A new species of Encelia (Compositae, Heliantheae, Enceliinae) from the southern Baja California Peninsula.

Here, we describe and illustrate Enceliabalandra sp. nov., a new species of Compositae from the Baja California Peninsula. It is rare and known only from the rocky hills around Puerto Balandra and Pichilingüe, inside the bay of La Paz, in the State of Baja California Sur, Mexico. We determine that this new species has affinities with Encelia, based on its suffruticose woody habit, neuter ray florets and compressed disc cypselae with a cleft apex. The taxonomic placement within Encelia is supported by nuclear ribosomal sequence data from two regions, ITS and ETS. We also present detailed photographs, a conservation assessment and a dichotomous key to the Encelia of the southern Baja California Peninsula. Finally, we discuss the uniqueness of Enceliabalandra amongst peninsular Encelia and its potential significance for understanding the enigmatic biogeography of this ecologically important genus.

ResumenSe ilustra y describe a una nueva especie de Asteraceae, Enceliabalandra. Se conoce solo de las laderas rocosas de los cerros próximos a puerto Balandra y Pichilingue, dentro de la bahía de La Paz, en Baja California Sur, México. Encontramos que esta nueva especie tiene ciertas semejanzas con otras de Encelia por su hábito semi-arbustivo, las flores radiales neutras y cipselas comprimidas con ápice hendido. Confirmamos tal condición con datos de secuencia para las regiones ITS y ETS del genoma. También presentamos fotografías detalladas, un evaluación de conservación, y un clave dichotomus para los Encelia de Baja California sur. Se discute la semejanza con las especies peninsulares más cercanas de Encelia, se presenta una clave dicotómica para los taxones australes de la península de Baja California, y finalmente se muestran imágenes detalladas de esta nueva especie.

Environmental traditional knowledge in a natural protected area as the basis for management and conservation policies.

Ethnobotany is an adequate tool to identify the most import wild edible plants used by local people and to develop strategies for its sustainable use and policy making. This research records the wild edible plants used by the inhabitants of the Sierra la Laguna Biosphere Reserve, in Mexico, and identified priority species for sustainable development. The employed quantitative approach included the application of a food-oriented index named Food Significance Index (FSI), which integrated cultural, agricultural and food parameters; moreover, it used multivariate analysis to identify priority edible species for use and/or conservation. Fifty taxa were identified as the most important wild edible plants in the reserve, integrated into five priority groups. Foods in priority group 1 had the highest culinary diversity by grouping three fruits (Ficus petiolaris, Stenocereus thurberi, and Cyrtocarpa edulis), one almond-like seed (Cnidoscolus maculatus), one vegetable (Matelea cordifolia), and one condiment (Capsicum annuum). Priority groups 2-5 were selective for one or two types of food, such as fruits, teas, or seeds. Since group 1 was the most diverse, the FSI and the employed strategy permitted to identify the priority wild edible plant species with the highest potential for food security. The selected six species should be included in the future management program of the reserve as the priority wild edible plants to develop strategies for conservation, sustainable use, and improvement of the local population income. General policies to manage the selected six species are outlined.

High proportion of cactus species threatened with extinction.

A high proportion of plant species is predicted to be threatened with extinction in the near future. However, the threat status of only a small number has been evaluated compared with key animal groups, rendering the magnitude and nature of the risks plants face unclear. Here we report the results of a global species assessment for the largest plant taxon evaluated to date under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Categories and Criteria, the iconic Cactaceae (cacti). We show that cacti are among the most threatened taxonomic groups assessed to date, with 31% of the 1,478 evaluated species threatened, demonstrating the high anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity in arid lands. The distribution of threatened species and the predominant threatening processes and drivers are different to those described for other taxa. The most significant threat processes comprise land conversion to agriculture and aquaculture, collection as biological resources, and residential and commercial development. The dominant drivers of extinction risk are the unscrupulous collection of live plants and seeds for horticultural trade and private ornamental collections, smallholder livestock ranching and smallholder annual agriculture. Our findings demonstrate that global species assessments are readily achievable for major groups of plants with relatively moderate resources, and highlight different conservation priorities and actions to those derived from species assessments of key animal groups.

Estimación y disponibilidad forrajera de arbustos en baja California Sur México / Estimation and availability of shrub fodder in baja California Sur México

Las especies arbustivas de los ecosistemas áridos del mundo en general ofrecen una amplia variedad de recursos suceptibles a explotarse; entre ellos, el aprovechamiento de la biomasa forrajera es uno de los más importantes para la producción animal. Mediante la técnica del análisis dimensional, se evaluaron ocho especies de arbustos consumidos por ganado doméstico. Las variables altura máxima, diámetros mayor y menor, área de la corona y volumen se correlacionaron con el peso seco del forraje. Los valores de R" variaron de 59 a 86 por ciento. Las variables mejor correlacionadas fueron el diámetro menor y el área de la corona. Las mejores ecuaciones fueron desarrolladas en la regresión lineal simple. La validacion se realizó con el entrecruzamiento de nuevos datos, cuyo error estimado no fue mayor a 5g en 4 de 16 ecuaciones. Las ecuaciones aportan más del 70 por ciento de seguridad en la estimación.