Land In Mexico Research Articles

Lepidoptera Associated with Avocado Fruit in Guatemala

Avocados {Persea americana Miller) (Lau raceae) evolved in the eastern and central high lands of Mexico, Guatemala, and the Pacific Coast of Central America (Knight 2002). Humans moved avocados into northern South America by 4000 BC where plants became naturalized (Knight 2002). In 2007, 4 of the top 10 producing nations were located in the native and natural ized range of avocados, with countries ranked as follows: Mexico (1), Colombia (6), Peru (8), and Guatemala (10) (FAOSTAT 2009). California, the fourth largest producer of avocados in the world (FAOSTAT 2009), with a 2007-2008 season crop worth $327 million (US) (CAC 2008), is experienc ing increasing imports of fresh avocado fruit from areas where this plant is native. The estimated amount of fruit entering California from Mexico in 2008-2009 was 36.3 million kilograms (Morse et al. 2009). Co-evolved herbivores of avocados are poorly documented. Three avocado foliage-feeding pests in California, Tetraleurodes perseae Nakahara (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Oligonychus perseae Tuttle, Baker, and Abbatiello (Acari: Tetrany chidae), and Scirtothrips perseae Nakahara (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), were new to science at the time of discovery in the U.S.A. (Hoddle 2004). Morse et al. (2009) recorded 8 species of armored scales on imported avocado fruit entering Califor nia from Mexico of which 3 were new species. Glo bally, 99 species of Lepidoptera from 20 families have a documented association with avocados (HOSTS 2009). The pest status and invasion po tential of Lepidoptera in areas where avocados are native are not well understood. To better un derstand Lepidoptera associated with avocado, we undertook fruit survey work in Guatemala and results are presented here. Fruit collection and rearing studies were con ducted in Guatemala from 1 Nov 2006 to 1 Apr 2007 {n = 23 sites), 13 Nov to 21 Dec 2007 {n = 3 sites), 13 Mar to 1 May 2008 {n = 1 site), and 14 Nov 2008 to 14 Jan 2009 {n = 5 sites). Small im mature Hass fruit (5-25 mm in length, = 1,078), and large mature Hass and non-Hass fruit (s>100 mm in length, = 7,742) were harvested over these 4 different survey periods. Small fruit were held either individually in ventilated plastic vials or commingled and held in ventilated plastic cups labeled by collection site and date. All large fruit were held by collection site and date in collaps ible, ventilated insect rearing cages (BugDorm 2120, 60 cm 60 cm 60 cm, Mega View Science Education Services, Taiwan). All rearing studies was conducted in laboratories at 17-22?C and 41 75% RH under natural daylight of ?12:12 (L:D). As larvae emerged from fruit to pupate they were collected and held individually in labeled venti lated plastic vials until emergence of adult moths. Selected examples of adult moths were killed by freezing, and then pin-mounted with wings spread. Pupal cases were kept and pinned with the adult moth which emerged from it. A total of 1,098 specimens representing 10 moth species from 4 families were reared from harvested avocado fruit in Guatemala. Two tortri cid species, Argyrotaenia urbana (Busck) {n = 2) and Polyortha n. sp. {n = 1), were reared from small immature avocados and grown to maturity on unopened avocado flower clusters after small fruit desiccated. The numbers of each of these 2 species reared from small fruit was underesti mated due to larval mortality resulting from fruit desiccation. From large fruit, 8 different moth species were reared: Amorbia santamar?a Phil lips and Powell (Tortricidae) {n = 5), Cryptaspasma sp. nr. lugubris (Meyrick) (Tortri cidae) {n = 50), Euxoa sorella Schaus (Noctuidae) {n = 1), Histura perseavora Brown (Tortricidae) {n = 35), Holcocera piagatola Adamski (Co leophoridae) {n = 2), Micrathetis triplex Walker (Noctuidae) {n = 1), Netechma pyrrhodelta (Mey rick) (Tortricidae) {n = 1), and Stenoma catenifer Walsingham (Elachistidae) {n ? 1000 specimens). Stenoma catenifer, a well known avocado pest, accounted for 91% of collected material. Tortri cidae had the most representatives with 6 spe cies. At least 2 new moth species were discovered and described from this project, H. perseavora (Brown & Hoddle 2009) and H. piagatola (Adam ski & Hoddle 2009), with possibly a third unde scribed species, Polyortha n. sp. being found also. Polyortha is a very poorly studied genus, and this rearing record from Guatemala is the first host plant data for this undescribed species. Argyro taenis urbana is known primarily from Mexico. This is the first record of this species from Guate mala, and the first host rearing record for this moth. Prior to this study, JS[. pyrrhodelta was known only from Costa Rica where it was reared

