Plant Management in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, Mexico. Plant management types currently practiced in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, México, were documented and analyzed based on ethnobotanical studies conducted in 13 villages with six indigenous groups and Mestizo people. The information was organized in a data base, and then detailed and guided to a consensus through six workshops carried out by ethnobotanists working in the area. From a total of 1,608 useful plant species, we identified 610 with at least one management type other than simple gathering. Managed species are mainly used as food, fodder, medicinal, and ornamental, and they belong to 101 plant families. The higher species numbers were recorded in Cactaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Crassulaceae, and Agavaceae. Nearly 60% of the managed species are native to the region and the rest are introduced from other regions of Mexico and the world. In total, 400 species are ex situ managed out of their natural environments through seed sowing and/or planting their vegetative propagules or entire young plants; 373 species are in situ managed in their natural habitats as follows: all these species are deliberately left standing during vegetation clearance, 76 species are also enhanced intentionally favoring their abundance through modifications of their habitat, or directly by planting their propagules, and 51 receive protection through regulations, particular strategies of extraction, and actions against herbivores, competitors, freezing, radiation, and drought. Most management forms involve artificial selection at different intensity levels. The information allows visualizing co-occurrence of incipient and advanced forms of management at different intensity levels within and among species, which helps to postulate testable hypotheses on factors influencing plant management and domestication in an important area for studying the origins of agriculture.

Information on richness of plant resources, and their forms of use and management in the biosphere reserve Tehuacan-Cuicatlan, Mexico is analyzed. This 10 000 km2 region hosts nearly 2700 vascular plant species, and it is acknowledged as one of the arid areas with the highest floristic diversity in North America. The seven indigenous ethnic groups that live in this region have cultural roots that date back almost 10 000 years. Based upon ethnobotanical and floristic studies, as well as bibliographical sources, a total of 808 useful plant species were identified, most of them (90%) being native, and 44 species being endemic to the region. A total of 681 species are wild plants, 109 are weeds and ruderal plants, and 86 are domesticated crops. However, it was noted that considerable overlap exists between the species of these 3 categories. For example, while wild and ruderal plants (706 species) are foraged by both humans and domestic animals, 59 species of this group are also managed in situ. On the other hand, 168 wild, ruderal and domesticated species are cultivated. The Tehuacán-Cuicatlan Valley is one of the richest regions of Mexico in plant resources. Local knowledge on use and management of plants is a valuable source of information for designing conservation and social development strategies for the biosphere reserve.

Se presenta una síntesis de información etnobiológica obtenida entre grupos indígenas de México, analizando tendencias y patrones en las formas de conocer, utilizar y manipular los recursos biológicos. Los sistemas indígenas de nomenclatura y clasificación de plantas son altamente elaborados y complejos. Aunque en general éstos parecen seguir los principios generales de clasificación folk descubiertos por Brent Berlin y otros autores, se observan algunas categorías taxonómicas y sistemas de nomenclatura estrechamente asociados a las formas de uso de los recursos locales. La subsistencia de las poblaciones indígenas ha estado basada en una estrategia que combina diferentes prácticas productivas y que aprovecha una gran diversidad de productos disponibles tanto espacial como temporalmente. Esta estrategia involucra también el aprovechamiento integral de un amplio espectro de especies de plantas y variabilidad genética intraespecífica bajo diferentes niveles de domesticación. ABSTRACT An overview of ethnobiological information obtained among Indian peoples of Mexico is presented, analyzing patterns and tendencies in the forms of perceiving, using, and manipulating plant resources. The plant classification folk systems studied are highly complex. Although in general they follow the general principles formulated by Brent Berlin and other scholars, some significant variations are observed. Subsistence has been based on a strategy which combines different productive activities and takes advantage of a wide variety of plant products available both in time and space. This subsistence strategy also involves managing a wide variety of resources under different degrees of domestication by humans.