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The evaluation of cultural ecosystem services based on the exploration of social values (SV) is a powerful tool to describe visitors’ perceptions of a natural landscape. A natural setting in the southwest of Mexico City lacks effective management due to insufficient understanding of visitors’ behavior and their interactions with natural resources. We profiled two visitor groups, rock climbers and non-rock climbers, assessed the SV they ascribed to a popular natural recreational park, and explored associations between SV and particular landscape features. Data collection was based on field observations, questionnaires, and a photograph-based approach. Cross tabulations, chi-square tests, and basic map algebra were used to process data. Results showed statistical differences between the two visitor groups concerning park use, but not in the perception of SV. The main SV people ascribe to the park are natural, recreational, and productive values, although results differ depending on the location of the park. Landscape features such as forest cover, remoteness, elevation, and rock formations are strongly interlinked to specific SV. This study can contribute towards an understanding of differentiated park use and perceptions of cultural ecosystem services by visitor groups. This can be integrated into management plans for recreational parks in Mexico.

Trace metal enrichments in soil and native maize ( Zea mays L.) in Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve was analyzed due to its direct relation with food security. pH and organic matter (OM) content were obtained in soil, concentrations trace metals were determined in agricultural soil and plant collected from 10 maize plots using ICP-OES. Soil contamination was evaluated using contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), and geoaccumulation index (Igeo), plant contamination was evaluated using bioconcentration factor (BCF). Soils characteristics indicates higher pH values (8–8.9), which favors metal’s translocation from soil > plant. Mean concentrations (mg/kg) of Cr (soil: 0.02–0.04; plant: 0–0.01), Fe (soil: 0.77–1.17; plant: 0–0.40), and Zn (soil: 0–0.01; plant: 0–0.01) were within the FAO/WHO and Mexican government soil standards. CF values were classified as “low contamination,” however, Cd, Mn, and Fe indicates “medium contamination” in maize crops. EF values of metals in farmlands were recorded as “lower enrichment values.” BCF showed accumulation of trace metals (especially Fe and Mn) in roots, which acts as a binding element for other trace metals, where OM is low. Overall results in this study suggest that the selected trace metals in the agricultural soils and plant have no appreciable threat to food safety.

Los indicadores de sustentabilidad permiten evaluar los impactos ambientales relacionados con la estrategia del desarrollo sustentable. En este estudio realizado en Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche considerada una isla de barrera que se localiza al sureste de México. El municipio canaliza la disposición final de los residuos sólidos urbanos (RSU) a través de un relleno sanitario el cual se encuentra ubicado en una zona de manglar, teniendo un impacto negativo en el medio ambiente lo que incide negativamente en el desarrollo sustentable. Mediante el análisis sedimentológico del subsuelo, se obtuvieron resultados que identificaron la dominancia de arenas carbonatadas, lo que permitió definir un rango de porosidad del 20,2 al 40,1%, y permeabilidad de ±10-2-10-4 m/s darcys, es decir, los sedimentos presentan una buena porosidad y una permeabilidad alta. Por su parte, mediante un análisis de la calidad del agua, se detectaron concentraciones de Demanda Bioquímica de Oxígeno (DBO5) y Demanda Química de Oxígeno (DQO) de 63,06 y 1,338.13 mg/L, respectivamente, así como la presencia de concentraciones traza de algunos metales pesados. Estos valores permitieron clasificarlo como un cuerpo de agua fuertemente contaminado.