Consequences of Buffelgrass Pasture Development for Primary Productivity, Perennial Plant Richness, and Vegetation Structure in the Drylands of Sonora, Mexico

In large parts of northern Mexico native plant communities are being converted to non-native buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) pastures, and this conversion could fundamentally alter primary productivity and species richness. In Sonora, Mexico land conversion is occurring at a regional scale along a rainfall-driven gradient of primary productivity, across which native plant communities transition from desert scrub to thorn scrub. We used a paired sampling design to compare a satellite-derived index of primary productivity, richness of perennial plant species, and canopy-height profiles of native plant communities with buffelgrass pastures. We sampled species richness across a gradient of primary productivity in desert scrub and thorn scrub vegetation to examine the influence of site productivity on the outcomes of land conversion. We also examined the influence of pasture age on species richness of perennial plants. Index values of primary productivity were lower in buffelgrass pastures than in native vegetation, which suggests a reduction in primary productivity. Land conversion reduced species richness by approximately 50% at local and regional scales, reduced tree and shrub cover by 78%, and reduced canopy height. Land conversion disproportionately reduced shrub species richness, which reflects the common practice among Sonoran ranchers of conserving certain tree and cactus species. Site productivity did not affect the outcomes of land conversion. The age of a buffelgrass pasture was unrelated to species richness within the pasture, which suggests that passive recovery of species richness to preconversion levels is unlikely. Our findings demonstrate that land conversion can result in large losses of plant species richness at local and regional scales and in substantial changes to primary productivity and vegetation structure, which casts doubt on the feasibility of restoring native plant communities without active intervention on the part of land managers.

Mapping categories of gypseous lands in Mexico and Spain using Landsat imagery

Remote sensing is a powerful tool for thematic mapping, but its use for the discrimination of different kinds of soils has been scarce and the results variable. We demonstrate the usefulness of Landsat ETM+ images to discriminate gypseous lands in two contrasting regions, Cedral, Mexico, and Bujaraloz, Spain. We also discuss the contribution of the infra-red bands, and found the bands of mid and thermal infra-red to be the more useful. A supervised classification of Landsat ETM+ images enabled us to discriminate land covers related to gypseous lands in Cedral, and to locate gypsum lithologies in Bujaraloz. The thermal infra-red band does not substantially improve the classification in Bujaraloz, but it does in Cedral, being best in the wet season, when the differences of temperatures among classes are relevant.

