The Use of a Landscape Approach in Mexican Forest Indigenous Communities to Strengthen Long-Term Forest Management Interciencia, Vol

Interciencia ISSN: 0378-1844 [email protected] Asociación Interciencia Venezuela

Velázquez, Alejandro; Fregoso, Alejandra; Bocco, Gerardo; Cortez, Gonzalo The use of a landscape approach in mexican forest indigenous communities to strengthen long-term forest management Interciencia, vol. 28, núm. 11, noviembre, 2003, pp. 632-638 Asociación Interciencia Caracas, Venezuela

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How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative THE USE OF A LANDSCAPE APPROACH IN MEXICAN FOREST INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN LONG-TERM FOREST MANAGEMENT

ALEJANDRO VELÁZQUEZ, ALEJANDRA FREGOSO, GERARDO BOCCO y GONZALO CORTEZ

eveloping inter-tropical et al., 1996; Oliver et al., 1992; Sist et al., A landscape approach countries are subjected to 1998). Finding compromises between for- may, to some extent, serve as a basis for severe forest degradation est use and conservation where anthropo- developing ecologically sound forest use and conversion processes (Myers, 2000). genic activities are seen as key yardsticks schemes (Mummery et al., 1999; Veláz- In these countries, where most biodiversity has become a cornerstone of environmen- quez et al., 2001). Landscape ecology occurs, high human population densities tal scientists (Seymour and Hunter, 1999). deals with the totality of physical, ecologi- and ill-planned development programs ex- Under this view, alternative paths based cal and geographical entities, integrating ert a strong pressure over the forests upon robust scientific methods need to be all natural and human patterns and pro- (Wahlberg et al., 1996) As a consequence, undertaken in order to strengthen current cesses (Farina, 1998). Furthermore, the natural resource depletion processes are forest use plans (Velázquez et al., 2001). analysis of structure, composition and dramatic (Myers, 2000). During the last Contemporary forest man- function allows prediction of landscape decade, long-term forest use and conserva- agement plans promoted wood extraction of dynamics (Pitkänen, 1998; Palik and Eng- tion has become a key issue. Contempo- profitable tree species (Wolf, 1998; strom, 1999; Neave and Norton, 1998). rary management (timer management), Seymour and Hunter, 1999); alternative for- Natural geographic entities and their inher- forest resources as soils, water, biodiver- est uses were not economically attractive ent heterogeneity across spatial units, and sity and timber, rely upon management (Daily et al., 1996). Timbering schemes homogeneity within the unit, may be con- schemes determined by human demands simulated natural forest disturbances such sidered in conducting rapid forest use and so that their natural dynamics is rarely as fires, plagues or hurricanes, to deter- conservation actions (Spies and Turner, taken into account (Vogt et al., 1997). The mine the amount of extractable wood 1999; Mummery et al., 1999). In this per- goal of meeting present human needs (Brokaw and Lent, 1999). The potential spective, forest stands can be understood without compromising the availability of available wood volume was related to the as ecological as well as productive bodies. forest resources for future generations has intensity of the disturbance without con- Thus, timber and non-timber alternative been addressed by the Brundtland Com- sidering the inherent forest dynamics (suc- uses can be evaluated simultaneously. mission (CED, 1997). Currently, forest cession and evolution) and its spatial het- This paper discusses the management encompasses profitable eco- erogeneity (Spies and Turner, 1999). In potential contribution of an integrated forest nomic use, soil, water and wildlife conser- other words, static and homogeneous for- and landscape approach to developing long- vation, and eventually the maintenance of est patterns are assumed, regardless of term forest management and conservation climatic conditions, simultaneously (Daily temporal or spatial scales. schemes. The research was conducted at a

KEYWORDS / Conservation / Indigenous Communities / Landscape Approach / Mexican Forest / Vegetation Mapping / Received: 06/06/2003. Modified: 10/02/2003. Accepted: 10/14/2003

