La variabilidad a nivel de paisaje de la estructura y la composición de especies fue analizada en el bosque tropical caducifolio de Chamela, México. Se registraron todos los árboles con DAP ??5 cm presentes en 21 parcelas de 0.24 ha (5.04 ha en total) distribuidas en seis unidades morfopedológicas diferentes. En promedio, la densidad fue de 1,385 individuos ha-1, el área basal de 15.9 m2 ha-1 y la altura promedio del dosel fue 6.8 m. La mayoría (90%) de los troncos tuvieron un DAP ??14 cm. En total se registraron 148 especies, 102 géneros y 43 familias de árboles. Más de 70% de las especies estuvieron pobremente representadas (< 10 árboles ha-1). Un análisis de componentes principales basado en atributos estructurales y de diversidad mostró una pobre relación entre las parcelas de una misma unidad morfopedológica, pero el mismo tipo de análisis, basado en las especies dominantes, segregó a las parcelas en dos grupos. Aunque la estructura y la diversidad de especies cambiaron de forma continua en el paisaje, la diversidad beta (evaluada a través de la similitud de especies entre pares de parcelas) y el grupo de especies dominantes mostraron los mayores contrastes. Tales diferencias estuvieron claramente asociadas a diferencias en la litología (granito vs. no-granito).

Horse skidding for extracting logwood is characterized as a niche activity in small-scale forestry, limited to small tracts and low volumes, where environmental impacts and aesthetics are concerned, and to operations with no wood-processing facilities. This article documents and analyzes the widespread persistence, current magnitude, and multiple advantages of horse skidding in large-scale industrial community forest enterprises in Chihuahua, Mexico. We extracted data from the logging permit files of 59 communities in the Sierra Tarahumara and conducted semi-structured interviews with community leaders and foresters in 18 communities, 17 random selections, and one purposefully selected case. There are nine communities that can be considered large-scale. Six of them use animal traction for 20%–100% of their volume. All have sawmills integrated with their operations. This includes the El Largo community with a ten-year volume of 3,169,019 m³ extracted from 123,810 ha entirely with horses. Respondents to the interviews report that horse skidding is more cost-effective than mechanized skidding, generates more employment, and has less impact on forests due to reduced carbon emissions. The widespread use of animal traction in large-scale industrial community forestry in Chihuahua demonstrates that horse skidding is not only a niche activity in small-scale forestry. Our data is preliminary, but we suggest that it highlights a need for further assessments of whether animal traction should be part of future efforts towards reduced impact, lower carbon emissions, and socially and economically just forest management.

La teoría de acción colectiva aplicada a los bosques de México ha sido una gran alternativa para estudiar el manejo de los paisajes forestales y los impactos socioeconómicos que se generan en los recursos de uso común. En este estudio se analizó el papel histórico de tres ejidos forestales en el estado de Durango en su organización y creación de instituciones internas para enfrentar cambios en la cobertura forestal. Se compararon dos periodos que abarcan desde la etapa de las concesiones forestales hasta el actual manejo forestal comunitario (1960-2018). Se utilizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas para estimar dos índices que relacionan la organización interna de las comunidades: el índice de organización social y el de institucionalidad comunitaria. Se usaron también las series cartográficas de Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía para determinar los cambios en la cobertura forestal en el periodo antes mencionado. Con base en los principios de acción colectiva de Ostrom, se analizó la efectividad de estos ejidos en la conservación de sus recursos. Los resultados muestran que los índices han incrementado con el tiempo, sugiriendo que los ejidos han mejorado en sus procesos de organización interna. Además, se encontró que existe una relación directa entre el incremento de la superficie forestal y ambos índices. El modelo forestal comunitario es una estrategia factible que puede contribuir a la preservación de estos ecosistemas. El fortalecimiento de la organización interna de las comunidades, incluyendo sus acuerdos institucionales, es importante para ayudar a transitar hacia un desarrollo sustentable en este tipo de recursos de uso común. The theory of collective action applied to forest communities in Mexico has been a great alternative to study forest landscape conservation and the socioeconomic impacts generated in common pool resources. We analyzed the historical role of three forest ejidos in the State of Durango, including their organization and capacity building to deal with forest cover changes. Two periods ranging from the beginning of forest concessions to current community forest management (1960-2018) were compared. Semi-structured interviews were used to estimate two indexes that associate the internal organization of the communities: Social Organization Index and Community Institutionality Index. The cartographic series of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography were also used to determine the changes in forest cover within the analyzed period. Based on Ostrom’s principles of collective action, the effectiveness of the ejidos in conserving their resources was analyzed. Results show that the indexes have increased over time, suggesting that ejidos have improved their organization processes. In addition, there is a direct relationship between the forest land increase and both indices. The so-called community forest management model is a feasible strategy that can contribute to the preservation of these ecosystems. The internal organization of the communities, including their institutional arrangements, is a key factor to search for the sustainable management of these common-pool resources.

Forest landscape structure comprises a mosaic of natural and human-modified units, which when well depicted, may help to plan and implement forest management policies, which commonly assume territorial homogeneity. Usually, forest policies lack the use of spatial tools that can help scale up conservation program in heterogeneous forested landscapes. This paper applied a conceptual-methodological framework as baseline to guide regional strategies and scale-up community collective action based on local forestry ejidos and communities. The study case was conducted in the Mixteca Alta, a forestry region in Oaxaca, Mexico, where common property prevails. Zoning was made based on biophysical, social, and forest management criteria. A total of 97 communities were surveyed and the region was disaggregated into five zones based on precipitation, watersheds, community forest management experience and level of regional collective action. Each zone was recognized as having different forestry potentials and intervention needs, ranging from restoration to timber and non-timber product management. This zoning proved the potential to guide forest projects and promote joint regional forest development. The potential use of landscape zoning was discussed in the light of the current need for scale-up forest policies.