Artemio Carrillo-Parra

Ethnobotany in Rayones, Nuevo León, México

BackgroundTrough collections of plants and interviews with 110 individuals, an ethnobotanical study was conducted in order to determine the knowledge and use plant species in Rayones, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The aim of this study was to record all useful plants and their uses, to know whether differences exist in the knowledge about the number of species and uses between women and men, and to know if there is a correlation between the age of individuals and knowledge of species and their uses.MethodsA total of 110 persons were interviewed (56 men, 56 women). Semistructured interviews were carried out. The data were analyzed by means of Student t test and the Pearson Correlation Coeficient.ResultsA total of 252 species, 228 genera and 91 families of vascular plants were recorded. Astraceae, Fabaceae and are the most important families with useful species and Agave and Opuntia are the genera with the highest number of useful species. One hundred and thirty six species are considered as medicinal. Agave, Acacia and Citrus are the genera with the highest number of medicinal species. Other uses includes edible, spiritual rituals, construction and ornamentals. There was a non-significant correlation between the person’s age and number of species, but a significant very low negative correlation between the person’s age and number of uses was found.ConclusionsKnowing their medicinal uses is an important issue for the people of Rayones. Boiling and preparing infusions are the main ways of using plants by residents. The leaves, the branches, and the fruits are the most commonly used parts. Almost 18% of the flora is used for wood and construction purposes. Several uses such as cosmetic, shampoo, firming skin tonics and health hair products recorded in Rayones has not been reported for other areas in the state of Nuevo León. In Rayones, women have a greater knowledge about plants and their uses than men, particularly, medicinal plants, but, men have a greater knowledge about wood and construction species.

Comparison of five pretreatments for the production of fermentable sugars obtained from Pinus pseudostrobus L. wood

To benefit from the use of a waste product such as pine sawdust from a sawmill in Michoacán, Mexico, five different pretreatments for the production of reducing sugars by enzymatic hydrolysis were evaluated (sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acid, steam explosion, organosolv and combined method nitric acid / sodium hydroxide). The main finding of the study was that the pretreatment with 6 % HNO3 and 1 % NaOH led to better yields than those obtained with sodium hydroxide, dilute sulfuric acid, steam explosion, and organosolv pretreatments. Also, HNO3 yields were maximized by the factorial method. With those results the maxima concentration of reducing sugar found was 97.83 ± 1.59, obtained after pretreatment with 7.5 % HNO3 at 120 °C for 30 minutes; followed by 1 % of NaOH at 90 °C for 30 minutes at pH 4.5 for 168 hours with a load enzyme of 25 FPU/g of total carbohydrates. Comparing the results obtained by the authors with those reported in the literature, the combined method was found to be suitable for use in the exploitation of sawdust.

CALIDAD DEL CARBÓN DE Prosopis laevigata (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) M.C. Johnst. y Ebenopsis ebano (Berland.) Barneby & J.W. Grimes ELABORADO EN HORNO TIPO FOSA

La biomasa se utiliza para la generacion de calor y la preparacion de alimentos por aproximadamente dos mil millones de personas en el mundo. En el area metropolitana de Monterrey, Nuevo Leon el consumo de carbon vegetal con fines recreativos tiene una demanda de 5 500 t mes-1. En Mexico su comercializacion se basa en conocimientos empiricos: especie, duracion del encendido, produccion de chispas y cenizas. Sin embargo, para su exportacion se deben cumplir esquemas de calidad. Por lo anterior, en la presente investigacion se comparo el rendimiento y calidad del carbon de Prosopis laevigata y Ebenopsis ebano producido en un horno tipo fosa. La calidad se determino mediante el contenido de humedad, material volatil, cenizas, carbon fijo y poder calorifico, en funcion de estandares internacionales. Los datos se analizaron con un diseno experimental con arreglo factorial. Se obtuvieron diferencias altamente significativas (p<0.01) en el rendimiento entre las dos especies, lo mismo que para las cenizas y el poder calorifico (p<0.05). Se determino un rendimiento de 2.8, 2.3 m3t-1, contenido de humedad de 3.6, 3.5%; material volatil de 22.8, 24.9%; porcentaje de cenizas de 2.8, 3.2%; carbon fijo de 70.8, 68.6%, y poder calorifico de 30 241, 29 725 kJ kg-1 para P. laevigata y E. ebano, respectivamente. El rendimiento en los dos casos fue alto, el contenido de humedad y cenizas se estimo dentro de los limites establecidos a nivel mundial. El material volatil y carbon fijo no cumplieron con los porcentajes permitidos en las normas vigentes del comercio exterior

Firewood Production, Yield and Quality of Charcoal From Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. microtheca Planted in the Semiarid Land of Northeast Mexico

Energy production is one the most important topics worldwide. Native forests are good contributors for the production of bioenergy. However, in environmentally difficult conditions, such as arid and semi-arid lands, native trees species produce low woody volume. Alternatives of raw sources from forest plantations of fast growing species, such as eucalyptus, should be analyzed. Firewood production and physical properties of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. microtheca on semi-arid land were determined. Yield and quality of charcoal produced at 450, 650, 850, and 1050°C from sapwood and hardwood under laboratory conditions were analyzed. Data were analyzed as random blokes, and ANOVA tests were developed to determine differences in charcoal yield and quality between temperatures and anatomical sections on both species. Eucalyptus microtheca produced higher firewood volume (71.10 m3 ha−1) than E. camaldulensis (19.78 m3 ha−1). Green (1.0 to 1.3 g cm−3), oven-dry (0.8 to 1.1 g cm−3), and basic densities (0.6 to 0.9 g cm−3) showed statistical differences between species and wood type. Statistical differences (p < 0.0001) in the charcoal yield of both species were found; E. microtheca heartwood produced the highest charcoal yield (44%) at a temperature of 450°C. Correlation coefficient between basic density and charcoal yield at all temperatures was high (r = 0.36 to 0.72). Values of moisture content, ash, volatile materials, fixed carbon, and calorific value meet the international standard requirements.

Biology, Productivity and Bioenergy of Timber-Yielding Plants

The current energy crisis generated growing interest for alternatives to fossil fuels, presenting lignocellulosic materials as promising resource for sustainable energy. Mexican scrubs represent important forest resources to satisfy the population’s needs. There, forage potential was determined, to establish strategies for vegetation optimal use; forest potential, to assess biomass productivity; and bioenergy potential, to encourage new, promising, and integral use of this resource. Two locations were selected, experimental plantations and natural areas, where shrub coverage, timber volume, leaf biomass, litterfall, and chemical composition were determined. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS program, applying Tukey’s test. Native vegetation of E. ebano and A. berlandieri presented greater M.N. Heya (*) • R.F. Pournavab Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Nuevo León, México e-mail: nheyamaginot@yahoo.fr; rahimforo@hotmail.com A.C. Parra Instituto de Silvicultura e Industria de la Madera, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango, México e-mail: acarrilloparra@gmail.com R. Maiti Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Nuevo León, México e-mail: ratikanta.maiti@gmail.com L.R. Salas Cruz Facultad de Agronomía, Campus de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Nuevo León, México e-mail: biolidiasalas@yahoo.com.mx The original version of this chapter was revised. An erratum to this chapter can be found at DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-61798-5_3