An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico
Castor bean plants yield commercially important oilseeds with multiple uses; they are characterised by tolerance to drought and adaptation to marginal soils in arid and semi-arid regions. In northern Mexico, a large amount of arid land is categorised as “ejidos”: a system of mixed land ownership ma...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PAGEPress Publications
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Italian Journal of Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://agronomy.it/index.php/agro/article/view/2107 |
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| author | Carolina Vázque Chun Gabriel de Jesús Peña Uribe Armando López Santos Antonio de Jesús Meraz Jiménez |
| author_facet | Carolina Vázque Chun Gabriel de Jesús Peña Uribe Armando López Santos Antonio de Jesús Meraz Jiménez |
| author_sort | Carolina Vázque Chun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Castor bean plants yield commercially important oilseeds with multiple uses; they are characterised by tolerance to drought and adaptation to marginal soils in arid and semi-arid regions. In northern Mexico, a large amount of arid land is categorised as “ejidos”: a system of mixed land ownership managed under a specific legal system, where land users have access to common or individual (parcelled) land. This work aimed to examine the suitability of castor bean cultivation on unused marginal land in ejido land. To determine the environmental suitability of the ejido lands of Coahuila, Mexico, we adapted a land Productivity Index (PI) from an existing method; it consisted of a set of biophysical indicators (edaphic factors, climate, and topography) adapted to castor bean cultivation. We then complemented this index with a “cultural component”, assessing the ethnobotanical knowledge of the people, their willingness to implement a new crop type, and the type and current use of the land. As a result, we found that 114,300 ha of ejido land (1.76% of the total) were very suitable for castor bean cultivation according to the Environmental-PI and that 808,524 ha of ejido land (12.4% of the total) was very suitable according to the Cultural-PI. We also hypothesised that the willingness of “ejidatarios” to cultivate castor beans was related to their degree of knowledge about the plant and the land available for its cultivation; however, their willingness was mostly related to differences in land tenure: “ejidatarios” who own parcelled land were more interested in obtaining benefits from the land through the implementation of novel crops, compared to those who only have access to common land.
Highlights
• In Mexico, the “ejido” is a unique land ownership and management system where users have access to common or individual (parcelled) land.
• According to our Environmental Productivity Index, 114,300 ha of ejido land in Coahuila, México, were very suitable for castor bean cultivation.
• This index was complemented with a “cultural component” gauging the people’s perception and willingness to introduce castor bean as a new crop.
• 808,524 ha (12.4%) of ejido land were very suitable for castor bean cultivation according to the cultural component of our index.
• Differences in land tenure most strongly influence the willingness of the ejido people to cultivate castor beans.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:43:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ac1e17fbdf34ff79ed273077457ccb3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1125-4718 2039-6805 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:43:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Italian Journal of Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ac1e17fbdf34ff79ed273077457ccb32023-01-24T15:55:17ZengPAGEPress PublicationsItalian Journal of Agronomy1125-47182039-68052023-01-01AOP10.4081/ija.2023.2107An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in MexicoCarolina Vázque Chun0Gabriel de Jesús Peña Uribe1Armando López Santos2Antonio de Jesús Meraz Jiménez3Autonomous University of Chapingo, Postgraduate Programme in Natural Resources and Environment of Arid Zones of the Regional University Unit of Arid Zones, Bermejillo, DurangoAutonomous University of Chapingo, Postgraduate Programme in Natural Resources and Environment of Arid Zones of the Regional University Unit of Arid Zones, Bermejillo, DurangoAutonomous University of Chapingo, Regional University Unit for Arid Zones, Bermejillo, DurangoAutonomous University of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Ags. Castor bean plants yield commercially important oilseeds with multiple uses; they are characterised by tolerance to drought and adaptation to marginal soils in arid and semi-arid regions. In northern Mexico, a large amount of arid land is categorised as “ejidos”: a system of mixed land ownership managed under a specific legal system, where land users have access to common or individual (parcelled) land. This work aimed to examine the suitability of castor bean cultivation on unused marginal land in ejido land. To determine the environmental suitability of the ejido lands of Coahuila, Mexico, we adapted a land Productivity Index (PI) from an existing method; it consisted of a set of biophysical indicators (edaphic factors, climate, and topography) adapted to castor bean cultivation. We then complemented this index with a “cultural component”, assessing the ethnobotanical knowledge of the people, their willingness to implement a new crop type, and the type and current use of the land. As a result, we found that 114,300 ha of ejido land (1.76% of the total) were very suitable for castor bean cultivation according to the Environmental-PI and that 808,524 ha of ejido land (12.4% of the total) was very suitable according to the Cultural-PI. We also hypothesised that the willingness of “ejidatarios” to cultivate castor beans was related to their degree of knowledge about the plant and the land available for its cultivation; however, their willingness was mostly related to differences in land tenure: “ejidatarios” who own parcelled land were more interested in obtaining benefits from the land through the implementation of novel crops, compared to those who only have access to common land. Highlights • In Mexico, the “ejido” is a unique land ownership and management system where users have access to common or individual (parcelled) land. • According to our Environmental Productivity Index, 114,300 ha of ejido land in Coahuila, México, were very suitable for castor bean cultivation. • This index was complemented with a “cultural component” gauging the people’s perception and willingness to introduce castor bean as a new crop. • 808,524 ha (12.4%) of ejido land were very suitable for castor bean cultivation according to the cultural component of our index. • Differences in land tenure most strongly influence the willingness of the ejido people to cultivate castor beans. https://agronomy.it/index.php/agro/article/view/2107Arid regionscastor beancultural component ejidoproductivity indices. |
| spellingShingle | Carolina Vázque Chun Gabriel de Jesús Peña Uribe Armando López Santos Antonio de Jesús Meraz Jiménez An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico Italian Journal of Agronomy Arid regions castor bean cultural component ejido productivity indices. |
| title | An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico |
| title_full | An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico |
| title_fullStr | An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico |
| title_full_unstemmed | An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico |
| title_short | An index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate-resilient castor bean in rainfed low-productivity common lands in Mexico |
| title_sort | index of environmental and cultural suitability for the cultivation of climate resilient castor bean in rainfed low productivity common lands in mexico |
| topic | Arid regions castor bean cultural component ejido productivity indices. |
| url | https://agronomy.it/index.php/agro/article/view/2107 |
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