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The Altillanura is a unique ecosystem within the Colombian Llanos, characterized by well-drained savannas and extensive riparian forests. The Altillanura harbors a rich assemblage of species, largely understudied and currently under threat by large-scale and unplanned agribusiness. Moreover, the number of public protected areas in the Colombian Llanos, particularly in the Altillanura, is insufficient to conserve the threatened habitats and species. Therefore, conservation efforts by private reserves are crucial for the protection of the region's biodiversity. Here we present the first species list of the Tomogrande, a private nature reserve and scientific research field station in the municipality of Santa Rosalía, Vichada, Colombia. After ten years of ongoing research, we have recorded 299 species of plants, 189 species of birds, and 47 species of mammals. Compared to other private nature reserves in Vichada and the Tuparro National Park, the largest protected area in the region, Tomogrande makes a substantial contribution to the conservation of all three taxonomic groups. We advocate that better landscape planning and sustainable practices should become mandatory in the Altillanura to protect its biodiversity and the livelihoods of all stakeholders that inhabit this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on biological diversity are essential to generate baseline information in natural protected areas. In the present study, we developed a multi-taxonomic inventory in the Sierra del Abra Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve, located northeast of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Systematic samplings were performed between January 2017 to May 2018, for the taxonomic groups of flora, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. A total of 3 730 records of 683 species were obtained, corresponding to 427 species of flora, 10 of amphibians, 20 of reptiles, 192 of birds, and 34 of mammals, from which 47 species are threatened. The results obtained represent the critical biodiversity that can be found in this natural protected area. The information will be useful for decision-making on the management and conservation of biodiversity in the Sierra Madre Oriental's ecological corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recovery of soil spores is a strategy to strengthen in decline or disappeared populations from natural environments. In this work, we analyzed 25 soil samples extracted from a patch of gallery forest in an "albardón" of Punta Lara Reserve, Buenos Aires. The samples were distributed in 50 Petri dishes, 25 exposed to controlled temperature and light and another 25 kept in darkness. To contribute to the identification of gametophytes and sporophytes, spores of the local species were cultured in vitro. In 18 months of trial, the appearance of gametophytes and sporophytes was observed, in a greater proportion those belonging to a dominant species in the community: Doryopteris concolor. Numerous gametophytes and sporophytes from Gastoniella chaerophylla were also obtained, a taxon not found in the "albardón" for two years. The germination index (GI) was estimated and the morphological characteristics of the gametophytes and sporophytes were recorded. This is the first contribution to the knowledge of the spore banks in Argentina, in a protected area where several threats put at risk the survival of native species. The bases to implement methods of ex situ and in situ conservation of native ferns are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of a protected area installs new rules over the use and management of natural resources, modifying how people relate to their environment, as well as the way in which the space is comprehended and constructed. How does this process occur? How does the creation of protected natural areas transform or disrupt territories? The hypothesis that we present in this work is that the creation of protected areas, when it does not include local consensus and negotiation processes, may result in dynamics of deterritorialization, creating what Marc Augé (1993) referred to as non-places. From this perspective, we explain the meagre results both social and environmental of some natural protected areas in Mexico, and propose a vision of conservation focused in places, according to the anthropological connotation of the term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of concrete instances in which conservation and development have been successfully merged has strengthened arguments for strict exclusionist conservation policies. Research has focused more on social cooperation and conflict of different management regimes and less on how these factors actually affect the natural environments they seek to conserve. Consequently, it is still unknown which strategies yield better conservation outcomes? We conducted a meta-analysis of 116 published case studies on common resource management regimes from Africa, south and central America, and southern and Southeast Asia. Using ranked sociodemographic, political, and ecological data, we analyzed the effect of land tenure, population size, social heterogeneity, as well as internally devised resource-management rules and regulations (institutions) on conservation outcome. Although land tenure, population size, and social heterogeneity did not significantly affect conservation outcome, institutions were positively associated with better conservation outcomes. There was also a significant interaction effect between population size and institutions, which implies complex relationships between population size and conservation outcome. Our results suggest that communities managing a common resource can play a significant role in conservation and that institutions lead to management regimes with lower environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the practical implications of the biodiversity conservation discourse as cultural policy. It deals with the ways communities, inhabitants and producers living in protected areas can use the biodiversity discourse for the protection of their territory and cultural identity. A comparative analysis is made between the nature reserve of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, and the extractivist reserve of Chico Mendes in Brasil. In both areas sustainable alternatives and handling programs are being carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]