Background:

Agroforestry systems integrate agricultural, forestry and cultural diversity and have been little studied in coastal regions of Mexico. The SA managed by mixtecs and afro-mexicans are unknown.

Questions:

Which agroforestry systems are found in Mixtec and Afro-Mexican communities? Which are the forms of management, agricultural and agroforestry practices and useful species in agroforestry systems?

Studied species:

Various.

Study site and dates:

Santa María Chicometepec, Cerro de la Esperanza, Collantes, Santa Elena Comaltepec, San Agustín Chayuco, Santiago Tetepec, Oaxaca. October 2021 to October 2022.

Methods:

Sixty semi-structured interviews were conducted with local specialists in three Mixtec and three Afro-Mexican communities. Questions were asked about traditional agroforestry systems, agricultural, agroforestry and management practices, and useful species. Tours and collections of herbarium specimens were carried out. Each system was described, management and agroforestry practices were categorized; and the number of useful species by category of use and cultural group was recorded.

Results:

Six agroforestry systems were recorded and described: milpa, pastures, plots, acahuales; piñal and coconut. Agricultural practices in Mixtec communities are carried out with basic tools and inputs and the production is for self-consumption and local sale, while in Afro-Mexican communities they are technical, and their destination is regional sale. The most common agroforestry practices were the boundaries and isolated trees.

Conclusions:

The cultural groups share agroforestry systems, forms of management, and number of useful species is similar, but they differ in agricultural practices. In the agroforestry systems, edible and timber species (firewood, poles, fences, construction) are mainly conserved.

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