Huasteca Potosina Research Articles

INFLUENCE OF SUGARCANE BURNING ON SOIL CARBON AND NITROGEN RELEASE UNDER DROUGHT AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION CONDITIONS IN A MEXICAN SUGARCANE SUPPLY ZONE

Sugarcane cultivation is an agricultural activity of worldwide importance. This crop has been cultivated in Mexico for centuries, impacting important productive areas like the study region called Huasteca Potosina which is located at the Central-East part of Mexico. The relationship between soil conditions, weather and production per hectare allows identifying the edaphological and climatic conditions (aptitude levels) for cultivating sugarcane in the study area. The objective of this research work is to analyze the relation between the cultivated hectares and production of sugarcane. Likewise, to explain its behavior and interpret the contribution of N and C released to the atmosphere for burning sugar cane in association with events and meteorological parameters involved in the flux of water between soil and atmosphere such as drought, evapotranspiration and rainfall. The methods and indicators for burning waste provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the value of potential evapotranspiration as Thornthwaite and drought severity index were applied in order to understand the correlations between the drought severity index and potential evapotranspiration, and between C and N release and potential rainfall availability. The results show the increment of harvested hectares and the loss of water from the soil by the increase of periods of drought events and evapotranspiration. The volatilized nutrients in soil varied from 1.32 x 10 5 to 2.17 x 10 5 t for C and from 1.32 x 10 3 tto 2.17 x 10 3 t for N during the burning of sugarcane, affecting production levels with values fluctuating between 38 t/ha to 77 t/ha for the term of 1990-2010.

Locating Potential Zones for Cultivating Stevia rebaudiana in Mexico: Weighted Linear Combination Approach

In order to search for alternative sweeteners for human beings, researchers are recently focusing their attention to find natural sweeteners that have low caloric values and are highly beneficial for the health. Stevia rebaudiana is one of the alternative crops as it produces steviol glycosides with high intense sweeteners. This study introduces a novel application of weighted linear combination approach at pixel level for locating potential zones for cultivating the S. rebaudiana in the Huasteca Potosina region of Mexico. Climatic, topography, soil conditions as well as the proximity to roads for transporting the product were considered the essential requirements for this crop, while soil type and the available land obtained from a classification of Landsat imagery (2014) and Boolean land-use constraints were investigated as spatial constraints. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the stability of outcomes under two approaches: equal weights for the factors and different weights obtained from experts. The results revealed that the area with very high land suitability determined by the expert judgment approach is decreasing which in turns impose restrictions on the cropping of S. rebaudiana. Therefore, this research allowed determining land suitability at pixel level for cultivating S. rebaudiana in the Huasteca Potosina region at the spatial resolution of 30 m.

For God and Revolution: Priest, Peasant, and Agrarian Socialism in the Mexican Huasteca

For God and Revolution: Priest, Peasant, and Agrarian Socialism in the Mexican Huasteca

Las herederas contemporáneas de la Madre Tierra. Ser mujer indígena teenek, disyuntivas y desafíos de las tradiciones femeninas en la Huasteca potosina

En este trabajo se exponen algunos de los cambios significativos en cuanto a dos tradiciones prehispánicas de los indígenas teenek de la Huasteca potosina, al oriente del estado de San Luis Potosí. La primera es la actividad textil, práctica desarrollada mayormente en el ámbito femenino y, por otro lado, comparativamente se expone de manera breve el ritual de los voladores de Tamaletom del municipio de Tancanhuitz, práctica ancestral en la que tradicionalmente han participado solamente los varones y en la que en la actualidad empiezan a involucrarse las mujeres de la comunidad. El objetivo del estudio comparativo entre el ritual mencionado y la tradición textil es detectar algunos rasgos de cambio y procesos de adaptación en las tradiciones, para lo cual desempeñan un papel determinante la movilidad y las migraciones, de las que con cara a la “modernidad” son parte las nuevas generaciones de jóvenes indígenas.

AMEBAS PATÓGENAS DE VIDA LIBRE DEL GÉNERO ACANTHAMOEBA EN AGUAS RECREATIVAS EN LA HUASTECA POTOSINA, MÉXICO

Studies accomplished in freshwater demonstrate the importance of identify the presence of<br />protozoa like free living amoebae (FLA). In particular, the genera Acanthamoeba is associated with<br />severe infections in man, as the Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis (GAE). The most important<br />factor for the development of these organisms is the high temperature of the water body. The<br />region of the Huasteca Potosina in Mexico, with a tropical climate and great aquatic resorts, like<br />rivers, waterfalls and pools of thermal waters, that allows the development of amoebae. In this<br />study we evaluated the presence of amoebas in the most visited places on the Huasteca Potosina.<br />Samples of a liter were taken in nine sites during the rainy and dry season. 54 strains of amoebas<br />were identify, 46 belong to the genera Acanthamoeba, resulting 30 of them pathogenic in the<br />animal tests. The pathogenic isolated amoebas were present in the most attended resorts by the<br />people in the waterfalls or pools of the places sampling. Temperature turned out to be the most<br />important factor for the presence of amoebae.

