para lo anterior, se consideraron dos parámetros para monitorear el desarrollo y crecimiento de las plantas: número de hojas y longitud de raíz. Con el fin de dar un seguimiento a la calidad del agua de los estanques a lo largo del tiempo que duró el estudio, se registraron dos veces por semana las variables fisicoquímicas: pH, oxígeno disuelto (OD) en ml/l y temperatura en grados Celsius. Los resultados indican que hubo diferencias significativas en el crecimiento y adaptación entre ambas variedades de lechugas al sistema acuapónico. Lactuca sativa var. longifolia, presentó un desarrollo vegetativo significativamente mayor en comparación con L. sativa var. angustana, así como un mayor número de hojas y una mayor longitud radicular. Se concluye que es factible el cultivo acuapónico de Lactuca sativa var. longifolia en un sistema familiar, toda vez que cumple con los estándares requeridos para su consumo. Las condiciones fisicoquímicas del agua en el sistema acuapónico utilizado se mantuvieron favorables para el crecimiento de los organismos vegetales.

La mentalidad imperante actual, dominada y gobernada por un sistema voraz que nos invita al frenesí, al consumo y a la desconexión de nuestras verdaderas necesidades y sentimientos más profundos, han provocado que nos hallemos actualmente en una situación cercana al colapso civilizatorio. En esta propuesta, se busca promover, en un contexto lúdico-recreativo, el marco ético de valores y principios de la Carta de la Tierra para hacer real un Desarrollo Sostenible que considere los puntos clave de sus componentes: ecológico-ambiental, social y económico; así como, descubren y conocen la Carta de la Tierra en sus cuatro ‘Ejes Centrales’, a la vez que conocen los Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible y, finalmente, relacionan e integran los objetivos de laCarta de la Tierra con los Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS). Para lograr esto, se diseñó una carrera para niños entre siete y 14 años, formada por cuatro bases, cada una de un color acorde con los manejados comúnmente en la literatura, que hace alusión a los Ejes Fundamentales de la Carta de la Tierra (EFCT). Con esta actividad los niños y niñas desarrollan su capacidad de identificar y visualizar las conexiones entre estos dos documentos, aspectos importantes para generar mentes más empáticas con la tierra.

Pollinators depend on the melliferous flora for food, in return, flowers are pollinated, which contributes for the maintenance of ecosystems and conservation of biodiversity, increasing food production and ensuring food security. This research aims to provide an inventory of melliferous flora and its annual availability in Cervantes y Lozada, Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. During 26 months, the plants interacting with bees were collected on defined rural roads; we also documented the resource provided by the flowers (pollen, honey, etc.), their origin (native or exotic), life form and flowering periods. From 122 collections, 76 melliferous species were inventoried, grouped in 74 genera and 35 botanical families, being Asteraceae (25 %) the family with more species, followed by Malvaceae (9.21 %) and Lamiaceae (7.89 %); 67.11 % are polliniferous, 7.86 % nectariferous, and 25 % provide both; 82.89 % are native and 17.11 % exotic; 15.79 % are trees, 28.95 % shrubs and 55.26 % herbs. Seven species provided resources for bees all year round, two for 10 months and the rest for shorter periods. The flora species that were inventoried have different uses, so it is important to protect and promote the sustainable management of the melliferous flora, which is essential for the conservation of the pollination service, which in turn is essential for agriculture and ecosystems, in addition to protecting species of social, ecological, and economic importance.

En esta nota se reporta de manera formal la presencia del Chipe de Virginia (Leiothlypis virginiae) en el estado de Veracruz. De acuerdo con la literatura especializada en la que se registra la riqueza avifaunística estatal, L. virginiae no había sido incluida. El encuentro se dio durante un monitoreo realizado el 9 de enero del 2019 en un bosque mesófilo de montaña perturbado, ubicado entre los municipios de Orizaba e Ixtaczoquitlán. El individuo observado se identificó por su característico parche amarillo en su pecho, así como por las plumas cobertoras superiores e inferiores de la cola, de color amarillo. El registro de una especie en áreas donde previamente no se había observado es de gran importancia e interés para el conocimiento de la avifauna regional.

Background: We summarize comparative ethnoornithological data for ten Mexican Indigenous communities, an initial step towards a comprehensive archive of the avian diversity conserved within Mexico’s Indigenous territories. We do so by counting highlighted species listed for bird conservation status on widely recognized “red lists” and their cultural value to build biocultural policies in Mexico for their conservation.Methods: Indigenous bird names for each study site were determined to allow calculation of the “Scientific Species Recognition Ratio” (SSRR) for high cultural value birds obtained across communities. This demonstrated patterns of cultural prominence. A matrix of 1275 bird versus seven biocultural values was analysed using a correspondence analysis (InfoStat/L-v2020) to illustrate patterns of concordance between bird conservation status and cultural values.Results: This paper contributes to quantitative and qualitative data on the role of ethnoornithology and ethnobiology in biocultural conservation. The areas studied provide refugia for almost 70% of the Mexican avifauna within a fraction of 1% of the national territory, that is 769 bird species recorded for all communities. The global correspondence of regions of biological and linguistic megadiversity is well established, while linguistic diversity is widely accepted as a good proxy for general cultural diversity. Our correspondence analysis explained 81.55% of the variation, indicating a strong relation between cultural importance and bird conservation status. We propose three main categories to establish a bioculturally informed public policy in Mexico for the conservation of what we described as high, medium, and bioculturally prominent bird species all include cultural value in any material or symbolic aspect. High are those species appearing on any threatened list, but also considered in any endemic status, while medium include threatened listed species. The last category included species not necessarily listed on any threat list, but with a wide range of social and cultural uses. We suggest that the concept might be extended to other species of biocultural importance.Conclusions: We argue that bird conservation policies should be biocultural, that is they should recognize birds of cultural value on a par with bird species “of special interest” because they are most critical for biodiversity conservation. The desire of local people to protect their traditional community lands and livelihoods can be an effective biodiversity conservation strategy, which should be recognized in national biocultural policies.

Objective: To submit a report about the current situation of the Cañón del Río Blanco National Park and to gather all the existing information about this Protected Natural Area (PNA) in a single document. Design/Methodology/Approach: A bibliographic research and field work were carried out to determine the current state of the PNA. Results: The decree, the geographical location, the history of its protection, the biological, sociocultural and economic characteristics, the environmental services, the CONANP work program, the environmental problems, and the category issues are described. Study Limitations/Implications: There were no limitations. Findings/Conclusions: The area still protects an important biodiversity and fulfills vital environmental services; however, assigning an adequate category to the park and appointing a director is an urgent matter.