Abstract

GONZALEZ ABRAHAM, Antalia; SCHMOOK, Birgit  and  CALME, Sophie. Spatio-temporal distribution of forest extractive activities in Caoba ejido, Quintana Roo. Invest. Geog [online]. 2007, n.62, pp.70-86. ISSN 2448-7279.

The objective of this work was to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of extractive activities in the forest of an ejido located in the southern area of the Yucatan Peninsula, with the purpose of evaluating its potential impact on the conservation of natural resources. The extractive activities selected were firewood collection, chicle extraction, wood extraction and hunting. In addition, we included the milpa, since this form of agriculture is closely related to forest dynamics and other evaluated activities. Thirty-two ejidatarios were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to obtain information regarding the ejido's extractive activities. Subsequently, sites where extractive activities take place were located using a GPS. A perturbation index was calculated for the elaboration of a sensitivity map based on the spatial summation of the perturbation indexes. The activity with highest perturbation index was the milpa, due to its all year round development and the frequency with which the peasants visit their plots. Also, this activity coincides spatially with firewood collection and, in many cases, with hunting. On the other hand, chicle extraction was the activity with lowest perturbation index because this activity is only conducted once a year, during the least critical period for fauna in the region.

Keywords : Natural resources; chicle gum; hunting; fuelwood; timber; milpa.

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