Tree Species Composition in Tropical Forest Remnants of Highly Deforested Regions: The Case of the Huasteca Potosina Region, Mexico

Deforestation and fragmentation of tropical forest are the most serious threats to biodiversity. In the lowlands of the Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico, more than 95,000 ha of tropical forest have disappeared. This paper analyses tree species composition in tropical forest patches of this highly deforested region, located in northeast of Mexico. At present, only 57 remnants of arboreal vegetation larger than ten hectares still remain standing, which cover 6117 ha. These decreasing fragments host 140 floristic species, representing 42 families and 85 genera. Compared with previous inventories, these data show a sharp drop in species composition. Most of the forest remnants contain less than 50% of the floristic diversity recorded by previous surveys, particularly in the medium subperennial tropical forest.

Música y topofilia en tamazunchale, san luis potosí

This research has the purpose to demonstrate, under the Humanistic approach, the topophilia of the population studied in the Huasteca Potosina through their own music and other musical experiences as part of the culture and regional identity generated in the everyday life and the activities fulfilled by the population, very related to the conditions of physical environment where they live.

Landscape diversity in a rural territory: Emerging land use mosaics coupled to livelihood diversification

Over the past 20 years, the multifunctionality of tropical mountain rural landscapes has been encouraged to enhance the provision of numerous commodities, as well as ecological and cultural services. However, globalization and neoliberal policies have boosted agricultural production for global markets and simultaneously marginalized fundamental rural activities related to self-supply agriculture. This trend has modified smallholder livelihoods from being mostly agricultural to becoming increasingly wage-labor oriented. This shift in household income feeds back to land use configuration and landscape function. We examined origins, development and current states of farmer livelihoods and associated land use and cover changes that occurred in a tropical watershed landscape of the Huasteca Potosina in Mexico between 1970 and 2009. For this purpose, we adopted the Drylands Development Paradigm (DDP) as our analytical framework (Reynolds et al., 2007). Based on aerial photographs and interviews applied to farmers and key stakeholders, we identified local, regional, national and international socio-economic and biophysical drivers that led to current livelihood diversification in several communities sharing the same watershed, and the extent and rate of land use change that has occurred over the past 40 years. We found an increasingly fragmented landscape with a diverse mosaic of land use types (citrus, sugarcane, milpa and secondary forests) yet increasingly dominated by citrus plantations. This reflects an intergeneration livelihood transition towards land use decisions driven by the interaction of diverse and contrasting rural development policies, changing markets, price fluctuations and extreme climatic events. We suggest that the diversity of livelihood strategies and land use types is dynamic and continuously in transition; this creates a complex and changing landscape. The watershed landscape has responded to global markets at the cost of local needs, knowledge systems and social networks. Thus, landscape multifunctionality, preservation of ecosystem services and human well being could be at stake under current trends of globalization and global environmental change.

Medicinal plants used in the Huasteca Potosina, México

Ethnopharmacological importanceMedicinal plants have been a source of medicinal compounds since ancient times. This study documented the use of plant species in traditional medicine in the municipality of Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, México. Materials and methodsDirect interviews were performed with inhabitants from Aquismón. The interviews were analyzed with two quantitative tools: (a) the informant consensus factor (ICF) that estimates the level of agreement about which medicinal plants may be used for each category and (b) the relative importance (RI) that determines the extent of potential utilization of each species. ResultsA total of 73 plant species with medicinal purposes, belonging to 37 families and used to treat 52 illnesses and 2 cultural filiations were reported by interviewees.Nineteen mixtures with medicinal plants were reported by the interviewers. Matricaria recutita was the most used plant for combinations (five mixtures). The results of the ICF showed that diseases of the digestive and respiratory systems had the greatest agreement. The most versatile species according to their RI are Ruta graveolens, Tagetes erecta, Ocimum basilicum and Erigeron karwinskianus. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that plant species play an important role in healing practices and magical–religious rituals among inhabitants from Huasteca Potosina. Further studies with medicinal flora, including mixtures, from Aquismón are required for the experimental validation of their traditional uses.

Two undescribed species of Phylloporia from Mexico based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence

Phylloporia rzedowskii and Phylloporia ulloai, both collected in tropical forests of the Sierra of the Huasteca Potosina, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, are described as new species. The main critical morphological features that characterize them are the pileus shape, the pore diameter, the basidiospores shape and size, and, possibly, their ecology, such as the host relationships (specificity/preference). Both species also form distinct clades in phylogenetic analysis based on partial DNA sequences data from the nuclear ribosomal LSU. An identification key for 10 species reported from the Americas is proposed.

