Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve Research Articles

Abies religiosa habitat prediction in climatic change scenarios and implications for monarch butterfly conservation in Mexico

Abies religiosa (HBK) Schl. & Cham. (oyamel fir) is distributed in conifer-dominated mountain forests at high altitudes along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. This fir is the preferred host for overwintering monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) migratory populations which habitually congregate within a few stands now located inside a Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Our objectives were to predict and map the climatic niche for A. religiosa for contemporary and future (2030, 2060 and 2090) climates, suggest management strategies to accommodate climate changes, and discuss implications for conservation of monarch butterfly overwintering sites in Mexico. A bioclimate model predicting the presence or absence of A. religiosa was developed by using the Random Forests classification tree on forest inventory data. The model used six predictor variables and was driven primarily by the mean temperature of the warmest month, an interaction between summer precipitation to and winter temperatures, and the ratio of summer to annual precipitation. Projecting the contemporary climate niche into future climates provided by three General Circulation Models and two scenarios suggested that the area occupied by the niche should diminish rapidly over the course of the century: a decrease of 69.2% by the decade surrounding 2030, 87.6% for that surrounding 2060, and 96.5% for 2090. We discuss assisted migration of A. religiosa upwards in altitude by 275m so that populations of 2030 would occupy the same climates as today. The projections also show that by the end of the century, suitable habitat for the monarch butterfly may no longer occur inside the Biosphere Reserve. We therefore discuss management options and associated research programs necessary for assuring perpetuation of future butterfly habitat.

Estructura y densidad de la red de caminos en la Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca

Por ser parte fundamental de uno de los fenómenos de migración e hibernación más sorprendentes y llamativos del mundo, la Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (RBMM) se ha convertido en una de las áreas naturales protegidas más emblemáticas de nuestro país. Sin embargo, sigue enfrentándose a serios problemas de fragmentación, perturbación y pérdida de sus bosques. Uno de los elementos del paisaje que más se ha reconocido como causa y efecto de la perturbación y pérdida de espacios forestales son los caminos. Utilizando mosaicos elaborados con fotografías aéreas digitales de marzo de 2003, escala 1:20 000, y recorridos en campo registrados con GPS, se identificaron 20 574 km de caminos dentro de los límites de la RBMM; 55% del ellos son brechas y 37% veredas, ambos abiertos específicamente para el aprovechamiento forestal. Las carreteras pavimentadas y las terracerías representan, respectivamente, 2 y 6% de la red. Esos 2 574 km de caminos se traducen en una densidad promedio de 4.7 km/km2. No obstante, el análisis a nivel de predio revela valores de densidad aún más altos, especialmente en el lado michoacano, que alcanzan hasta 13.6 km/km2. Asimismo, multiplicando los respectivos tipos de caminos por su ancho promedio de lecho, se encontró que 880 ha de la Reserva están ocupadas por caminos, lo cual tiene serias repercusiones sobre la vegetación, el suelo, la red de drenaje y la accesibilidad a los recursos.

Conformación del espacio social de los bosques del ejido del Rosario, Michoacán, 1938-2010

Este trabajo muestra los diferentes usos otorgados a los bosques del ejido del Rosario, en el municipio de Ocampo, parte importante de la Reserva de la Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca. El bosque ha pasado de insumo para la minería en el siglo XIX, a la tala por el avance de la agricultura y la demanda de suelo habitacional, de aprovechamientos forestales a usos recreativos y turísticos, y siempre botín de talamontes. Estos usos se han dado sucesiva o simultáneamente, lo que ha generado tensiones y conflictos para imponerse unos a otros. El objetivo es mostrar que el uso es resultado de las relaciones de poder que se desarrollan en torno al bosque. Así el poder se analiza como variable de gran importancia y poco analizada, en la geografía mexicana.

