Landscape Features Associated with Damage to Maize (Zea mays) Fields in Central México: A Comparison of Wind and Wildlife Damage

Abstract

Damage to maize (Zea mays) fields leads to negative attitudes towards wildlife that can affect conservation. In a Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico, local inhabitants perceive that wildlife causes major damage to maize fields. Therefore, we quantified maize damaged by wildlife species and by wind, and we explored whether this was related to the proportion of land-use categories in the landscape surrounding maize fields and the distance from maize fields to the nearest human settlements, water sources and forest patches. We quantified damaged maize plants and cobs in 180 samples from six 100 m2 quadrats in each of 30 maize fields. On average, damage in maize fields was less than 2% and 6.5% of the total maize cobs and plants, respectively. The white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) and the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were responsible for most of the total damage to maize cobs, while wind was responsible for most of the damage to plants. Classification and regression tree analyses (CARTs) revealed that the highest levels of maize cob damage occurred in maize fields with less agricultural land cover in the surrounding landscape units and with longer distances to the nearest villages. Measured levels of maize damage were lower than the amount of damage perceived by local inhabitants. This human–wildlife conflict should be further addressed in the study area to avoid negative consequences for wildlife conservation.

Crop damage by vertebrates in Latin America: current knowledge and potential future management directions

“…Farmers’ perceptions and knowledge are central to studies on crop damage and conservation strategies. However, relying solely on farmers’ perception of crop damage can be misleading, as their ideas of which species are responsible for damaging crops or the extent of losses may not accurately represent the reality ( Albarracín & Aliaga-Rossel, 2018 ; Flores-Armillas et al, 2020 ; Hill, 2004 ) or be proportional to the scale of the problem ( Simonsen, Tombre & Madsen, 2017 ). Therefore, relying almost exclusively on interviews with local farmers for data generation may result in an incorrect assessment of the conflict, which when coupled with an exaggerated perception of damages caused by vertebrates may lead to an increase in the use of lethal methods for retaliation ( Can-Hernández et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Three species ( Nasua narica , Nasua nasua and Procyon lotor ), all belonging to the Procyonidae family, have been recorded in several studies. These species are often among the most concerning to farmers ( Castillo-Chinchilla et al, 2018 ) and among the most damaging to crops, particularly to corn ( Can-Hernández et al, 2019 ; Flores-Armillas et al, 2020 ).…”

Estimation of Wild Herbivore Damage to Field Crops in the Czech Republic in 2019

“…We found out a significant influence of the distance of the field from the nearest forest complex (Spearman P < 0.001). This is probably related to a high attractivity of maize fields which, if located within an acceptable distance, strongly attract all herbivore animal species because of both food and shelter (Flores-Armillas et al, 2020). Another aspect which supports damage to grain maize is a very late harvest.…”

Ecological implications: nature capital loss and the spread of invasive European wild rabbit in Mexico

“…Alternatively, repopulation of control areas can be strongly influenced by the characteristics of individuals left in the area and/or recolonising (i.e., an ideal despotic distribution). The removal of dominants or sub-dominants can impact how quickly an area recolonises (Flores-Armillas et al, 2020). Knowledge and interest in domestic rabbits are associated with families that participate in agricultural activities and animal husbandry.…”