Alejandro Velázquez Montes. Ph.D. in Landscape Ecology, University of Amsterdam, The Neth- erlands. Researcher, Institute of Geography, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Morelia. Address: Aquiles Serdán Nº 382; Colonia Centro, C.P. 58000, Morelia, Michoacán, México. e-mail: [email protected] Alejandra Fregoso Domínguez. M.Sc. in Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), The Netherlands. Researcher, Instituto Nacional de Ecología, SEMARNAT, México. Gerardo Bocco Verdinelli. Ph.D. in Landscape Ecology, University of Amsterdam, The Nether- lands. Researcher, Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas and Instituto Nacional de Ecología, SEMARNAT, Mexico. Gonzalo Cortez Jaramillo. M.Sc. in Forest Management, Colegio de Postgraduados, Chapingo, Mexico. Lecturer, Instituto Tecnológico Agropecuario plantel 7, México.

632 0378-1844/03/11/632-07 $ 3. 00/0 NOV 2003, VOL. 28 Nº 11 forest indigenous community in central component in growth and yields models Mexico, where both economic capital effi- and reflects site productivity as the aver- ciency and conservation of biological carry- age height of the dominant tree. The index ing capacity are demanded simultaneously age was set at 50 years. For that purpose (Velázquez et al., 2001). forestry data were collected under a sys- tematically sampling scheme on 4662 Methods sample plots. These circular plots were approximately 36m in diameter (1000m2). In Study Area every plot, 30 variables were measured including elevation, aspect, slope, tree spe- Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro is an cies, and forest stand parameters such as indigenous (Purepecha) community located DBH (1.30m), height and basal area (Boc- 15km east of Uruapan, state of Michoacan co et al., 2000). Emphasis was placed on (Figure 1). Climate is temperate and sea- commercially profitable tree species (Pi- sonal with a mean annual precipitation of nus pseudostrobus, P. montezumae, Abies 1200mm and mean annual temperature of Figure 1. The indigenous community of religiosa, Quercus spp and Cupressus lind- 15ºC (García, 1981); soils are derived from Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro (ICNSJP) leyi). young and recent volcanic materials (Rees, is located in the Sate of Michoacán, Mexi- Volume models for each 2 1970; Inbar et al., 1994). The main land co. It covers an area of 180km out of of the profitable tree species were devel- 2 cover is characteristic of temperate forest which 110km are devoted to forestry use. oped. A multiple regression model where (Rzedowski, 1981). Land use includes sub- volume is a function of stem diameter and sistence agriculture, cattle grazing, avocado purposes was based on similarities in forest height was used. The best model was the orchards and forestry. A thorough descrip- cover (Velázquez et al., 2001), topography combined variable and the equation was ad- tion is provided by Bocco et al. (2000). and tree density (Figure 2). The units were justed to a log lineal function for each spe- Currently, 1300 comu- digitized, geometrically corrected in a vec- cies (Eq. 1). Estimation of height growth neros (family heads that conform the com- tor-format mosaic and labeled according to patterns for the profitable tree species were munity) who have granted rights on the the legend as a forest stand map. For this developed. The Schumacher growth algo- communal land and their families, inhabit procedure a geographic information system rithm was selected as the most robust the Area. The major economic activity is (GIS; ILWIS, 1997) was used. Figure 2 de- model for stand height prediction with the the Community’s forestry enterprise, with scribes the processes followed to obtain the aid of Statistics Analysis Software (Cody some 850 indigenous employees earning maps from forestry and ecological ap- and Smith, 1987). wages above the minimum salary, an un- proaches. usual fact in rural Mexico (Bocco et al., logV = logβ + logβ (D2·A)·β3 + E (1) Once the stands were defined, each 1 2 2000). The Community is well known for was evaluated in terms of its exploitable its sustained use of forest and the inte- where V: volume, D: diameter, A: height, wood volume and classified in terms of its β grated management of derived goods quality for management plans purposes us- : adjusted parameters and E: error. (Alvarez-Icaza, 1993). Manufactured prod- ing the Site Index, which is an important The forest variables were ucts, including wooden floors, furniture and handled in a relational database, and linked resin, are commercialized at the national consistently to the spatial database in the and international markets. The Community Aerial GIS; the relational key was the identifier of was granted the right to administer its own photographs every polygon (stand). Once the stands forest technical services in 1988, thus re- were characterized according to its produc- ceiving the complete control of the re- tivity (site index and Schumacher model) source by the government (Velázquez et al., these were then regrouped on the basis of 2001). In 1998, Nuevo San Juan received their quality status and represented spatially the green certification by the Smartwood Forest stand using the GIS as a Forest quality map. World Forest Council. This recognition im- map plied both economic and ecological ben- Surveying techniques and efits, and promoted the search for alterna- sampling design for tive forest uses by the general assembly of the vegetation approach the community. Further productive diversifi- cation may strengthen this social enterprise Stratification of the forest area was (Kolosvary and Corbley 1998). Forestry field site Ecological field accomplished on the same set of aerial data site data photographs as for the previous approach. Surveying techniques and sampling (Schumacher (Twinspan Delineation of homogenous vegetation units algorithm) algorithm) design for the forest approach was based on the same photographic elements as above (Figure 2). The discrimi- The community area un- nated vegetation types on the photographs Forest der forest cover was stratified using 1996 quality Vegetation were coniferous forest (Abies, Pinus), panchromatic black and white aerial photo- map map broad-leaf forest (Quercus, Alnus, Salix, graphs at a scale of approximately 1:25000. Clethra, Arbutus), non-forest vegetation The photo interpretation was carried out on cover (Baccharis), and reforestation stands. the basis of standard photographic image The units were also digitized, geometrically elements (tone, texture, pattern, shape and Figure 2. Flow chart depicting the pro- corrected in a vector-format mosaic that location). Delineation of 1271 homoge- cesses followed to obtain the maps from matched the previous forest mosaic geom- neous forest stands for timer management forestry and ecological approaches. etry and labelled according to the legend,