Turn the World Green Project

In the video the Chairman of The KIN Consortium discusses and economic indicator called HOME STARTS. Said indicator has been highlighted by the media and certain analysts as an indicator of economic growth. The Chairman clearly states in his video that new homes that are built out of trees are the source of Warming. For the pundits in the media to be consistent in their pursuit of saving the planet they should be focussed on NEW HOMES BUILT FROM CEMENT as the indicator of economic growth.The Chairman of the Board of the KIN Consulting & Research Services, has decided to publish some of his solutions for the Issues. His solution is simply to turn the world green. We must follow up an initiative started up by The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that involves turning salt water into drinking water. The Chairman is promoting these ideas in an effort to enhance competition in the production of the latest technology called, Osmosis.Lets end famine in the Third World by saving the planet with food, water, and clean air. The plan is to use the Global Warming enthusiasts as a lead in. For example, when they whine about the weather or the polar ice caps. Mention that Chairman Natto believes that his Turn the World Project will have fantastic repercussion's in terms of its Economic impact, Environmental Impact, & Humanitarian Impact:I. Investment Perspective (An investor can potentially profit from at least three angles):A. Invest in more desalination companies and techniques (Reverse Osmosis Technique).B. Invest in the desert lands of Mexico, Tijuana, North Africa, Mid East, Australia, New Mexico,Nevada, Arizona, China, etc.C. Agricultural sales for Import and Export.II. Potential Investors:A. Everybody who owns land at the beach.B. Everybody who thinks its too hot!C. Everybody who lives in a desert region and wants to turn it green.D. World Bank and other financial institutions.III. Investment in Equipt:A. Desalination equipt.B. Sea water sourceC. LandD. FertilizerE. Electricity sourcei. Fuel Generatorsii. Electricity CompaniesIV. What seeds to plant?A. Fruits and vegetables that can be sold to friendly markets.V. How do the investors recoup there investment?A. The land will be used for agricultural purposesB. They sell the fruits and vegetables to pay back the loan.VI. Fore casted Economic impact of the Turn the World Green Project:An increase in Fruits and Vegetables coming to market, should bring about a deflationary impact on the economy. Thus reversing any inflationary costs that arose due to fuel costs.VII. The Environmental Impact:The Environmental Impact would naturally be a cooling effect. As the deserts turn green, the carbon-dioxide will turn into Oxygen.VIII. Humanitarian Impact:End famine in the Third World by saving the planet with food, water, and clean air.Here is the Process for the State of the Art Solution called Reverse Osmosis:Reverse Osmosis (RO)separation technology is used to remove dissolved impurities from water through the use of a semi-permeable membrane. RO involves the reversal of flow through a membrane from a high salinity, or concentrated, solution to the high purity, or permeate, stream on the opposite side of the membrane. Pressure is used as the driving force for the separation. The applied pressure (P) must be in excess of the osmotic pressure of the dissolved contaminants to allow flow across the membrane.Meeting desalination needs in water-scarce regions:Customers in water-scarce regions find that the Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Technology solves their need for desalination while optimizing operating costs. The SWRO Series covers a range of customer applications, including:* Boiler feed water make-up* Irrigation water* Plant process make-up water* Small community potable water demandI strongly encourage you to search Google under the following search parameters for the VIDEO and Website:Global warming solutions The KIN ConsortiumIf you need the configuration for the hardware or software please contact Chairman Natto for further information.

In This Remote Country: French Colonial Culture in the Anglo-American Imagination, 1780-1860

In This Remote Country: French Colonial Culture in AngloAmerican Imagination, 1780-1860. By Edward Watts (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Pp. ix, 288. Index, notes, bibliography. Cloth $59.95; Paper $19.95). American attention to French has been paid only intermittently and, when it has been paid, has often been ambiguous. This is all more intriguing because two nations have shared basic values rooted in Enlightenment. Illinois historiography has roughly paralleled this pattern, with Clarence Alvord's discovery in 1905 of Kaskaskia records (1720-1790) in Randolph County courthouse spiking interest in France's Illinois Country, only to lapse after midcentury, then recently to regain historians' attention. Edward Watt's In This Remote Country contributes to this rebirth of interest and brings a welcome complement of symbolic history to facts of French colonialism and frontier French through early American nationhood. Delving within and also ranging far beyond Illinois, Watt's fresh insights into how Anglo-Americans before Civil War perceived French broadens understanding of French as well as, of course, their American observers. Watts divides those who wrote about French into their detractors and their proponents. George Bancroft, who was in vanguard of American romantic historians and writers, simply depicted frontier French as somehow than white, as part of continent's prehistory, and so interesting only as a curiosity, as setting stage, at best, for corning purity, virtue, and power of Anglo-Saxon empire. (p. 9) White cultural dominance and republicanism set Anglo agenda; consequently, French were taken for lessers. Both French marriage and inbreeding with Native Americans and French unwillingness to practice large scale land usage - either speculation for private profit or commercial farming - consigned French to an inferior status. The French also practiced Roman Catholicism, which disqualified them as future players, too, because that faith, it was believed, demanded unquestioning obethence to papal authority. Anglo-Protestants believed republicanism depended on a nation of independent, rational thinkers. This broadly based presumption of values underlying behavior belonged to Anglos-Protestant rationale for self-assigned righteousness, manifest destiny, and classification of all non- Anglos as subordinate. In fact, this tells us much about how Anglos viewed themselves in early national period and, as a result, how they stereotyped other groups. Writers singled out French again for comparison later in early national period to raise doubt about wisdom of AngloAmerican cultural triumph. Watts argues that the French were used by writers to ask their readers to imagine that nation had options - imperial nation or peripheral commonwealth - and that their destiny, like that of French, might be in peace and pleasure rather than in conquest and confrontation. (p. 12-13) These critics idealized French as being less materialistic, racialized, more democratic, more exciting, and ultimately freer than Anglo-American civilization. (p. 13) Anglo-Americans could fulfill their Revolutionary ideals without lusting for land in Mexico, expanding slavery westward or pursuing wealth through industrial corporations. General readers should take caution about some of Watt's prose. He occasionally expects readers to bear up under burdened vocabulary that, over last decade, crept into historical scholarship. The Anglo-American perspective on French is a Whiteness is a problem of narrative. According to culture studies scholars, whiteness is a complex of ideas developed in late-nineteenth century to distinguish and define, for political purposes, an Anglo-Saxon identity from other groups. Anglo-Saxons wielded this identity to explain their existing dominion or extension of it over other ethnic groups. …

