Mexico, as a center of origin of maize, presents a high diversity of maize races. With the objective of spatially demarcating regions with high concentration of intraspecific diversity in Mexico, as a fundamental measure for the in situ conservation of their agrobiodiversity, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools have been used to generate diversity and richness indexes for 64 maize races cultivated in Mexico, using indexes to demarcate relationships to environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, and altitude; the presence of indigenous groups; and the type of maize used. These relations allowed defining seven environmental units spatially, with characteristic maize races in each of them, which constitute priority areas for in situ conservation. In addition, a close relationship was found between the diversity of maize races and of ethnic groups, from the center to the south of the country, associated with the differences in maize use in different ethnic groups. This geographical demarcation of races and uses of maize will favor food security through specific measures of in situ conservation, as well as an increase in added value of maize by-products based on specific maize races conserved by local ethnic groups.

SUMMARY The Guajolote is a native North American poultry, originally domesticated in Mexico, from where it was exported to Europe, and from there to the rest of the world, becoming the genetic base of the breeds and varieties of turkeys that are known in the present. However, the phenotypic and productive characteristics of Guajolotes have been poorly studied, which has limited its racial recognition. This review describes the current knowledge on the historical distribution, morphological, morphometric and phaneroptic characteristics of Guajolotes, as well as the productive performance and quality attributes of Guajolote meat and eggs. Due to the long process of evolution, Guajolotes have a good capacity for adaptation and high rusticity that allows it to reproduce under different environmental and management conditions. It has unique morphological peculiarities and great variability in terms of its morphometric and phaneroptic descriptors. This bird has a marked sexual dimorphism in favor of males. Females are excellent natural incubators, they start laying from between 6 and 8 months of age, laying an average of 16.7 ± 3.6 eggs per laying season. Males have a good capacity to convert food into meat and can reach a live weight of between 5499 ± 148 to 5835 ± 173 g at week 30 of age, having a carcass yield of 79%. The nutritional quality of meat and eggs of Guajolote is even higher than that of chicken. In conclusion, Guajolotes are poultry with characteristics of high biological and productive value; however, better management strategies are required to maximize its genetic potential for the benefit of the food security of small and mid-size producers that depend on this poultry genetic resource.

Evaluate the effects of i) dehulling of lupine seed on chemical composition and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and ii) soybean meal substitution by dehulled lupine seed in broiler diets with enzymes on productive performance, size of digestive organs and welfare-related variables. Experiment 1, chemical composition and AME were determined in whole and dehulled lupine seed. Experiment 2, two hundred eighty-eight one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were used. The experimental diets were maize-soybean meal (MS), MS with enzymes (MSE) and maize-dehulled lupine seed with enzymes (MLE). Diets were assigned to the experimental units under a completely randomized design (eight replicates per diet). The body weight (BW) gain, feed intake, feed conversion, digestive organ weights, gait score, latency to lie down and valgus/varus angulation were evaluated. The dehulling process increased protein (25.0% to 31.1%), AME (5.9 to 8.8 MJ/kg) and amino acid contents. The BW gain of broilers fed the MLE diet was similar (p>0.05) to that of those fed the MS diet, but lower than that of those fed the MSE diet. Feed intake of broilers fed the MLE diet was higher (p0.05) to those fed the MSE diet. Feed conversion of broilers fed the MLE diet was 8.0% and 8.7% higher (p<0.05) than that of those fed the MS and MSE diets, respectively. Broilers fed the MLE diet had the highest (p<0.05) relative proventriculus and gizzard weights, but had poor welfare-related variables. It is possible to substitute soybean meal by dehulled lupine seed with enzymes in broiler diets, obtaining similar BW gains in broilers fed the MLE and MS diets; however, a higher feed intake is required. Additionally, the MLE diet reduced welfare-related variables.

There is scarce research assessing the productivity of scientific articles on forestry topics. The objective of this study was to analyze the scientific production on forestry topics that originated in Mexico and were published in Mexican journals from 1996 to 2019 and to identify the causes that determine the impact factor of such publications and the space-time evolution of forestry research in Mexico. In addition, to analyze whether researchers tend to publish in journals published by their affiliation institutions. The study considered 2384 scientific articles from seven journals belonging to category VI of Biotechnology and Agricultural Sciences listed in the Journals Classification System by the National Council of Science and Technology that publishes forestry topics. Bibliometric indicators were generated through text mining and analysis of co-authorship networks. It was found that forestry research in Mexico from 1996 to 2019 presented exponential growth in the number of publications. Forestry scientific production was concentrated in the center of the country. It was dominated by researchers from three of 122 institutions: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (13.88%), Colegio de Postgraduados (12.50%), and Universidad Autonoma Chapingo (10.44%). The journals with the highest number of publications were: Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Forestales (26.51%), Revista Chapingo Serie Ciencias Forestales y del Ambiente (20.34%), and Madera y Bosques (18.88%). Results show that forestry researchers in Mexico published mostly in journals edited by their affiliation institutions, which restricts constructive criticism of peer review and increases academic endogamy. Also showed the need to generate more forestry research for the southeast of the country on topics such as climate change, carbon capture, forest biometry, and remote perception, which are relevant aspects when we consider that no published research evaluated the development of the forestry sector in Mexico.

El modelado de escenarios de cambios climáticos utilizando sistemas de información geográfica para estimar la resiliencia de la cobertura vegetal es una herramienta útil para proyectar impactos futuros e implementar estrategias de conservación o manejo. En el presente trabajo asociamos espacialmente la biodiversidad de la cobertura vegetal del Suroeste de México con su capacidad para adaptarse a los efectos del cambio climático. Para analizar esta asociación se estimaron índices de riqueza y diversidad de especies, y su relación con escenarios de clima futuro. Se utilizaron los registros geográficos del Inventario Nacional Forestal y de Suelos para ocho comunidades vegetales (arbórea, arbustiva, herbácea, palma, cactus, bejucos, helechos y xerófita) distribuidas entre Guerrero, Oaxaca y Chiapas. La proyección climática fue al 2050, con modelos de circulación global A2 (promedio CCCMA, HADCM3 y CSIRO), 19 variables bioclimáticas y una resolución de 2.5 minutos. Los escenarios de cambio climático se modelaron con el algoritmo MaxEnt y la riqueza de especies, índice de diversidad y regresiones espaciales con el software Diva-GIS v7.5. Los modelos de regresión espacial estimaron que a mayor riqueza y diversidad de especies mayor seria la resiliencia que mostraría el ecosistema. Las comunidades vegetales cactus, palma y xerófita mostraron mayor vulnerabilidad al cambio climático. Las variaciones en la estacionalidad de la temperatura resultó ser el factor que condicionaría su distribución futura. Por lo que, las estrategias de conservación o manejo deberían considerar a la diversidad como un agente del ecosistema que amortiguaría a los efectos negativos del clima futuro.