NOV 2003, VOL. 28 Nº 11 633 as a preliminary vegetation map in cially relevant tree taxa were con- the GIS (sensu Velázquez, 1993). sidered on this vegetation data ma- Vegetation was described trix including following the Zürich-Montpellier t i approach (Werger, 1974) on 177 fti = —— vegetation sample sites (relevés in p the original terminology). The where fti: tree species (i) relative vegetation scheme was carried out frequency, ti: number of times on the vegetation units defined that i occurs, and p: total num- under a stratified random sam- ber of plots or relevés, and pling strategy. Sites were homo- i=n geneous and representative of the Fr =Σ fi vegetation types; at least 3 relevés i=1 were surveyed per vegetation where Fr: Stand/Plant community mapped polygon. Both size and relative frequency, and fai: tree shape of sampling units were de- species (i) relative frequency. fined according to the concept of To select the plant commu- minimum area, on the basis of nity to which each forest stand fits ecological homogeneity and the best, both matrices described relationship species-area (Werger, above were compared and tree op- 1974; Braun-Blanquet, 1979). erations were conducted for the For every sampling site the integration analysis: 1) selection following data were recorded: of plant communities that shared physiognomic and physiographic the same plant taxa with a specific site description, geographic coor- forest stand, 2) comparison of the dinates, relief and micro-relief, al- tree species relative frequencies titude, slope gradient and aspect, per stand and per plant communi- soil depth (including depth of lit- ties and 3) selection of the plant ter), disturbance characteristics community that presents the high- and a complete floristic census of est similarity of tree species rela- all vascular plants. The floristic tive frequencies per stand. description was accompanied by a quantification of cover abundance Figure 3. Forestry quality map derived from field site data Spatial analysis per species (Velázquez, 1993) and analyzed through the Schumacher algorithm in order to de- per stratum (tree, shrub, grass and pict areas comprising significant differences in wood volume. Once every stand was as- herb layers). Cover was estimated, signed to a unique plant commu- per species, as the total projection nity, the vegetation information was on the ground of all of the foliage of indi- built. Forest stands as well as plant com- used to re-label the forest stands of the for- viduals of the same species (Werger, munities were characterized on the basis of est stand map with the name of the plant 1974). The variables were handled in a their species composition, and relative and community assigned. For that purpose, the second relational database, and linked con- absolute frequencies of tree species per forest map and the vegetation-stand matrix sistently to the corresponding spatial data- stand were calculated (Fregoso, 2000). For described above were handled digitally base (preliminary vegetation map) in the the vegetation approach, only the commer- through a geographic information system GIS; the relational key was the identifier (ILWIS, 1997). For the spatial analysis five of every polygon (vegetation type). Vegetation data were integrated and analyzed through a numeri- cal classification method using two way indicator species analysis program (TWINSPAN; Hill, 1979). This procedure allowed the recognition of all vegetation communities and their species affinities. In order to typify plant communities and to identify characteristic species, the degree of presence and average cover value per species were used (Mueller-Dumbois and Ellenberg, 1974).

