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This paper focuses on Western Otomi, a Mexican native language spoken in the municipality of Temoaya in the State of Mexico (ISO 639-3 ott). Speakers recognize themselves as dri ñatho, which means 'I still speak' and differentiate themselves from people who only speak Spanish, even though they belong to the same community, as i ñamfo 'they speak Spanish'. This variety is underdocumented, mainly transmitted by oral tradition and spoken at home or with friends and neighbors. Hence, receptive speakers are common. Through this narrative from a Western Otomi speaker, we are offered a glimpse into what a day in the cornfields is like. In addition, this narrative gives us general insight into some features of the language. So, after introducing the cultural context of it, I present the narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antecedentes: Los sistemas agroforestales tradicionales (SAF) son capaces de mantener la diversidad vegetal nativa mediante diferentes prácticas campesinas. Preguntas: ¿En qué medida los SAF mantienen la composición, diversidad y abundancia de plantas perennes? ¿Qué variaciones hay entre distintos tipos de vegetación? Especies de estudio: Plantas perennes presentes en SAF asociados a bosques de cactáceas columnares, bosques templados, bosques espinosos, matorrales rosetófilos y selvas bajas caducifolias. Sitio y años de estudio: 13 comunidades del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, en Oaxaca y Puebla, México. Revisión de trabajos y datos propios publicados entre 2010 y 2020. Métodos: Evaluamos la composición florística, capacidad de conservación de diversidad y abundancia de individuos mediante un análisis de redundancia, la estimación de números efectivos de especies y modelos lineales generalizados en 30 SAF y 30 muestreos de la vegetación silvestre de la que derivan. Resultados: Los SAF analizados son capaces de mantener 68 % de la riqueza de especies y 34 % de los individuos de plantas perennes presentes en la vegetación silvestre circundante. Los SAF y la vegetación silvestre son semejantes en términos de composición y diversidad de especies, aunque en el caso del bosque espinoso hay una clara reducción del número de especies y un cambio en la composición. La abundancia de individuos es notoriamente menor en los SAF. Conclusiones: Los SAF son una alternativa capaz de resguardar una parte significativa de la diversidad vegetal nativa. La justa valoración y la promoción del manejo campesino agroecológico mediante SAF debe ser considerado en las políticas de conservación.

Background: Maize in Mexico exhibits great genetic diversity, maintained by traditional practices of indigenous and non-indigenous communities, the same practices that have led to crop diversification over centuries. As one of the main staple crops worldwide, safeguarding the genetic diversity of maize is paramount to food security. Aims: This study evaluated the genetic diversity and population structure of traditionally cultured maize landraces in a rural seasonal agricultural community in Veracruz, Mexico, in order to learn how traditional practices shape these landraces, and propose strategies for their preservation. Methods: We analysed 118 individual maize samples belonging to five morphotypes (white, yellow, black, red and mottled) with eight microsatellite markers. Results: We encountered high genetic diversity, according to expected heterozygosity (He = 0.61). However, inbreeding coefficient and gene flow values suggested the existence of assortative mating, which causes low genetic differentiation. Population structure analysis identified three genetic pools, independent of grain colour. These findings suggest that all morphotypes belong to the same population, which is sub-structured due to assortative mating and gene flow related to local agronomic management. Conclusions: Current management practices in this community could lead to genetic erosion. In order to preserve diversity, wider regional seed exchange and selection for morphological diversity could be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many native maize landraces are still cultivated by different ethnic groups in Mexico as part of traditional polyculture systems ( milpas ). However, these systems and landraces are being steadily replaced by fertilized monocultures of genetically improved varieties or maize hybrids. Little is known about how such changes may affect the belowground community of maize symbionts. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the composition of the indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities colonizing four Popoluca maize landraces and the hybrid Texcoco, and to determine how these communities are influenced by the level of phosphorus fertilization. Fragments of AMF ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were amplified using nested PCR, producing 327 Glomeromycota sequences. Phylogenetic analysis assigned the Glomeromycota sequences into 84 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). This number of OTUs more than doubles the figure previously reported for maize exposed to AMF native inoculum. Exclusive or very heterogeneous maize type-AMF associations were rare. Most AMF species colonized 2–4 maize types. This suggests that the high diversity of AMF in milpas is related to the presence of several native maize landraces and that replacement of these landraces with a single hybrid may diminish AMF community richness. All landraces associated with more OTUs under moderate P, compared to low P fertilization, suggesting that low inorganic phosphate (Pi) in milpas is limiting symbiotic interactions. However, only 0–20% of OTUs were conserved between different P conditions for each landrace. The Black landrace, which presented the highest AMF colonization and Pi uptake, was associated with the highest number of AMF OTUs, supporting previous suggestions regarding this functional relationship with AMF richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different degrees of dependency on the activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) exist between native maize landraces and hybrids. In Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, the Popoluca people maintain a traditional polycultural land management with more than 15 native landraces of maize; however, it is not known whether the recent substitution of local maize for improved hybrids and fertilization has affected the integrity of the mycorrhizal symbiosis in these naturally phosphorus-poor systems. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of four Popoluca maize landraces and the hybrid Texcoco to the presence of native AMF in conditions of low and medium P input (5 and 65 mg kg, respectively). After 120 days in both P treatments, the native landraces Black and Yellow presented higher colonization and had acquired more P in their shoot biomass than the hybrid. The moderate fertilization did not appear to have affected the integrity of the mycorrhizal symbiosis, since all of the maize types presented a positive mycorrhizal dependency (2-14 %). Under low P conditions, the Texcoco hybrid maize presented one of the highest mycorrhizal dependencies; however, unlike the local landraces, this was not reflected in a higher tissue P concentration. The results obtained indicate that the native maize Black was the best at capturing symbiotic and direct P, which makes this landrace an important genetic and cultural heritage for the Popoluca and for the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, the local Popoluca people maintain the traditional management of their maize agroecosystems. However, it is not known whether the loss of agrodiversity over recent decades has affected mycorrhizal populations, nutrient availability, and crop productivity. This study utilized linear mixed effect models to analyze the relationship between agrodiversity (three, six, and greater than or equal to eight cultivated species) and (a) arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculum potential, measured as the most probable number (MPN) of propagules and colonization level, (b) nutrient availability, and (c) aboveground maize productivity. We also investigated the relationship between soil nutrient content and inoculum potential. Soil samples were taken before planting, and during flowering, in the 2009 maize cycle. We found that AMF colonization level of maize roots and P availability increased with planted species richness, but that this effect only occurred at the flowering sampling date. Plots with a higher MPN of propagules presented increased C and NO contents and lower C/N ratio than those with lower MPN of propagules, regardless of agrodiversity. Soils that produced the highest maize root colonization level also featured high P availability and N content. We conclude that decreased agrodiversity in these traditional systems does not significantly affect the soil MPN of propagules, but may have a negative impact on the ability of the mycorrhizal community to colonize maize roots, as well as reducing the availability of P, which is often the most limiting nutrient in tropical soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic sampling of the flora was carried out between 1993 and 1999 in several evergreen tropical rainforest stands, "acahuales" (local name for old agricultural fields) of various ages and agricultural fields belonging to the Lacanhá Chansayab community, located at the Lacandonian tropical rainforest. Collected individuals were identified and processed as herbarium specimens, including information on life form, phenology and status of conservation. Four hundred and eighty five vascular plant species were recorded, corresponding to 355 genera from 104 families, which represent 11.23% of all species estimated for the area. Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Rubiaceae were the best represented families, as well as the genera Piper, Eupatorium, Encyclia, Chamaedorea and Solanum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]