Indigenous management of biocultural resources can influence behavior of non-target animals. Hence, identifying shared resources between indigenous communities and fauna is essential to understand the ecological relationships that occur within cultural landscapes and promote sustainable practices. In this ethnoecological research we analyzed the feeding importance of a wild food that is used by both people and birds. We employed unstructured interviews and a survey to learn about food resources used by people of a Nahua community in western Mexico. Trees were frequently mentioned by locals; thus, we determined salience and cultural meaning of arboreal feeding sources for the indigenous community. The “Guamúchil” or Manila tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce) was the most bioculturally salient tree for the feeding and economy of local people, and we evaluated its significance for birds too. We analyzed avian foraging behavior to estimate the number of species that used the tree as a food source, the relevance of Guamúchil as foraging substrate, food types provided by this tree, and the avian feeding use of Guamúchil when it was locally employed as a live fence. We observed that local people tracked fruiting Guamúchil across the landscape and cultivated it in homegardens to facilitate fruit access. Seed pods were locally appreciated for direct consumption by households and commercialization. Guamúchil’s cover was low in the surrounding forest (mean: 0.4, standard deviation: 0.7), but much higher in homegardens (mean: 20.9, standard deviation: 16.3). We estimated that about a fourth of the avian species that foraged across the cultural landscape during our sampling feed on Guamúchil. Birds prey on invertebrates associated with this tree, but Guamúchil was mostly important to avian foraging for the fruit it produces. We determined that live fences of Guamúchil functioned as complementary food sources to birds. Our research shows how humans and birds share key feeding resources within cultural landscapes. Also, we depict how indigenous agroforestry practices positively impact wildlife foraging, which should be promoted as conservation and restoration tools to support sustainability. Identifying key foods and analyzing their use might facilitate the development of activities aimed to benefiting both humans and animal communities.

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are ecosystems of high biocultural value, in which agroforestry systems (AFSs) have been essential in their management and conservation. We aimed to characterize agroforestry practices and analyze their capacity to conserve perennial plant diversity. In addition, we sought to evaluate how the management of TDFs as AFSs, together with their regeneration, influences species diversity and vegetation structure in a landscape with AFSs and TDFs in different conservation states. We compared the species diversity and basal area (BA) of plants in active and fallow AFSs at different regeneration stages in Zacualpan, Colima, Mexico. We found that AFSs harbored 71% of species richness (⁰D), forming a mosaic that contributed to the gamma diversity (124 species) of TDFs in the area. AFSs supported 23 endemic and 12 protected species. TDFs, active and advanced regeneration AFSs, had the highest number of useful species and diversity. Species richness (⁰D) in management categories increased as succession progressed, but not the BA, possibly due to frequent browsing and wood and firewood extraction. However, BA may be related to the management of useful trees maintained through agroforestry practices. We suggest increasing the matrix quality through a mosaic of active and fallow AFSs to promote ecological connectivity and biodiversity conservation.

Wild edible trees (WETs) play an important role in the diet of many rural communities. Therefore, research on their use and management is important to support both food sovereignty and local conservation of biocultural resources. We evaluated the different uses of WETs by the community of Zacualpan, Colima, in western Mexico, through 32 semi-structured interviews registering the species richness, plant parts consumed, and non-food uses. Additional information was collected on their management, availability, and forms of preparation. We used a cultural salience index to determine the food importance of the WETs mentioned. We registered 33 edible tree species (26 wild, 3 native crops, and 4 exotic crops) that were most commonly consumed as fruits or seeds. WETs were also used for fuel, live fences, timber, handicrafts, medicine, shade, fodder, poles, utensils, construction, tanning, soap, and paper. Pithecellobium dulce had the highest food salience, followed by Spondias purpurea, Leucaena esculenta, Leucaena leucocephala, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, and Jacaratia mexicana. Salient wild trees were collected in the wild and promoted in agroforestry systems. These trees provided food during the dry season and also had the highest number of additional uses. Promoting the biocultural value of WETs and their sustainable use can favor ecosystem conservation and local food sovereignty.