Comparison of forest and vegetation approaches

To compare the two approaches, both relational databases were Figure 4. Result of the classification analysis expressed in a dendrogram. The 13 plant commu- normalized in terms of comparable ele- nities depicted are denoted after characteristic species. Only forested plant communities were ments for the wooden taxa surveyed by the included in the comparative analysis since successional stages and colonizer communities were forest approach and two data matrices were not considered within the traditional forest scope, due to the absence of live tree forms.

634 NOV 2003, VOL. 28 Nº 11 GIS operations were conducted: 1) detection of non-forested polygons and their exclusion from the spatial model, 2) re-labelling of forest stands according to the plant community they fitted best from the vegetation- stand matrix, 3) re-grouping of forest stand polygons comprising the same plant community label, 4) data display, and 5) designing the cartographic legend and printing.

Results

Species richness. Comparison of the forest and vegetation approaches

The forest approach fo- cused on wooden species allowed recognition of 11 different plant species, included in 4 categories: pine, fir, oaks and broad-leaved trees. These results contrast significantly with the 609 vascular plant species registered during the vegetation approach. From these, 422 species clustered into 189 genera and 77 families were depicted as characteristics of plant communities. The other 187 species excluded were considered rare (recorded £5 times in the 177 relevés). In brief, the over 600 vascular species represent a large potential for alternative uses, whereas contemporary forest management only uses about 2% of the total species richness recorded. The characterization of the forest in terms of productivity stand quality for management purposes resulted in 4 classes (very high, high, medium and un-forested areas; Figure 3). The characterization of the forest in terms of its vegetation distinguished 13 plant communities; five typifying pioneer conditions and the rest representing mature forest structures (Figure 4). A complete list of preferential species depicting all forested plant communities is given in Table I. A thorough phytosociological description of these plant communities is provided by Gimenez et al., (1997) and Fregoso (2000).

Integration of the two approaches

This section includes the results obtained from the comparison of the two approaches and the spatial analysis that links plant communities and forest stands in a map (Figure 5). Results regarding the spatial distribution are pre- sented in Table II. The integration approach shows that the vegetative community Pinus leiophylla-Piptochaetium vires- Figure 5. Current vegetation map of the indigenous community of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricuti- cens is best represented in 388 forest ro. The vegetation units are depicted on the basis of forest stand limits. The present forest man- stands. This plant community is distrib- agement includes a combination of the traditional forest stand approach (tree cutting on yearly ba- uted on an area of 3533ha, on 85 poly- sis) and plant community dynamics (inherent ecological dynamic processes). gons (units) covering 31% of the total Projection data: Ellipsoid: Clarke 1899; Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic; Datum: North forest mass coverage. The community of American 1927 (NAD 27). Cartographic edition: Celia López Miguel.

