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Non-technical summaryNature and culture are intricately linked and the rapid loss of both biological and cultural diversity around the globe has led to increasing concerns about its effects on sustainability. Important efforts to understand biocultural relations and bolster sustainable practices have been made by scientists, local communities, civil society organizations and policy makers. In spite of their efforts, a stronger articulation between sectors and biocultural discourses is needed for a broader transformative impact. Here, we analyse the connections between prominent biocultural discourses and discuss how the biocultural paradigm can contribute to both local and global sustainability.

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Addressing complex environmental problems requires the collaboration of stakeholders with divergent perspectives, a goal that is challenged by diverse factors. Challenges hindering multi-stakeholder collaboration (MSC) for sustainability have previously been addressed in the context of transnational partnerships. However, less is known regarding how place-based MSC operates, especially in the context of the Global South. To contribute to addressing the factors that hinder place-based MSC for sustainability in the Global South, we analyzed 38 MSC projects spanning diverse ecological and social contexts across Mexico. In a series of participatory workshops, 128 stakeholders from academia, government, business, local communities, and civil society organizations discussed factors that hinder place-based MSC and co-constructed strategies to strengthen collaboration. Some challenges coincided with those identified in previous studies (e.g., divergent visions, inadequate project planning), whereas other concerns that have not been commonly regarded as important emerged as crucial obstacles for MSC. We discuss these challenges in the context of areas of limited statehood and point to the traditions of popular education and participatory action research as a source of valuable tools for place-based MSC. We identify strategies capable of addressing diverse challenges, a result that could aid prioritizing resource allocation to strengthen MSC.

Land‐use change in tropical dry forests can dramatically alter soil properties, but little is known about their resilience. We assessed soil resilience by examining resistance to, as well as recovery from, pasture use by smallholder farmers in western Mexico. We measured 25 soil and vegetation properties and compared old‐growth forest (OGF) sites and pastures to evaluate resistance to pasture use. We assessed whether those properties recovered to OGF reference values after pasture abandonment by analyzing the trajectories of properties along a chronosequence of secondary vegetation. Finally, we assessed whether recovery of soil properties could be inferred from the recovery of vegetation properties. Nine out of 25 properties differed significantly between the OGF sites and pastures. From these nine nonresistant properties, six (i.e., penetration resistance, soil C concentration, soil C/N, basal area, individual density, rarefied species richness of woody vegetation) showed recovery as a significant positive relationship with forest age. In contrast, surface litter C, litter C/N, and soil available P showed no resistance and no recovery within the successional period examined (up to 35 y). The best vegetation indicator for the recovery of some soil properties was woody species richness. This may suggest that functional differences of colonizing plants matter for recovery after pasture use. Our findings indicate that soil was overall resilient to pasture use, but some properties did not recover synchronously with vegetation properties during succession. Thus, more attention should be paid to soil function, because full ecosystem recovery is often inferred from the recovery of vegetation properties. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conflicts are an inherent element in the establishment and management of protected areas. Even though there is ample literature about conflicts in protected areas and the field of conservation has investigated them for decades, no consensus exists about the object itself of analysis: the conflict. In this article, we describe three different approaches for understanding socio-environmental conflicts, and we illustrate them with cases from protected areas in Mexico. The principal objective of the article is to advance discussions about the importance of understanding the implications of the use of different approaches on socio-environmental conflicts, in the interest of providing elements to take better decisions about the management of the protected areas.

Question: How do the diversity, size structure, and spatial pattern of woody species in a temperate (Mediterranean climate) forest compare to temperate and tropical forests? Location: Mixed evergreen coastal forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA. Methods: We mapped, tagged, identified, and measured all woody stems (≥1 cm diameter) in a 6‐ha forest plot, following Center for Tropical Forest Science protocols. We compared patterns to those found in 14 tropical and 12 temperate forest plots. Results: The forest is dominated by Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and three species of Fagaceae (Quercus agrifolia, Q. parvula var. shrevei, and Lithocarpus densiflorus), and includes 31 woody species and 8180 individuals. Much of the diversity was in small‐diameter shrubs, treelets, and vines that have not been included in most other temperate forest plots because stems <5‐cm diameter had been excluded from study. The density of woody stems (1363 stems ha−1) was lower than that in all but one tropical plot. The density of large trees (diameter ≥30 cm) and basal area were higher than in any tropical plot. Stem density and basal area were similar to most other temperate plots, but were less than in low‐diversity conifer forests. Rare species were strongly aggregated, with the degree of aggregation decreasing with abundance so that the most common species were significantly more regular than random. Conclusions: The patterns raise questions about differences in structure and dynamics between tropical and temperate forests; these need to be confirmed with additional temperate zone mapped plots that include small‐diameter individuals.