Vegetated Field Margins in Mexico: Their History, Structure and Function, and Management

Abstract

We explore the history, structure and function, and management of vegetated field margins, particularly hedgerows, in Mexico since the pre-Hispanic period. We then focus on the current agricultural landscape in El Bajío, central Mexico, describing in detail the abundance, composition, and management of existing hedgerows. These vegetated field margins can be traced to the pre-Hispanic period, especially in central Mexico, where Indians planted hedgerows, living fences, and terraces, mainly to prevent erosion. After the Spanish Conquest, some of these structures disappeared, but in many cases, new plant species were incorporated into the remaining field boundaries. Today, vegetated field boundaries are adjacent to crop fields and, in some places, they form networks similar to those seen in Europe. Farmers actively manage hedgerows for a variety of useful products and in so doing provide habitat and dispersal routes for native plants and animals.

Assessing the extent and diversity of riparian ecosystems in Sonora, Mexico

“…Thus, some of the area of riparian forest has been preserved, and in some cases, extended by these agricultural practices. Although the utility of the fencerows in controlling Xoods has been questioned (Doolittle 2003), they serve as valuable habitat for wildlife and provide the local farmers with wood and fodder for cattle as well as other amenities (Zuria and Gates 2006). The mean fencerow length of 77 m/ha in this study is similar to values determined in Sonora (Nabhan and Sheridan 1977) and in traditional Welds in Costa Rica (Leon and Harvey 2006); hence, there does not appear to have been much loss of fencerow plantings since the mid 1970s.…”

“…Traditional farming systems in many parts of the world utilize living fences or vegetation to deWne Weld boundaries (Leon and Harvey 2006;Zuria and Gates 2006). In Mexico, living fences or fence-rows have been a conspicuous feature of the agricultural landscape since pre-Hispanic times, and serve as windbreaks, provide shade, protect crops from cattle, delimit ownership of Welds, reduce erosion, and produce fruits, Xowers, fodder, wood, and medicinal plants (Zuria and Gates 2006). In Sonoran riparian zones, fence-rows are often made from pole plantings of cottonwood and willows (Nabhan and Sheridan 1977).…”

Home Garden Production and Energetic Sustainability in Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico

“…These gardens have formed an essential part of peasant household agricultural systems in Latin America since preColumbian times (Stavrakis 1978;Nations and Komes 1983;Budowski 1990;Zuria and Gates 2006), and there have been many studies describing their botanical composition, nutrient cycling and component structures (De Clerk and Negreros-Castillo 2000). Less is known, however, of their ecological relationships with the household system and the surrounding environment (Nair 1997(Nair , 2001, and particularly little is known of the intricate relationships to the other components that sustain the smallholder strategy (Immink 1990;Torquebiau 1992).…”

Land use/land cover change and extreme climatic events in the arid and semi-arid ecoregions of Mexico

“…Natural vegetation in the HP ecoregion is restricted to the surrounding mountains and field margins, including irrigation channels. In this ecoregion, native vegetation has been removed to facilitate mechaniza-tion (Zuria and Gates, 2006). Land use in the HP has a long history that goes back to pre-Hispanic times, where polyculture systems with annual and perennial species dominated the landscape (Rojas-Rabiela, 1991); nevertheless, diverse agriculture techniques coexisted since many cultures had settled in the territory encompassed by this ecoregion (Kelly, 1933).…”