NOV 2003, VOL. 28 Nº 11 635 TABLE I P. pseudostrobus-Ternstroemia pringlei SYNOPTIC PLANT COMPOSITION OF THE EIGHT FORESTED PLANT was related to 433 forest stands covering COMMUNITIES* DISTINGUISHED BY THE LANDSCAPE APPROACH 25% of the total forest mass coverage, on 136 polygons. The Abies religiosa-Galium Plant community I II III IV V VI VII VIII mexicanum community is distributed on (for names see Figure 4) 2046ha, composed of 187 forest stands Pinus hartwegii I-3 and 50 polygons. Pinus montezumae- Calamagrostis tolucensis I-1 Pernettya ciliata I-2 II-1 I-1 I-1 Dryopteris sp. covers 1601ha represented Eryngium sp. II-1 I-1 by 20 forest stands on 16 polygons. The Erigeron galeottii I-1 rest of the forest stands comprised plant Muhlenbergia quadridentata I-1 communities covering surfaces from 10 to Juniperus monticola I-2 100ha (Table II). Castilleja sp. I-1 Cerastium molle I-1 The vegetation approach Senecio callosus II-2 included 609 vascular plant species, Asplenium castaneum II-3 I-1 whereas the forest one only 11, those of Hieracium sp. II-1 I-1 importance for wooden products. Vegeta- Vaccinium confertum I-2 I-1 1Quercus microphylla II-2 I-1 tion heterogeneity was well represented Castilleja arvensis I-1 II-1 I-1 by the 13 plant communities depicted by Piptochaetium timbratum III-2 the vegetation approach. In contrast, the 1Quercus conspersa III-4 II-1 forest approach only regards physiogno- Elaphoglosum spp. II-1 III-1 I-2 Agrostis tolucencis III-2 mic heterogeneity of a few selected plant Dryopteris sp. I-1 V-1 I-1 I-1 I-1 population species. In the spatial context, 1Abies religiosa V-8 III-1 V-3 III-3 II-4 a substantial percentage of both ap- Asplenium monanthes IV-1 II-1 I-1 I-1 II-1 II-1 I-2 proaches was successfully linked (70%). Fuchsia microphylla IV-1 II-1 IV-1 I-3 III-1 II-1 Galium mexicanum II-2 I-1 IV-3 I-1 III-1 I-1 The rest of the forest stands harbor het- 1Quercus laurina II-2 V-2 I-1 IV-2 I-2 IV-3 V-4 III-7 erogeneous conditions that restricts link- 1Pinus montezumae I-2 IV-4 IV-3 V-3 IV-5 II-2 ing plant communities and forest stands. Eupatorium glabratum I-1 V-2 II-3 II-2 III-1 II-1 I-1 Stevia rhombifolia I- III-2 1Alnus jorullensis II-2 I-1 I-2 I-3 II-1 V-3 I- Discussion and conclusions Cestrum nitidum III-4 III-2 II-2 1Pinus pseudostrobus I-2 I-2 V-4 V-3 IV-5 III-5 IV-3 The contemporary forest 1Pinus leiophylla I-3 I-5 I-3 I-2 IV-4 II-5 V-5 II-3 approach (sensu Smith, 1962) and vegeta- 1 Pinus michoacana I-3 I-2 I-1 IV-4 II-5 III-4 II-3 tion analysis under the landscape ap- Smilax moranensis I-1 IV-1 II-1 II-1 I-1 II-1 Didymaea alsinoides I-3 I-1 III-1 I-1 proach (sensu Zonneveld, 1995) provide 1Quercus rugosa II-4 IV-4 IV-3 III-1 I-2 substantially different information. The Piptochaetium virescens I-3 I-3 II-3 IV-3 II-4 IV-2 first refers, exclusively, to commercial Baccharis heterophylla I-1 IV-1 II-1 IV-2 I-3 tree life forms, giving most weight to for- 1Ternstroemia pringlei I-3 IV-3 I-2 IV-1 1Clethra mexicana I-1 II-1 I-3 II-4 est density and forest structure. The sec- Tillandsia sp. III-4 ond relies upon plant strategies and lead- Symplocos citrea I-1 II-5 ing environmental factors involved in Adiantum andicola I-1 I-1 II-1 II-2 their distribution, where species composi- Cleyera integrifolia I-5 II-4 II-2 Asplenium preamorsum I-1 II-1 II-2 tion, structure and physiognomy are 1Carpinus caroliniana I-3 III-4 therefore important. Thus, the overall im- Cornus disciflora I-2 III-3 pression of forest species richness differs Zeugites americana I-1 III-1 significantly among approaches (see Oreopanax xalapensis I-2 I-3 II-4 Eupatorium areolare I-3 I-1 II-3 Table I). In addition, both consider geo- Smilax pringlei I-2 I-1 II-1 II-3 morphologic features to delineate forest Rubus sp. I-2 I-4 II-2 II-2 stand and landscape units respectively. Heterotheca inuloides I-1 III-1 I-1 The second, however, is regarded as the Phacelia platycarpa III-3 I-1 Tagetes filifolia II-2 I-4 major geographic attribute to delineate Aegopogon cenchroides I-2 I-1 II-5 I-1 I-1 II-2 I-2 landscape units (Velázquez et al., 2001), Stellaria sp. I-1 whereas delineation of forest stands de- Senecio cinerarioides I-2 I-1 pend mostly on density and height of the Baccharis sp. II-1 tree layer (Hunter, 1999). Furthermore, Baccharis grandifolia I-1 the landscape approach considers ecologi- Class Degree of presence Class Coverage (%) cal processes such as succession, so that I>0-201<1 all vascular plant species play a role; II >20 - 40 2 ≥ 1- 5 therefore vegetation is seen as a dynamic III >40 - 60 3 > 1 - 10 attribute of the landscape where its distri- IV >60 - 80 4 >10 - 20 bution and development is determined V >80 -100 5 >20 - 40 6 >40 - 60 mainly by climate, soils, relive and man- 7 >60 - 80 agement activities. Whereas, the forests 8 >80 approach indirectly considers these fac- * Plant communities labeled as IX, X, XI, XII and XIII in Figure 4, are treeless and therefore tors as causes of the forest productive ca- of no interest from the timber management perspective. pacity, this analysis is mainly done at in- 1 Marks the plant taxa considered for comparison between approaches. dividual trees within the production unit