On the landslide event in 2010 in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Angangueo, Michoacán, Mexico

In February 2010, 19 fatalities and economic damage were caused by a regional landslide episode in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. The municipalities of Angangueo, Ocampo, Tiquicheo de Nicolas Romero, Tuxpan, and Tuzantla were severely damaged, with Angangueo being the most affected. The event involved a series of debris flows, of which four were the most significant; these four caused 16 deaths in addition to considerable damage to roads, electricity, and the water supply system, with indirect consequences in crop production, cattle farming, and tourism. The area affected by these four flows was calculated as 282 km2, with an estimated 697,346 m3 of mobilized material. General observations indicated that the initiation sources of the debris flows were on deforested zones. The present research is concentrated on the Angangueo basin, an area situated within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Given the lack of rain gauges in the area of interest, records from neighboring points were used to build a comprehensive overview of the extreme precipitation event that triggered the devastating debris flows. The nearest rain gauge, Laguna del Fresno, situated 21 km to the south, recorded 204 mm of rainfall from 1 to 5 February, equivalent to 30% of the mean annual rainfall. Moreover, during a 24-h period the El Bosque rain gauge recorded 144.5 mm of precipitation, the equivalent of 2,270% of the mean rainfall for the same month (6.36 mm). The occurrence of a hailstorm preceding the rainfall event is notable; conditions in the superficial soil layer would have included an increased pore water pressure. Presumably, before the 2,000-year return period extreme rainfall event, thawing of hail and consequent moisture and/or pore-pressure increase result in decreased frictional strength. This paper presents a spatial analysis of the distribution of these landslides, mainly debris flows, as well as general observations on the triggering mechanism, the strength properties of the materials involved, and the societal impact.

Logging within protected areas: Spatial evaluation of the monarch butterfly biosphere reserve, Mexico

Depending on the particular sociopolitical situation of a country or region, as well as the degree of dependence that a population has on its vegetation resources, both forest management or designating protected areas may serve as effective policies to protect highly valuable forest areas in the long term. Biosphere Reserves, where forest management is allowed in buffer zones but completely restricted in core zones, are an important category in this regard. They are of special importance in developing countries where a high dependency on natural resources as source of subsistence is still prevalent. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of authorized logging versus strict protection in preserving the forest cover within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR), in its portion in Michoacán state, México. This protected area is crucial for the preservation of the migratory monarch butterfly, and has been negatively impacted by logging and other activities. Data on logging permits from 1993 to 2006 were extracted and spatially digitized from all the officially approved Forest Management Programs (FMP) of the MBBR’s communities. Based on the delimitation of authorized logging areas, an analysis of the processes of change in forest cover was made, by means of spatial and statistical comparisons among land tenure units (LTU) with and without FMP. Statistical analyses found no significant differences of loss rates of conserved canopy cover forest between LTU with and without FMP, nor with other change processes such as recovery and re-vegetation. However, deforestation due to land use changes was significantly greater in LTU lacking FMP, although this involved a relatively small area. Spatial analyses clearly showed where the forest disturbance is concentrated, and that it is mostly caused by illegal logging and by inadequate management (extraction of timber beyond the authorized period, and forest fragmentation led by individual use of communal land). The results show that the total disturbance observed from 1993 to 2006 (5239 ha) is explained in 61% by illegal logging, 33% by extemporaneous authorized extractions and only 6% by authorized logging during the scheduled period. Thus FMP are an effective option for maintaining the forest cover in the reserve. The procedure used in the present analysis can be an effective and accessible monitoring tool, which can be used by officials responsible for forest use to supervise the strict application of logging licenses, and to give support to decision making when renewing, redesigning or revoking logging licenses.

Deforestation and forest degradation in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, 2003–2009

Please click here to download the map associated with this article. The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (56,259 ha) is one of the most important and well known Natural Protected Areas in Mexico, but has had an alarming trend of loss and degradation of its forests, mainly in the core area where the monarch butterfly hibernates and reproduces. Payment to local inhabitants for environmental services (PES) is an attempt to counter this. The study shows the processes of degradation and deforestation in the reserve, their possible causes and their trends over time. A comparative biennial analysis for 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, mainly using digital aerial photographs but with satellite images for 2007, revealed changes in each of the periods studied. The analysis detected changes in forest cover but not in land use: in the period 2003 to 2009, 2152 ha were altered by forest degradation or deforestation; of these, 165 ha suffered an alteration over several years. These changes have occurred in four well-defined areas, on properties that were not within the PES program or in zones of land conflicts, where felling was by organized gangs and has featured in formal reports. Degradation tends to have reduced wherever logging has declined; most of the properties are included in this program and permits for exploitation have expired. Between 2009 and 2011 the changes were mainly due to extraordinary hydrometeorological phenomena. Overall, there is a tendency for disturbances to decrease in the Reserve, due to the PES, promotion of productive activities and social work in this area.