The Certification and Privatization of Indigenous Lands in Mexico

Las reformas en el sector rural de México que permitieron la privatización de las tierras ejidales han sido ampliamente criticadas. Sin embargo, el programa de certificación llamado PROCEDE que facilitó este proceso ha recibido poca atención. Aquí describimos como fue implementado el programa, basándonos en investigaciones de campo en once comunidades indígenas y en el análisis de archivos de catastro e información estadística. Explicamos los métodos de medición, los mapas catastrales producidos y las varias maneras en que las comunidades indígenas participaron en el programa. Uno de los logros más importantes de PROCEDE ha sido el reemplazo de miles de mapas viejos e inexactos con un sistema moderno de catastro basado en la delimitación de territorios comunales con el involucramiento directo de la gente local. Muchos conflictos de tierra fueron resueltos en el proceso de certificación, aunque errores en la delimitación probablemente van a generar otros nuevos. No obstante, mientras los ostentosos objetivos de la certificación son positivos, existen serias preocupaciones en cuanto a sus consecuencias para comunidades indígenas, incluyendo la erosión de instituciones comunitarias, el incremento de la diferenciación económica, la aceleración de la deforestación y amenazas a su sobrevivencia cultural.

“Rousers of the Rabble” in the New Mexico Land Grant War:La Alianza Federal De Mercedesand the Violence of the State

Abstract: This paper examines the patterns of state-sponsored and state-tolerated violence directed at a social movement organization in New Mexico known as La Alianza Federal de Mercedes during the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning in the 1960s, Alianza mobilized a broad-based movement of Chicano activists and Hispano land grant communities to advocate the return of lands they claimed had been stolen following the Mexican American War of 1846–1848. As a result, its leaders and many of its members became targets of law enforcement surveillance programs and counterintelligence operations. In this paper I examine the patterns of surveillance and physical violence directed at Alianza members. Confronted by Alianza's challenge to racial inequality and economic injustice, the state construed Alianza as a generalized, and racialized, threat to social order that required in response the use of coercive control and physical violence.