636 NOV 2003, VOL. 28 Nº 11 TABLE II REFERENCES SURFACE OCCUPIED BY THE PLANT COMMUNITIES ACCORDING TO FOREST STANDS* Álvarez Icaza P (1993) Forestry as a social enterprise. Cultural Survival 17: 45-47. Bocco G, Velázquez A, Torres A (2000) Comuni- Forested plant communities Number of Forest Area dades indígenas y manejo de recursos natu- polygons stands (ha) rales. Un caso de investigación participativa en México. Interciencia 25: 9-19. Abies religiosa-Asplenium castaneum 2 2 7 Braun-Blanquet JJ (1979) Fitosociología: bases Pinus montezumae-Dryopteris sp. 16 20 160 para el estudio de comunidades vegetales. Baccharis heterophylla-Phacelia platicarpa 34 89 569 Blume. Madrid, España. 820 pp. A. religiosa-Galium mexicanum 50 187 2046 Brokaw N, Lent R (1999) Vertical structure. In P. montezumae-Cestrum nitidum 74 123 1369 Hunter MJr (Ed) Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems. Cambridge University P. pseudostrobus-Ternstroemia pringlei 136 433 2820 Press. Cambridge, UK. pp. 373-399. P. leiophylla-Piptochaetium virescens 85 388 3533 CED (1997) Our common future. Internal report. Carpinus carolineana-Asplenium praemorsum 24 28 374 Commission of Environment and Develop- Undefined vegetation 4 4 17 ment. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. *The number of polygons relates directly to the degree of fragmentation among patches of a Cody RP, Smith JK (1987) Applied statistics and given plant community. the SAS programming language. 2nd ed. SAS Institute Inc. North Carolina, USA. 280 pp. area, regarding other ecological aggrega- these plant communities are grouped into Daily CG, Alexander S, Ehrlich PR., Goulder L, Lubchenco J, Matson PA, Mooney HA, tion forms as vegetation communities. significantly different clusters. Ecological Postel S, Shneider SH, Tilman D, Woodwell On the whole, forest dy- processes (e.g., succession and growth GM (1996) Ecosystem services: benefits namics rely upon vertical and horizontal rate) as well as environmental processes supplied to human societies by natural eco- relationships either from strata or from (e.g., humidity, soils) also vary substan- systems. Issues in Ecology 2: 1-16. neighboring units that reflect strongly in tially among these communities. Farina L (1998) Principles and Methods in its spatial distribution pattern. This is The method developed Landscape Ecology. Chapman and Hall. London, UK. 235 pp. crucial to forest management strategies, appears to be an accurate way to join to- Fregoso A (2000) La vegetación como herra- since the amount of extractable wood gether these two approaches, where forest mienta base para la planeación, aprovecha- ought to depend on natural forest dy- stands and vegetation units matched over miento y conservación de los recursos fores- namic processes. The integration of both 85% in their limits. This suggests that a tales: El caso de la comunidad indígena de approaches gives information regarding complementary approach to link informa- Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoa- plant communities distribution patterns, tion is feasible. This is relevant since the cán, México. Tesis. UNAM, México. 67pp. as well as information about its state of sampling strategy (time-cost) in both ap- García E (1981) Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen. Enriqueta aggregation or desegregation. The forest proaches also differs significantly. The to- García de Miranda. 