LEAF CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT ESTIMATION IN THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY BIOSPHERE RESERVE

Chlorophyll is an essential element of photosynthesis and its content in plant leaves indicates their photosynthetic capacity as well as the presence of stress or diseases. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of estimating chlorophyll content in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve forest (Sierra Chincua sanctuary, México) based on vegetation indices calculated by using hyperspectral reflectance measurements of plant leaves. This study focused on oyamel (Abies religiosa L.) which is the main tree specie of this area. Leaf samples were taken on 140 trees and analyzed for chlorophyll a and b, nitrogen and carbon content. The hyperspectral reflectance spectra were measured on each sample and different vegetation indices were calculated. Results showed that the indices best correlated with chlorophyll content were the red edge position index (r = 0.531) and the red edge position chlorophyll reflectance index (r = 0.506), followed by the MERIS terrestrial chlorophyll index (r = 0.497) and the green chlorophyll reflectance index (r = 0.472). Although there was a significant correlation between nitrogen and chlorophyll content, none of the indices studied here correlated with nitrogen content. The influence of various environmental factors (altitude, slope, vegetation density and aspect) on leaf composition (nitrogen, carbon chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a/b ratio) and on the vegetation indices was studied. Environmental factors had an influence on both leaf composition and vegetation indices. Chlorophyll and nitrogen content were influenced mostly by the altitude and slope of the site while vegetation indices were affected mostly by its orientation.

Vegetation and land use 2009: Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Please click here to download the map associated with this article. The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, with an area of 56,259 hectares, is one of the most important protected natural areas in the world; each year there arrives in its fir forests (Abies religiosa) a remarkable migratory insect, the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.), which sets out from southern Canada and the northern USA on a journey of more than 4,000 km. The vegetation and land use of the reserve has been mapped by photo-interpretation of digital aerial photographs from February 2009 with a spatial resolution of 40 cm per pixel. The photographs were printed at a scale of 1:10000 and interpreted using the conventional techniques of photo-interpretation. The plant communities were confirmed by field surveys and digitized on screen, at an average scale 1:5,000, by means of direct comparison of photographic elements within an ortho-corrected mosaic from 2003 and the interpreted photographs from 2009. Classification of the categories of vegetation and land use, both during photo-interpretation and for the composition of the final map legend, was based on the national forest inventory of Mexico, 2000. This method, using digital aerial photographs and combining techniques of photo-interpretation and geographic information systems, has allowed the production of a detailed map.

Oyamel fir forest trunks provide thermal advantages for overwintering monarch butterflies in Mexico

Abstract. 1. Survival of overwintering monarch butterflies following severe wet winter storms in Mexico is substantially higher for butterflies that form clusters on the oyamel fir tree trunks than for those that form clusters on the fir boughs.2. Thermal measurements taken at similar elevations with a weather station on the Sierra Chincua and within a Cerro Pelon and a Sierra Chincua overwintering area indicated that clustering on the fir trunks provides dual microclimatic benefits for the butterflies.a. At night, the minimum surface temperatures of all firs combined averaged 1.4 °C warmer than ambient forest temperatures, thereby enhancing protection against freezing for monarchs that are either wet or dry. We term this the ‘hot water bottle effect.’b. During the day, the maximum surface temperatures of all firs combined averaged 1.2 °C cooler than ambient, a difference sufficient to lower the loss of the butterflies’ lipid stores over the 154‐day wintering season.3. Larger diameter trees increase both microclimate benefits.4. The results add a new dimension to improving the conservation management guidelines for the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Strict enforcement against culling of larger trees and in favour of promoting old‐growth oyamel forests will enhance two microclimatic benefits: butterfly mortality during severe winter weather will be reduced, and the butterflies’ lipid savings over the winter will be enhanced.

