TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying Social-ecological Linkages to Develop a Community Fire Plan in Mexico
AU - Sheridan, Rachel
AU - Fulé, Peter
AU - Lee, Martha
AU - Nielsen, Erik
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the Ejido Santa Mariá Las Cuevas, CONAFOR Tlaxcala, and Servicio Forestal Altiplano, A.C., Leticia Garciá Ortega, Eder de Jesus Cuatianquiz Montiel, Eulogio Quiróz Lucas, Mary Hektner, Daniel Lathum, Dr. Vidal Guerra de la Cruz, Larissa Yocom, Citlali Cortes-Montanõ, Thomas Sheridan, and Christine Szuter. USAID provided financial support for the fieldwork.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Sheridan et al.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Community forestry in rural Mexico presents a unique opportunity to study the linkages and feedback within coupled social-ecological systems due to the fact that agrarian or indigenous communities control approximately half of the national territory of Mexico. We used social and ecological diagnostic tools to develop a fire management strategy for a communal forest containing an endemic pinõn pine species, Pinus cembroides subs. orizabensis, in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico. The ecological diagnostic was done through fuel inventory, forest structure sampling, and fire behaviour modelling. The social assessment was conducted through household interviews, community workshops, and direct participant observation. The ecological fire hazard was quantified and coupled with the social assessment to develop a fire management plan. Vertical fuel continuity and flashy surface fuels created a high fire hazard. Modelled fire behaviour showed a rapid rate of spread and high flame lengths under multiple scenarios. Relative impunity for starting forest fires, poor community and inter-agency organisation, and lack of project continuity across organisational sectors appear to be the most significant social limiting factors for wildfire management. Combining both social and ecological diagnostic tools provides a comprehensive understanding of the actual risks to forests, and identifies realistic community-supported options for conservation on cooperatively managed lands.
AB - Community forestry in rural Mexico presents a unique opportunity to study the linkages and feedback within coupled social-ecological systems due to the fact that agrarian or indigenous communities control approximately half of the national territory of Mexico. We used social and ecological diagnostic tools to develop a fire management strategy for a communal forest containing an endemic pinõn pine species, Pinus cembroides subs. orizabensis, in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico. The ecological diagnostic was done through fuel inventory, forest structure sampling, and fire behaviour modelling. The social assessment was conducted through household interviews, community workshops, and direct participant observation. The ecological fire hazard was quantified and coupled with the social assessment to develop a fire management plan. Vertical fuel continuity and flashy surface fuels created a high fire hazard. Modelled fire behaviour showed a rapid rate of spread and high flame lengths under multiple scenarios. Relative impunity for starting forest fires, poor community and inter-agency organisation, and lack of project continuity across organisational sectors appear to be the most significant social limiting factors for wildfire management. Combining both social and ecological diagnostic tools provides a comprehensive understanding of the actual risks to forests, and identifies realistic community-supported options for conservation on cooperatively managed lands.
KW - Mexico
KW - common-pool resource theory
KW - community forestry
KW - social-ecological systems
KW - wildfire management
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U2 - 10.4103/0972-4923.179884
DO - 10.4103/0972-4923.179884
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84964869239
SN - 0972-4923
VL - 13
SP - 395
EP - 406
JO - Conservation and Society
JF - Conservation and Society
IS - 4
ER -