Indigenous Territoriality at the End of the Social Property Era in Mexico

No obstante el reconocimiento legal extendido y la provisión de títulos a las tierras indígenas en América Latina, el barrido de reformas neoliberales de régimen de propiedad cambian silenciosamente tenencia comunal y modelos de uso de recursos comunales. Las comunidades indígenas en México tienen derechos de tierras en la forma de ejidos y comunidades agrarias , propiedades 'sociales' que se mantienen colectivamente sin tener en cuenta la pertenencia étnica. Esos territorios se han sometido a cambios drásticos por un programa de certificación de tierra nacional llamado PROCEDE. Aquí combinamos datos censales y catastrales para la región huasteca potosina dentro de un sistema de información geográfico para analizar resultados de cambios de tenencia de tierra a una escala regional. Con relación a comunidades no natales, las comunidades indígenas han tendido a resistir a la privatización. Sin embargo, muchos Teenek, Nahua y otras comunidades indígenas han dividido sus tierras comunales, conduciendo a la fragmentación adicional de lo que era una vez una región cultural grande y contigua.

Monitoring land cover and land use using NOAA-AVHRR data in the Husteca Potosina, Mexico

The Huasteca Potosina region, Mexico, is of great economic importance at local, state and national level. In recent decades it has experienced strong ecological transformations by human activity. Currently the natural vegetation and the agricultural areas are more fragile with respect to hydrometeorological phenomena and plagues. The natural vegetation and land use cover show yearly and seasonal changes that can be measured by means of remote sensing techniques, in particular those changes occurring during the growing period (rainy season). The objective of this study was to identify the land-cover and land-use changes and to monitor density changes and crop health, using vegetation indices derived from the visible and infrared bands of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite. This study is part of an ample interdisciplinary investigation, the ultimate goal of which is to identify the vulnerability of natural vegetation to hydrometeorological phenomena and plagues by means of remote sensing, GIS, multivariate analysis and a climatic model.

Spatial Configuration of Land-use/Land-cover in the Pujal-Coy Project Area, Huasteca Potosina Region, Mexico

This article analyzes the relationship between the configuration and spatial reorganization of land-use and land-cover in the Pujal-Coy project area, Huasteca Potosina region, eastern San Luis Potosí, Mexico, as well as the relationship between these changes and the environmental conditions prevailing in the area. Land-use and land-cover changes were determined through the analysis and interpretation of satellite images from different dates. The changes identified in the different study periods were correlated with the prevailing physical factors. The results show that the spatial configuration of farming activities, initially induced by the implementation of a regional development project, is highly correlated to the presence of limiting factors such as soil type, slope, and climate. Particularly, the former represents the element that has led to the establishment of the current distribution pattern of farming activities.

México y el surrealismo: Leonora Carrington y el laberinto fantástico de Xilitla

En 1965 Leonora Carrington pinta un mural en una de las paredes del laberíntico Castillo de Xilitla, muy cerca de la surreal obra arquitectónica creada por Edward James en selva de la Huasteca potosina (Xilitla, México). El encuentro con el extravagante mecenas y coleccionista de arte, el inglés Edward James, resulta crucial en su recorrido artístico y lleva a la realización de la única obra mural creada por Carrington: La minotaura. En este mural la artista representa una de las insólitas y extremadamente seductoras criaturas híbridas que habitan su espacio pictórico. El ensayo sigue analizando la compleja producción de la la artista inglesa que desde 1942 vive in México. En particular estudia el universo femenino creado por el arte de Leonora Carrington revelándonos imágenes que pertenecen a un caos común y arquetípico.

Campesinos Tének en una comunidad campesina rural de la Huasteca Potosina complementan su dieta básica con plantas locales

El presente estudio etnobotánico muestra la utilización de plantas alimenticias en una comunidad rural de la Huasteca Potosina, ubicada en la proximidad de un bosque tropical subcaducifolio. Se trata del ejido San Pedro de las Anonas, Municipio de Aquismón, S.L.P .. en el que, campesinos de la etnia Tének o Huasteca complementan su dieta básica de tortillas, frijoles, chile y café con una serie de plantas diversas que obtienen de su entorno. Se da información sobre el nombre científico de 26 especies de estas plantas. y de la familia botánica a la que pertenecen. Se menciona además, la parte comestible de cada planta, así como su forma de consumo.

Caracterización ficológica en manantiales de la cuenca baja del sistema hidrológico del Pánuco, México

Se presentan los resultados del estudio ficofloristico de tres manantiales en la región de la Huasteca Potosina, en el que se reportan 67 especies algales. Se analizan las diferencias y similitudes florísticas y su relación con algunos parámetros ambientales como la iluminación y velocidad de corriente, que fueron los factores más importantes que afectaron las formas de crecimiento predominantes en estos ambientes. En estos manantiales se definieron los microambientes y las principales asociaciones algales que los caracterizan.