O mito da serpente em D. H. Lawrence

This paper proposes a study on the myth of the serpent in D. H. Lawrence’s The Plumed Serpent, based on Joseph Campbell’s mythical map of the hero’s journey and Jungian criticism. Kate, the female protagonist, embarks on a quest for spiritual-psychological rebirth in the primitive lands of Mexico. Following the pattern of Jung’s individuation process and exploring many recurrent symbols in the narrative, we intend to show how Kate faces ruptures and uncertainties as her consciousness is getting into a process of expansion. According to our analysis, the serpent illustrates the Self’s paradoxical aspect, representing both the viper side of the human being as well as its knowledge

Making destiny manifest: United States territorial expansion and the dispossession of two Mexican property claims in New Mexico, 1824–1899

In the aftermath of the war of expansion against Mexico, the United States undertook a lengthy adjudication process of Spanish and Mexican property claims throughout the newly acquired territory. In New Mexico, nearly all Spanish and Mexican community land grants were either rejected by U.S. courts or were acquired by commercial interests during a period of intense land speculation. In addition to legal explanations of dispossession, most historical land grant research has emphasized the role of commercial speculators in the dispossession of land grants. The Santa Fe Ring, a loose affiliation of lawyers, politicians, federal and territorial officials and commercial investors, became a potent political and economic force in New Mexico during the 19th century. This article explores the adjudication and speculation histories of two Mexican property claims: the Petaca and Town of Vallecito de Lovato. The dearth of historical knowledge of the practices and tactics of land dispossession in specific New Mexico land grants continues to obscure the full story of U.S. territorial expansion and the history of the transformation in property relations. This article sheds new light on the extent and intensity of commercial speculation and the contribution of those efforts to undermine legitimate claims.

Hero Making in El Movimiento

This article explores sites of tension and influence between the New Mexico land grant movement and Chicano nationalism. While these efforts diverged often in terms of aims and strategies, they nonetheless found common ground, shaping arguments and providing support to each other during critical years. Moreover, central to their convergence was a moment of historical confluence. I argue that the infamous June 5, 1967, raid propelled Reies López Tijerina and the Alianza Federal de Mercedes to national attention at a moment when Chicano nationalism was just emerging but had not solidified political, spiritual, or philosophical grounds for unification. By examining popular movement discourse, this article demonstrates how the raid transformed Tijerina into a living embodiment of the revolutionary/bandido trope, how that trope was used to draw these projects together, and ultimately how the image of Tijerina conflicted with the reformist strategies of Tijerina, the man.

Social Participation in Conservation Efforts: A Case Study of a Biosphere Reserve on Private Lands in Mexico

Biosphere reserves protect ecosystems in a context that recognizes that humans must be included in conservation efforts. This article presents the case study of a biosphere reserve created from the lands of a private owner and a university research station. Our main objective was to analyze the role of social participation in the design and implementation of this reserve by examining the perspectives of different stakeholders. From the government perspective, there is a clear need to promote local participation in conservation. The only objectives of the institutions administering the reserve are conservation and scientific research inside their boundaries. From the perspective of an adjacent rural settlement, the presence and objectives of the reserve are alien. This study questions whether the strict conservation goals of private landowners and the inherent limitations of academic scientific institutions are consistent with the biosphere reserve vision of including local stakeholders.

Questions of Ownership: Social Implications of the Mexican Privatisation Programme

This article analyses the social implications of ownership changes involving state-owned enterprises and land in Mexico. The changes involved have led to foreign investors owning the most profitable enterprises that were formerly state-owned, and the associated spirit of globalisation of business has terminated any sentiment of national capitalism. The policy of privatisation has not achieved the stated aims of increasing economic growth and development, but has rather turned Mexico into a subsidiary economy owned and managed by transnational and multinational corporations. This result runs counter to the declared aim of contributing to the economic development of the country, and brings few benefits to society. The paradox is that, if good performance under privatisation is required, it can only be achieved if the state-owned enterprises are so well managed that there is no need to privatise them.

(392) Effect of Bovine Manure Application to Soil on the Development of Sabila Crops (Aloe vera barbadensis) in the Sonoran Desert

