Marisela Pando-Moreno

Medicinal plants in the southern region of the State of Nuevo León, México

BackgroundAlthough the flora of the State of Nuevo León is well known, there are few records of ethnobotancial information. An ethnobotanical study was undertaken in order to know the medicinal plants used by people living at the scrublands and oak-pine forest areas in the southern Nuevo León. Collection of plants specimens and interviews were carried out among the people of the municipalities of Aramberri, Galeana, and Zaragoza. Since former studies in the region are scarce, the aim of this work was to record the medicinal species and their uses in the scrublands and oak-pine forest areas, of southern Nuevo León, Mexico, and also to know if there are differences in the number of species and number of uses knowledge by people.MethodsField work was carried out over a 2 years period; useful plants were collected and a total of 105 people from 46 different villages were interviewed. A database was compiled using data collected by means of semi structured interviews. The data were analyzed by means of non-parametric statistics, using goodness-of-fit test (Chi-squared) (number of species known by people of each municipality, number of uses known by people of each municipality), Chi-squared modified to incorporate the Yates Correction (number of species known by people living at scrublands and oak-pine forest); the Kruskall-Wallis test (number of species known by women and men of the three municipalities), and the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (age and number of species known, and age and number of uses).ResultsA total of 163 medicinal plant species were recorded in the study area, comprising 108 wild and 55 cultivated plants. A total of 117 species were recorded in the oak-pine forest, and 111 in the scrublands area, a total of 68 were recorded in both areas; 68 medicinal species are used in all three municipalities, 40 wild and 28 cultivated. We documented 235 different medicinal uses. The most common plant parts used for medicinal purposes were found to be leaves (123 species), stems (55), fruits (28), roots (17), and bark (14). No differences were noted in the number of medicinal plant species identified among people, but differences were significant in their knowledge with respect to the number of uses among people of the three municipalities studied; people from both, scrublands and oak-pine forest know similar number of species and number of uses. Men and women of the three different municipalities knew statistically the same number of species and number of uses. There was no correlation between resident’s age and number of species known and resident’s age and number of uses either in Galeana or in Aramberri, but, there was high correlation among these variables in Zaragoza.ConclusionIn southern Nuevo León people use at least 5% of the total State flora as medicinal plants, and most of these species are included in few plant families. Most of medicinal species are wild and indigenous to the region. The two most important major plant communities, scrublands and oak-pine forest provide almost the same number of medicinal species. A third of the medicinal flora recorded are used in all three municipalities, most of them are wild. Leaves, stems and fruits are the plant parts most commonly used for healing, and boiling is the most common method used for this purpose. Men and women from the three municipalities are familiar with nearly the same number of species; however, their knowledge of the number of uses varies significantly. In Galeana and Aramberri there was no correlation between a person’s age and number of species recognized, however, in Zaragoza, there existed a high correlation between these two factors.

Biological soil crust influence on germination and rooting of two key species in a Stipa tenacissima steppe

Background and aimsIn Mediterranean steppes, Stipa tenacissima tussocks facilitate the establishment of vascular plants. We hypothesized that this effect may partially reflect the indirect interaction between Stipa tenacissima, biological soil crusts (BSC), and seeds.MethodsWe explored the relationship between BSC composition and soil surface conditions (surface roughness and hydrophobicity by using the water drop penetration time test), and seed germination and seedling rooting in a S. tenacissima steppe in southeastern Spain. We explored the causal factors of seed germination at two spatial scales and used SADIE index to represents the soil surface heterogeneity.ResultsMicrosites strongly differed in BSC composition and soil surface conditions. Germination of two key species, Pistacia lentiscus and Brachypodium retusum, was not affected by BSC type. In contrast, rooting was lower on soil from open areas covered by BSC than on soil from open areas dominated by bare soil and soil collected under the tussocks. The effect was similar in both species. Lichens were probably responsible for the decrease in rooting.ConclusionsOur results suggest that lichen cover and the cover of bare soil and mosses may hamper and facilitate rooting, respectively. By affecting seedling rooting, BSC may contribute to the facilitative effect of Stipa tenacissima.