To pay or not to pay? Monitoring performance and enforcing conditionality when paying for forest conservation in Mexico

SUMMARYPaying landowners to conserve forests is a promising new strategy to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. However to succeed with this approach, programme managers need reliable monitoring data to make informed payment decisions. This includes withholding payment from landowners who do not meet conservation objectives. The monitoring method used for the Monarch Butterfly Conservation Fund compared aerial photographs and conducted field sampling to identify forest changes. The comparison of aerial photographs showed that 161 hectares of forest were degraded in the central core zone of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico between 2001 and 2003. As a result, payment was withheld from one of 13 landowners. Analysis of high resolution (0.6 m) digital aerial photographs did not detect finer scale changes, despite obtaining an average pixel resolution 1000 times greater than Landsat satellite imagery. This suggests that current payment for ecosystem services programmes are underestimating environmental change and overpaying non-compliant participants. In addition, selecting a decision rule to enforce payment conditionality raised new questions about how much ecosystem degradation should be permitted before withholding payment. Sound decisions about withholding payment cannot be developed until the marginal value of ecosystem services is better understood. Until then, payment thresholds can be based on specific policy objectives.

Aceptación de políticas de conservación ambiental: el caso de la Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca

Este artículo analiza, con base en el ejemplo de la Reserva de las Biosfera Mariposa Monarca, las razones de los resultados de las iniciativas para promover la aceptación de políticas públicas de conservación ambiental. Se describen los problemas y se ofrece un marco de análisis de los conflictos entre los actores interesados en los recursos naturales. Finalmente se presenta la evaluación de dos intentos por establecer plataformas de coordinación y negociación.

Disentangling the proximate factors of deforestation: The case of the Monarch butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico

AbstractUnderstanding the causes of environmental degradation can lead to more effective forest management. Often, the discussion about the causes of deforestation confuses issues across spatial and temporal scales. Such is the case in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) in Mexico where various hypotheses compete to explain the deforestation observed there. This paper analyzes these hypotheses using the analytical approaches developed by the literature on environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. This paper first distinguishes between proximate factors and underlying socioeconomic forces. It then reviews recent deforestation studies to evaluate the relative impact of each proximate factor observed in the MBBR. Illegal logging stands out as the factor with the most empirical support. In contrast, agricultural clearing, while frequently cited as major driver of forest loss, has much less empirical backing. These conclusions update the deforestation diagnosis for this protected area and suggest that more attention should be directed at understanding the illicit timber trade. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Optimizing protected area entry fees across stakeholders: the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Michoacan, Mexico

ABSTRACTTourists, protected area managers, gateway communities, and national or international interested parties may have different objectives for protected areas management in developing countries. When values and incentives are at cross-purposes, difficulties in management may persist, but policy alternatives may be available. This research hopes to better understand the incentives facing different groups of stakeholders in the ecological-economic management of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan, Mexico. The quasi-private management of this protected area by ‘ejidatarios’ provides an additional feature of interest. Travel cost, contingent behavior and export base analyses are used to establish alternative optimal entrance price strategies at the Reserve. Potential policy alternatives from the perspective of each stakeholder group are explored. Significant changes in management strategy, optimal entry fee and economic benefit appear to be possible by recognizing different scales and orientations of relevant stakeholders.

Mazahua Ethnobotany and Subsistence in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Abstract This is the first report on Mazahua knowledge and classification of plants and mushrooms and the roles of these resources in the local economy in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. A total of 213 useful plant species and 31 species of edible mushrooms were recorded. Fruits of Prunus serotina, Rubus liebmanii, and Crataegus mexicana were the main wild fruit gathered by people (7.47, 4.40, and 1.82 tons of fruits per year, respectively), whereas their availability in the territory of the village was approximately 302.6, 6.0, and 34.188 tons. Brassica campestris, Rorippa nasturtiumaquaticum, Chenopodium berlandieri, and Amaranthus hybridus were the principal non-cultivated greens consumed by people (4.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 tons per year, while 23.6, 3.78, traces, and 46.0 tons, respectively, were available). Extraction of medicinal plants is low but gathering of Ternstroemia spp. flowers endangers local populations of these plants. All households of the village used fuelwood (1,767.2 to...