The sabila plant is considered a strategic crop for the arid and semi-arid lands of Mexico, because it can be a high water-efficient crop due to its low water requirements, and is currently developing satisfactorily on an experimental scale in the agricultural area of Caborca, Sonora, Mexico, in the Sonoran Desert. This agricultural zone is characterized by a sandy soil with little or no organic matter and limited water supplies. Research consisted of evaluating the effect of bovine manure (BM) application to soil on the yield and size of sabila leaves. A sabila planting was established in Summer 2002, with a density of 15,000 plants/ha. Two applications of BM (9 t·ha-1) were made, one at planting time in Aug. 2002, and another one in Feb. 2003. BM was not applied to the control treatment. Although the harvest of leaves initiated in Dec. 2003 (plant formation), the first commercial harvest was made in Jan. 2005. We measured the yield and the average weight of leaves. The results indicated statistical differences (0.05) and an increase in the yield of 12.2 t·ha-1, which represents 26% more with the BM application with respect to the control, which produced 47.1 t·ha-1. As far as the average weight of leaves, there were no statistical differences between the BM application (597 g) and the control (532 g), although in both cases, they met the standards demanded by companies that manufacture products with sabila.

The changing and enduring ejido: a state and regional examination of Mexico's land tenure counter-reforms

Research on the counter-reforms to Article 27 of the Mexican constitution has been challenged to bridge micro- and macro-level data and illuminate a general refusal to privatize land. Here, a layered approach poses a few possible answers. Drawing on data for the state of Campeche, I relate how ejido members effectively expanded their landholdings via the counter-reforms. Drawing on data for the municipality of Calakmul in Campeche, including a survey of nine ejido's, I discuss how the combined actions of federal policies, local administrators, and ejido members reinforced the ejido's de facto mixed common and private property tenures. In all, I show that, despite global pressures toward privatized land, Mexican policy-makers and ejido members alike are ambivalent regarding a privatized ejido. Nonetheless, state policies have delimited the ejido sector, if not in terrain, in the number of people with land rights in any given ejido.

Translating Property: The Maxwell Land Grant and the Conflict over Land in the American West, 1840-1900

María Montoya is the first scholar to examine a single Hispanic land grant closely, chosing as her target the most written about of all the roughly two hundred land grants in New Mexico, the Maxwell grant. Others have studied the Colfax County War, the grant’s legal history, and Lucien B. Maxwell himself, but no one has attempted to study as a whole this large chunk of northeastern New Mexico from the time of the Jicarilla Apache to 1900. Previous works have emphasized the grant’s top-down history: the largely unrealized plans for its economic development involving New Mexico’s leading citizens and the story of Lucien Maxwell himself, who operated it much like a feudal baron. This atypical grant was made to Charles Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda in 1843 and came to be owned by Lucien Maxwell when he married Beaubien’s daughter and bought out Miranda’s interest. Maxwell and his wife owned this vast empire (surveyed at 1.7 million acres) and were able to sell it as their property, although it was inhabited by a diverse group of settlers, homesteaders, squatters, miners, and small ranchers. Maxwell induced many of these people to settle there, but their property rights were not protected under the grant’s original terms. These disposed people, who received no written titles from Maxwell, are the book’s primary focus.The Maxwell grant was stamped with the personality of Lucien B. Maxwell to such an extent that it was unique, rather than typical of other land grants. Montoya marshals a wealth of documentation in recounting the fascinating stories of the area’s indigenous inhabitants, the settlers under Maxwell, Maxwell’s highly questionable survey, and the saga of the settlers’ battle to establish their rights. However, when Montoya attempts to use the Maxwell grant as a model for understanding other land grants in New Mexico, the Southwest, and even Latin America, she treads on shaky ground. The Maxwell grant simply does not fit into the theoretical framework the author seeks to impose on it, nor does it serve as a model for the land tenure regime during 150 years of land grant history in New Mexico.This grant was one of five such large grants made at the end of Mexican rule, when a U.S. invasion of Mexico was imminent. Governor Manuel Armijo wanted to privatize as much land as possible into the hands of his friends and associates (and into his own hands as well), leaving little public domain for the United States. These Armijo grants were made to one or two individuals with no conditions, although there was an unwritten assumption that the grantees would bring settlers on the land and arrange to grant them rights to part of the land. These Armijo grants differ from other New Mexico land grants because of their unique circumstances, and since Maxwell provided no written titles to the settlers, his grant differed from the other Armijo grants.Montoya describes Maxwell’s operation of the grant as feudal, calling it a modified hacienda and an impresario grant. There were no impresario grants in New Mexico, despite what the courts have said, and the hacienda model is highly misleading as well. To then ascribe these characteristics to most other New Mexico land grants simply compounds the error. In fact, there were only a few large private grants prior to the Maxwell grant and those few were generally made to communities. By implying that most land grants were large feudal-type haciendas, Montoya does a disservice to the many community land grants in New Mexico. These communities often contained a mixture of Hispanos and indigenous people who lived a self-sufficient lifestyle that was anything but feudal, for the members of these communities owned those grants themselves. Other scholars may differ with this assessment of Montoya’s theoretical arguments, and that is as it should be. Translating Property is sure to generate a good deal of debate. Hopefully, that energy will result in more studies of New Mexico’s land grants so that Montoya’s conclusions can be tested.Montoya begins and ends with a discussion of her involvement as an expert witness in the 20-year litigation concerning the neighboring Sangre de Cristo grant. She uses the case to illustrate why U.S. courts will never understand or uphold property rights under Mexican law. In fact, in a recent decision the Colorado Supreme Court did uphold the use rights of settlers for grazing and wood gathering on the Sangre de Cristo grant. That is good news to those who have been concerned about the rights of dispossessed settlers on this and other grants. Montoya’s documentary research shows why we should protect these rights and is thus a valuable addition to the body of work on land grants.

