Abstract

RAMIREZ-CARBALLO, Heberto; PEDROZA-SANDOVAL, Aurelio; MARTINEZ-RODRIGUEZ, Juan Guillermo  and  VALDEZ-CEPEDA, Ricardo D.. Participatory assessment of the soil degradation in the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve. Rev. Chapingo ser. cienc. for. ambient [online]. 2011, vol.17, n.spe, pp.01-09. ISSN 2007-4018.  https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchscfa.2010.08.058.

Soil degradation assessment is important to perform restoration actions, helping to identify priority areas for its attention. However, common assessment methods exclude the participation of landowners, even though they are decision makers on land use and management. The aim of the current study was to generate information that supports decision making for the implementation of soil restoration actions. A participatory methodology was applied for the characterization of degraded areas in five livestock farms of the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve. Results show that 52 % of the 275 evaluated places have regular to priority condition. The main physical indicator of susceptibility to erosion was vegetation cover, which is being affected because of the high number of livestock located in watering places (2,802 hectares per watering place). When action research methodologies are used for social, physical and economic conditions of the protected natural area, participatory planning is workable in soil restoration affected by erosion.

Keywords : Participatory research; soil erosion; environmental impact.