Linkages between ecosystem management and human communities in central Mexico

Background/Question/Methods

The National University of Mexico created a research network program focusing on the sustainable management of ecosystems to preserve, use and restore the values, resources and ecosystem services. The overall objective was to integrate an environmental diagnosis of the Magdalena River Basin (MRB) the only living river is left in Mexico City; using intervention tools an integrated management program was created. Information about flora, fauna, vegetation, regeneration and ecosystem processes was obtained for the main forest types (Pinus hartwegii-PF-, Abies religiosa-AF - and Quercus sp.-QF). The question was: it is possible to use all the environmental and social information for proposing participatory actions with local stakeholders in the context of ecosystem management?. Maps of hydrology, climate, soil types, and geomorphology and vegetation were produced. The environmental units were identified using vegetation structure, the number of native, introduced species and weeds, seed bank and seed rain, as well as environmental information at the level of plot; a model of indicators’ state was produced. Main ecosystems services were identified.

Results/Conclusions

There were 729 species of plants, 108 of algae, 309 fungi, 38 ectomycorrizae (EM) ,  20 arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), 87 birds and 36 mammals. A. religiosa forest stores a total of 83,603 and P. hartwegii 44,564 tC. The Net Primary Productivity was 10.7 Mg ha^-1 year^-1 for the AF, 10.5 for QF and 5.89 for PF. Minimum temperature, and the C/N ratio showed significant and positive linear correlations with the NPP, biomass increase and the leaf-litterfall. The water supply was estimated at 8,199,360 m³ per year in the top of the basin, 10,091,520 in the middle, and  1,020,182 m³ in the bottom, creating a provision of 20 million m³ of water per year. Landscape units that had fewer than 50% of vegetation cover are the most susceptible to losing soil; this data are related to erodability values. Algae were used as biological indicators in monitoring studies and the enrichment of nutrients was associated with changes in the benthic community. In the restoration experiment, the oak seedlings survivorship was improved with AMF.  P. hartwegii and A. religiosa seedlings inoculated with Inocybe splendens (EM) had lower stomatic resistance, higher amount of CO² absorbed, and a greater total dry weight and more radical biomass allocation, respectively. Strategies and lines of action integrated for the MRB management program were: ecosystem management and sustainable local development, integrated management of the river and its basin, and urban-landscape evaluation.