Optimizing conservation of forest diversity: a country-wide approach in Mexico |
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Authors: | Martin Ricker Iliana Ramírez-Krauss Guillermo Ibarra-Manríquez Esteban Martínez Clara H Ramos Guadalupe González-Medellín Gabriela Gómez-Rodríguez José Luis Palacio-Prieto Héctor M Hernández |
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Institution: | (1) Estación de Biología Tropical “Los Tuxtlas”, Apartado Postal 94, San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz, 95701, Mexico;(2) Herbario Nacional de México, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70–367, Delegación Coyoacán, México, D.F., 04510, Mexico;(3) Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Colonia San José de la Huerta, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico;(4) Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20–850, Delegación Coyoacán, México, D.F., 04510, Mexico |
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Abstract: | A recent vegetation study Palacio-Prieto et al. (2000) Bol Inst Geogr UNAM 43:183–203] showed that Mexico’s forest area has
declined to 33.3%, from originally 52.0% of the country’s land area. In order to assess strategies for tree diversity conservation,
we compiled a list of 846 tree species native to Mexico, and determined for each the presence or absence in 234 geographical
squares of 1° latitude by 1° longitude (approximately 106 × 106 km). On the average, any two squares shared only 6% of their
species composition. Using a standard optimization method from engineering and economics Dantzig (1963) Linear programming
and extensions. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA, 625 p], we determined the minimally necessary land area in
Mexico to conserve the 846 tree species, while securing that each species is found in an area of (approximately) 1,100 km2 of currently existing forest vegetation. Furthermore, we took into account 15 existing protected areas with a size of at
least 1,100 km2 each. With these constraints, the total minimum area needed to conserve all 846 tree species is 45,136 km2 of currently existing forest vegetation, or 2.3% of Mexico’s surface. While this analysis can be refined with subsequent
field work, the proposed reserve network indicates that efficient land use planning on a national scale may be able to conserve
tree species diversity in a relatively small portion of Mexico, even after severe deforestation has taken place. |
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Keywords: | Vegetation analysis Biogeographical distributions Linear optimization Simplex method Minimum conservation area |
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