Dispersed Communist Networks and Grassroots Leadership of Peasant Revolts in Mexico

Mexico's land revolts of the early 1970s were neither spontaneous nor simply called out by state-created political opportunities. Rather, militants and sympathizers of the Mexican Communist Party (PCM) were systematically among the initiators of many peasant movements, despite earlier state repression that had nearly destroyed the Party and despite ongoing repression. The PCM's history of rural organizing mattered for the peasants' subsequent protests both because it created some of the rural structures that could later be reconstituted and because it cultivated among its militants two crucial cultural resources: the ideological commitment to peasants and radical activist identities. The PCM's prior organizing in the countryside even enhanced the mobilization potential of their noncommunist supporters. Thus when state repression smashed the Party, it disconnected their membership. Rank-and-file members retained their radical commitments and activist identities and, as such, functioned as dispersed conflict networks with broad peasant support.

Forest Mapping of Central America and Mexico with AVHRR Data

Concerns over changes in global forest resource distributions have prompted a number of studies to examine and map forest areas at continental scales with various types of satellite data. The work described here details the use of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data in concert with Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) imagery to identify and map forest land in Mexico and Central America. A two stage approach was used to accomplish the study objectives. First, a modeling procedure was used to estimate percent forest cover in AVHRR pixels based on enumeration of forest area with Landsat TM and SPOT data of the same region covered by the AVHRR data. This product was used to subset the original AVHRR data into areas of probable forest lands. The AVHRR spectral data of the subset area was then classified by forest type and the results were compiled to produce the final product. The implications of this work are discussed in the context of global forest monitoring and landscape management.

Effect of complex catalytic supplementation with non-protein nitrogen on the ruminal ecosystem of growing goats pasturing on shrub land in Mexico