Land Cover and Road Network Map for the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, 2003

Please click here to download the map associated with this article. To preserve the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) overwintering sites in Mexico, the fir forests used for the main colonies have been protected by three presidential decrees, in 1980, 1986 and 2000. The territory of the current Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) belongs mainly to communal properties (ejidos and indigenous communities). Contrary to expectation, this protected area is still facing severe disturbance and loss of forest cover, because of intensive illegal and legal logging, and subsistence farming activities. Roads are landscape elements well known as a cause of disturbance and deforestation. Therefore, the aim of this map is to illustrate the road network and land cover relationship in the MBBR, taking into account the land tenure. The roads vector layer was obtained by photointerpretation of one meter resolution digital aerial photograph mosaics from March 2003, and one meter resolution Ikonos pansharpened images from March 2004, as well as field work, using GPS georeferenced tracks. Land cover polygons were constructed by visual interpretation of January 2003 Landsat ETM+ color composites, simultaneously verified with the aerial photograph mosaics. The final 1:75000 map shows very high human pressures over the reserve forests. This is expressed by a high density road network, composed mainly of tertiary roads opened to wood extraction, in many cases illegally, and incompatible with the protection category of these forests.

Land Cover and Road Network Map for the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, 2003

Land Cover and Road Network Map for the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, 2003

Flora y Vegetación de las zonas núcleo de la Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca, México

Se realizó un estudio florístico y fisonómico de la vegetación en las zonas núcleo de la Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca en los estados de México y Michoacán. Se efectuaron colectas botánicas durante un ciclo anual y se realizó una revisión de material previamente recolectado en la zona, depositado en los herbarios mexicanos IEB, EBUM y MEXU. El listado florístico incluye 423 especies que incluyen 32 taxa infraespecificos de plantas vasculares, agrupadas en 87 familias y 244 géneros. Las familias con mayor riqueza de especies fueron Asteraceae (103), Lamiaceae (21 ), Fabaceae ( 17) y Scrophulariaceae (17), en tanto que a nivel de género sobresalen Salvia ( 13), Stevia (8) y Ageratina (7). Un total de 135 especies (31.9%), que incluyen 13 taxa infraespecificos, son endémicas de México; 40 de estas especies pertenecen a Asteraceae. Las hierbas fueron la forma de crecimiento más frecuente (326 especies), seguidas por los arbustos (51) y los árboles (33). Se reconocen principalmente los siguientes tipos de vegetación: bosque de coniferas, bosque de Quercus, bosque mesófilo de montaña y pastizal antropogénico.

Mapping Expert Knowledge: Redesigning the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

Abstract: Expert consultation has been used to fill the information gaps that hamper conservation planning and nature reserve design. The use of expert knowledge in conservation planning is difficult, however, because it is subjective, biased, and value‐laden. Decision theory provides a systematic and comprehensive means for addressing experts' subjective—and sometimes contradictory—judgments in the design of nature reserves. Thus, the experts can separate the objective criteria from the subjective components of decision making that place value on those criteria. When linked to a geographic information system ( GIS ), these techniques foster consensus among experts by allowing the exploration of alternative designs in an iterative way. We used such a decision‐analysis approach to redesign the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve ( MBBR ) in central Mexico. We examined three reserve scenarios to identify the optimal overwintering habitats considering ( 1 ) an area equivalent to the previously defined boundaries of the core zone of the MBBR ( 4500 ha ); ( 2 ) an area equivalent to the previously defined boundaries of the whole MBBR ( 16,000 ha ); and ( 3 ) the maximum possible extent for a new core zone. This last scenario produced an area of 21,727 ha. These results were transferred to the GIS to create the respective nominal maps that were presented to the environmental authorities, who selected the third scenario for the core zone of the new MBBR. Our results allowed us to locate the prime overwintering habitats precisely and to delimit a core area for the reserve that would minimize the inclusion of forest stands valuable to local loggers.

Commercial Bryophyte Harvesting in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Sierra Chincua, Michoacan, Mexico

Abstract Each Christmas season, the abundance of terrestrial bryophytes in the Abies-dominated forests of the Sierra Chincua, part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, attracts moss gatherers. Bryophyte mats are harvested as ornamentals, packed, and sold at the central auction of Mexico City. In 1996, we followed a group of about 10 family members in this activity and documented economic and ecological aspects. During the season they removed in total nearly 50 tons of fresh weight of bryophytes from the forest floor that was sold for approximately $3,500 USD, leaving behind a mosaic of gaps of bare soil in the mossy layer. The average gap size was 0.48 m2 and extraction intensity varied between 0.5 and 4.1% of the total surface area (2.14% on average). In addition, over 11,000 Abies seedlings were unintentionally removed. We are conceive that the Mexican norm for bryophyte harvesting is not in line with current practices and we recommend the inclusion of guidelines for patch size, and that harveste...