The Neolithic Revolution narrative associates early-mid Holocene domestications with the development of agriculture that fueled the rise of late Holocene civilizations. This narrative continues to be influential, even though it has been deconstructed by archaeologists and geneticists in its homeland. To further disentangle domestication from reliance on food production systems, such as agriculture, we revisit definitions of domestication and food production systems, review the late Pleistocene–early Holocene archaeobotanical record, and quantify the use, management and domestication of Neotropical plants to provide insights about the past. Neotropical plant domestication relies on common human behaviors (selection, accumulation and caring) within agroecological systems that focus on individual plants, rather than populations—as is typical of agriculture. The early archaeobotanical record includes numerous perennial and annual species, many of which later became domesticated. Some of this evidence identifies dispersal with probable cultivation, suggesting incipient domestication by 10,000 years ago. Since the Pleistocene, more than 6500, 1206 and 6261 native plant species have been used in Mesoamerica, the Central Andes and lowland South America, respectively. At least 1555, 428 and 742 are managed outside and inside food production systems, and at least 1148, 428 and 600 are cultivated, respectively, suggesting at least incipient domestication. Full native domesticates are more numerous in Mesoamerica (251) than the Andes (124) and the lowlands (45). This synthesis reveals that domestication is more common in the Neotropics than previously recognized and started much earlier than reliance on food production systems. Hundreds of ethnic groups had, and some still have, alternative strategies that do involve domestication, although they do not rely principally on food production systems, such as agriculture.

Copal is a resin of ritual uses in Mexico that is extracted from several species of trees of the genus Bursera. The effect of traditional management on phenotypical traits of copal trees has not been sufficiently studied. This research analyzed the traditional management and human selection on populations of Bursera bipinnata, and it also examined their influence on the quantity and quality of the resin produced by wild and managed trees. The management of copal was documented through semi-structured interviews and workshops. Samples of 60 trees from six wild and managed populations were selected to quantify the production of resin during two consecutive years. Fresh resin was collected to identify organic volatile compounds through gas chromatography and Principal Components Analysis (PCA); individuals were classified according to the amount and type of organic compounds produced. We identified management strategies from simple harvesting to seeds planting. The criteria of local people for selecting managed trees and seeds are based on the quantity and quality of the resin produced per tree, which were significantly higher in managed than in wild trees: 190.17 ± 329.04 g vs. 29.55 ± 25.50 g (p = 0.003), and 175.88 ± 179.29 g vs. 63.05 ± 53.25 g (p = 0.008) for the production seasons of 2017 and 2018, respectively. Twenty organic volatile compounds were identified, and the PCA showed that managed trees produce higher percentages of compounds associated with scent. The traditional management of Bursera bipinnata involves selective pressures, which generate the differentiation of wild and managed trees that may represent incipient domestication through silvicultural management.

The Balsas River Basin (BRB) area is the major source of wild medicinal plants commercially sold in Mexico; thus, the region is important in the conservation of these high-demand resources. We studied wild medicinal plant species extracted from the BRB to document the species richness of traded plants and analyze the commercialization dynamics and socioecological vulnerability. We constructed a database of the medicinal plant species traded in the BRB and we developed a risk index from 14 different ethnobotanical, socioeconomic, and ecological variables to assess the vulnerability of each species. The medicinal flora that are traded in the BRB include 257 species, 176 genera, and 83 families. The use of 91% of these species is unregulated by the government. Tropical deciduous forests contribute the greatest number of taxa (38.5%) and herbs are the most harvested plants (45.9%). Less than 5% of these species are protected by national and international regulations. The highest-risk category primarily consis...

Commercial harvests can threaten tree species harvested for their bark. Amphipterygium adstringens is a dioecious tree, endemic to the tropical dry forests of Mexico, where it is intensively harvested for its medicinal bark. Limited information hinders developing sustainable management strategies for A. adstringens. We assessed bark regeneration for male and female trees, and evaluated the effect of tree sex and diameter, debarking treatments and cutting seasons on bark regeneration and tree survival rates. Bark regeneration was higher for wet season harvested trees (vs. dry), regardless of their sex. Bark regeneration was higher on female than on male trees. There were significant interactions of harvest season, harvest treatment and tree sex diameter on bark regeneration and survival. Overall, the highest bark regeneration rates occurred in female trees with ≥20.1 cm diameter that were wet season harvested with a 50% debarking intensity. Consequently, wet season and intermediate intensity harvests appear to foster sound management, but we recommend against targeting exclusively a single demographic group (i.e., large female trees) due to potential negative impacts on species demography and bark supply. A grounded strategy for sustaining bark harvest would also need to take into account relevant aspects of local socio-ecological context, including harvest interactions with other land uses.

Antecedentes: La intensidad de manejo en plantas está influida por factores socioecológicos, destacando el valor económico y la disponibilidad espacial de los recursos. Agave karwinskii es un recurso cultural, económica y ecológicamente relevante, con alta diversidad morfológica, la cual se refleja en la compleja nomenclatura tradicional. Algunos etnotaxones son mayormente valorados y enfrentan fuertes presiones debidas al auge en la demanda de mezcal. Preguntas y/o hipótesis: ¿Cuáles etnotaxa de Agave karwinskii y con qué intensidad son manejados en su área de distribución? Los etnotaxa que son aprovechados para elaborar mezcales presentarán formas más intensas de manejo debido a su alto valor y demanda. Se identificarán distintas prácticas de manejo, desde las más incipientes hasta las más complejas, en función de su valor y disponibilidad. Especie en estudio: Agave karwinskii Zucc. Sitio de estudio y fechas: Puebla y Oaxaca, México. 2017-2018 Me?todos: Se realizaron 43 entrevistas semiestructuradas a propietarios de fábricas de mezcal en el área de distribución. Se preguntó acerca del manejo de los distintos etnotaxa, prácticas de selección, atributos, valoración cultural y económica. Se calculó un índice de intensidad de manejo mediante un análisis de componentes principales. Resultados: Se reconocieron 11 etnotaxones de A. karwinskii , principalmente para producir mezcal y como cerco vivo. Estos formaron tres grupos, correspondiendo a un gradiente de intensidad de manejo. Destacan aquellos que se propagan vegetativamente y se siembran por semilla en espacios antropogénicos. Conclusiones: Se advierten procesos selectivos, los cuales pueden marcar rasgos de domesticación incipiente, como tamaños de roseta más grandes.

Urban collective gardens (UCG) are considered alternatives to face the environmental problems generated by urbanization, contributing to the sustainability of cities. This study aims to characterize UCG and its contributions to the local sustainability in Mexico City (CdMx). From bibliographic searches, consultation on social networks, and expert suggestions, our research group identified 40 gardens for CdMx, based on which we constructed a UCG typology. For deeper studies, we selected 19 UCGs based on several criteria: Number of members (at least three persons managing UCG), UCG age (at least one year), disposition of collaborating in the study, and availability for evaluation. The selected UCGs were evaluated qualitatively following the Framework for the Evaluation of Natural Resource Management Systems incorporating Sustainability Indicators (MESMIS, for its acronym in Spanish) through in-depth interviews and participant observation. We identified critical points or factors that drive or limit UCG (e.g., biological diversity, training of people participating, social and economic stability, access to space and financial support, economic diversification, input dependency, security of land tenure, and contamination risk). We concluded that UCG of CdMX contribute to local sustainability through processes like creating jobs, recovering connections with nature, knowledge transmission, experimental practices, and offers of therapeutic benefits, among others.