Evaluation of Three Varieties of Opuntia Ficus-Indica (L.) Miller as Hosts of the Cochineal Insect Dactylopius Coccus Costa (Homoptera: Dactylopiidae) in a Semiarid Area of Northeastern Mexico

Three varieties of prickly pearOpuntia ficus- indica (Villanueva, Copena, and Jalpa varieties) were evaluated in their capacity to be host of the cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus Costa) in two localities of northeastern Mexico. The experiment was carried out for two seasons, winter and summer, in 1998. Variables under evaluation were: fresh weight of grana, dry weight of grana, and number of insects. The Villanueva variety showed the highest production for the three variables and there were no differences between the other two varieties. Iturbide locality was superior to Linares for the three variables. Higher production (both dry and fresh weight of grana) was obtained during winter and there were no differences between seasons for number of insects. Figures obtained for the Villanueva variety are slightly higher than those reported in literature for the most productive cochineal areas in Mexico.ResumenSe evaluó la capacidad de tres variedades de nopalOpuntia ficus-indica (Villanueva, Copena y Jalpa)como hospederos de la cochinilla (Dactylopius coccus Costa) en dos localidades del noreste de México. El experimento se llevó al cabo en dos estaciones del año: invierno y verano, en 1998. Las variables evaluadas fueron: peso fresco de grana, peso seco de grana y número de insectos. La variedad Villanueva mostró la mayor producción para las tres variables evaluadas y no se presentaron diferencias entre las otras dos variedades. La localidad Iturbide presentó rendimientos superiores a la localidad Linares para las tres variables. La época de invierno presentó mayor producción de peso fresco y peso seco de grana que la época de agosto, mientras que para número de insectos, no se registraron diferencias entre ambas. Los rendimientos obtenidos para la variedad Villanueva fueron ligeramente superiores que los reportados en literatura para las zonas más productivas de grana en México.

Post-Harvest Growth of Lechuguilla (Agave lecheguilla Torr., Agavaceae) in Northeastern Mexico

Extraction of lechuguilla fiber (Agave lecheguilla) is often the only source of income for some rural inhabitants in arid zones of Mexico. A model for biomass estimation of lechuguilla by nondestructive techniques was developed and then applied to evaluate whether traditional harvesting had an effect on (1) biomass production of the bud (part of the plant traditionally collected to obtain fiber) and (2) plant density. Six months after harvesting, biomass production was higher for buds of harvested plants than for buds of unharvested plants, but there were no differences 1 year after harvesting. Number of new plants was not affected by harvesting. Hence it appears that at least in the short term the common practice for extracting lechuguilla fiber does not affect population density, but significantly increases growth of central buds.ResumenLa extracción de la fibra de lechuguilla (Agave lecheguilla) es frecuentemente la única fuente de ingresos para algunos campesinos de las zonas áridas de México. Se desarrolló un modelo para la estimación de biomasa de lechuguilla por métodos no-destructivos. Éste fue después aplicado para evaluar si la forma tradicional de cosecha tiene un efecto en (1) producción de biomasa del cogollo (parte de la planta tradicionalmente cosechado para obtener fibra) y (2) densidad de plantas. Dentro de los primeros 6 meses posteriores a la cosecha la producción de biomasa fue mayor para los cogollos de las plantas cosechadas que para aquellos de las plantas control, sin embargo no se encontró diferencia un año posterior a la cosecha. El número de plantas nuevas no se vio afectado con la cosecha. En este estudio mostramos que, si bien la práctica común de extracción del cogollo para la obtención de fibra no afectó la densidad de la población de lechuguilla en el corto plazo, sí incrementó significativamente el crecimiento del cogollo.

The influence of land use on desertification processes

Abstract Site degradation occurs mainly through deterioration of the soils capacity to capture and store water, as well as the loss of organic matter or the accumulation of salts or other toxic substances in the soil. This degradation process, leading to the reduction of the biotic potential of the site, is known as desertification. In this study, changes in bulk density, organic matter, and electrical conductivity are used as indicators of desertification in northeast Mexico. The hypotheses put forward here are that degradation processes are affecting extensive areas of the region, and that the type of processes and their magnitude differ according to specific land uses. Thirty-one sites under different land use systems (agriculture, rangeland, induced grassland, and a protected site) were sampled for bulk density, organic matter, and salinity. Soil samples for bulk density estimation were collected in 1996, 1997, and 1999, while those for organic matter and salinity were taken in 1993, 1997, and 1999. Soil bulk density and organic matter showed significant changes across time in rangeland sites. None of the sites showed significant changes in salinity. Organic matter was similar in agriculture, rangeland, and grassland sites across dates. Soil bulk density was similar in grasslands and rangelands and lower in agriculture sites. Values of organic matter were lower and those of soil bulk density were higher when compared to a protected native vegetation site.

Physical Crust Does Not Affect Soil Seed Bank

We compared density and species of a seed bank in (1) a soil with a physical crust, (2) a soil with low plant cover with signs of erosion, and (3) a soil covered by dense vegetation with no evidence of erosion in Northeastern Mexico. From the 33 identified species, there were more seeds in the soil of the area without evidence of erosion (1,900 seeds m−2 from 30 species), no differences were found between the soil with a crust (88.8 seeds m−2 seeds from 12 species) and the eroded soil without a crust (62.7 seeds m−2 from 10 species).