4ª Ed. México, DF. 221 management plan of the community for tal forest volume estimation implied over pp. timber production does not consider yet 4500 sampling sites located along the Giménez J, Escamilla M, Velázquez A (1997) this type of integration approach. Hence, transect (about US$ 80000). This con- Fitosocología y sucesión en el volcán Pa- current forest and not-yet forest commu- trasts drastically with the landscape ap- ricutín (Michoacán México). Caldasia 19: nities are to be considered within the proach since only 177 sampling units 487-505. land use strategy in order to warrant the (relevés) were needed to typify all plant Hill M (1979) TWINSPAN A FORTRAN program for the detrendend correspondence analysis full recovery of the forest and therefore communities (about US$ 40000). The and reciprocal averaging. Cornell University. durable forestry practices. Nevertheless, complete list of species and their analysis Ithaca, New york, USA. 52 pp. the information has been used for forest required over two years and three bota- Hunter MLJr (1999) Maintaining biodiversity in alternative management on habitat conser- nists to be completed. forest ecosystems. Cambridge University vation programs for the long-tailed wood- To conclude, to ensure Press. Cambridge, UK. 698 pp. partridge (Dendrortyx macroura) and the long term forestry use, a tied combina- ILWIS (1997) Application and reference guides. whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus). tion of forest (commercial woody spe- Integrated Land and Water Information Sys- tem. Version 2.0. ITC, Enschede, Nether- The transitional areas cies) and landscape (relief-soils-vegeta- lands. 352 pp. (ecotypes, sensu Seymour and Hunter, tion) approaches ought to be comple- Inbar M, Lugo J, Villers L (1994) The geomor- 1999) were the most difficult areas to de- mented (IUCN, 1996). This is meant to phological evolution of the Paricutín cone scribe and to map (Werger, 1974). These fulfill ecologically sound forest manage- and lava flow, México, 1943-1990. Geo- ecotypes are usually avoided by the forest ment (Giménez et al., 1997; Velázquez et morphol. 9: 57-76 approach by sampling what is supposed al., 2000); and to favor natural landscape IUCN (1996) Communities and Forest Manage- to be homogeneous stands. These areas, evolution (Hunter, 1999; Spies and Tur- ment. International Union for Conservation nonetheless, include most disagreement ner, 1999). of Nature. Cambridge, UK. Kolosvary R, Corbley KP (1998) Forest manage- between both approaches. As a conse- ment with GIS. Industry taps image process- quence, forest stands considered homoge- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ing and GIS to earn green certification. neous harbor large ecological heterogene- GIM-Feature 12: 27-29. ity, contrary to landscape units (Fregoso, The authors acknowledge Mueller-Dombois D, Ellenberg H (1974) Aims 2000). To illustrate this further, 5% of the the staff of the indigenous community of and methods of vegetation ecology. Wiley. forest stands included a combination of Nuevo San Juan, especially Luis Toral and New York, USA. 547 pp. three plant communities (Pinus leio- his team, for logistic and academic sup- Mummery D, Battaglia MC, Beadle L, Turnbull CRA, McLeod R (1999) An application of phylla-Piptochaetium virescens, Abies report. Field research was sponsored by terrain and environmental modeling in a ligiosa-Galium mexicanum, P. montezu- DGPA-UNAM (IN- 210599), CONABIO large-scale forestry experiment. Forest Ecol. mae-Dryopteris sp.). As seen in Figure 4, (R092), and FMCN (B1-007/2). Manag. 118: 149-159.

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