Thirty-eight young Alpine goats, 16.1 (±0.370) kg body weight (BW), were reared at Querétaro, Mexico, grazing on a semi-arid woody brush ( Caducifolio espinoso) range land. The experimental goats ( n = 20) were pastured daily and supplemented with 200 g/day of a complex catalytic feed (CCF). It consisted of molasses (14–18%), urea (8–10%), salt (3–4%), limestone (3–4%), cottonseed meal (13–18%), rice polishing (10–13%), corn (11–12%), poultry litter (9–10%), commercial mineral salt (1.3%), ammonium sulfate (0.3–0.5%), cement kiln dust (1.5%), and animal lard (10–15%). The control goats ( n = 18) were supplemented daily with 300 g of a balanced concentrate (BC), containing 1.5% commercial mineral salt, 60% corn, 32.5% wheat bran, and 4% soybean oil meal. Stocking rates varied from 1.45 to 1.85 AU/ha and daily stocking rate from 36.4 to 58.6 AU/ha. At all times, fibrous forages were available exceeding the voluntary dry matter intake. One fistulated goat was kept in each group. Growth of the experimental goats averaged 95 g/day (±3) compared to 76 g/day (±5) of the controls ( P < 0.005) in 150 days from June to November. Supplementation per kg BW was from 17.5 to 10.4 g BC/day for the control goats; the experimental goats received 12.2–6.5 g CCF/day. Weight gain in response to fermentable carbohydrates (FC) averaged 8.95 g BW gain/g FC/day for the control BC goats, compared to 28.2 g BW gain/g FC/day for the experimental CCF goats. Daily supplies of FC to goats on CCF supplementation were always below the limits for celullolysis at 6 g/day, while FC supplies of BC rations to the control goats always exceeded them. After 2 h of shrub land pasture, the ruminal pH rose when CCF was offered and stayed above 6.6 during 12 h, while the ruminal acidity in BC goats went down to pH 5.57 at 6 h and rose to 6.5 by 12 h. Ammonia (NH 3 mg/l) in ruminal liquid of CCF goats was higher ( P < 0.01) in average and all but one sample. Total cost per animal per day including shrub land pasture, management, medicine and salaries was US $0.06 for experimental goats and US $0.09 for controls (market price for goat meat was US $1.15/kg; US $1.00 = 10 Mexican Pesos, November 1998). Daily gain varied during the study period from 77 to 85 g/day in BC control goats compared to 92–97 g/day in experimental CCF goats. CCF supplementation to shrub land pasturing resulted in significantly greater weight gains apparently due to elevated ruminal pH, higher availability of fermentable carbohydrates and ruminal ammonia, augmenting ruminal ecosystem, digestibility and voluntary feed intake. The use of local shrub land resources and complex catalytic supplementation with non-protein nitrogen provided greater profitability from this feeding system for growing goats than the traditional balanced concentrate feed supplementation.

Vegetative, reproductive, and physiological Adaptations to aridity of pitayo (Stenocereus queretaroensis, Cactaceae)

Pitayos fStenocereus spp.) are columnar cacti that produce attractive edible fruits under both wild and cultivated conditions. Until recently the study of pitayos has been relatively neglected even though they have been a crucial staple for the inhabitants of subtropical semiarid lands of Mexico since ancient times and this century have become an important fruit crop there. The main objective of this review is to relate seasonal aspects of vegetative and reproductive growth, CO2 uptake, and carbohydrate resources to abiotic components of the environment. Flower and fruit production occur during the dry season in the late winter and spring, roots grow during the summer wet season, and stem elongation commences in the autumn at the beginning of the dry season. Vegetative growth thus does not coincide with reproductive growth, as it does for other fruit crops in temperate and tropical regions. The time offset of vegetative and reproductive activities reduces competitive sink effects, regulating assimilate partitioning to different organs, which may allow Stenocereus queretaroensis to adapt to water-limited environments. Reserve carbohydrates (starch, mucilage) accumulate in the early summer just after reproductive growth and in the early winter just after stem extension. Reducing sugars increase during the middle of the summer before stem elongation begins. The low rates of growth and of photosynthesis for S. queretaroensis are associated with low tissue levels of nitrogen, chlorophyll, and some micronutrients (Fe, Mn). Low levels of gibberellic acid may also contribute to its low growth rate. It does not respond morphologically to irrigation during the dry period, indicating a low plasticity for growth. Although S. queretaroensis is cultivated, its physiological and phenological activities closely resemble those of wild CAM species and other wild perennial plants, reflecting its rather recent domestication and the fact that selections were based mainly on fruit quality and adaptation to aridity rather than biomass productivity.

Malcolm Ebright. &lt;italic&gt;Land Grants and Lawsuits in Northern New Mexico&lt;/italic&gt;. (New Mexico Land Grant Series.) Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. 1994. Pp. xiv, 399

Malcolm Ebright. &lt;italic&gt;Land Grants and Lawsuits in Northern New Mexico&lt;/italic&gt;. (New Mexico Land Grant Series.) Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. 1994. Pp. xiv, 399