Resumo

SAAVEDRA, Zenia; OJEDA REVAH, Lina  e  LOPEZ BARRERA, Faustino. Identification of threatened areas of environmental value in the Conservation Area of Mexico City, and setting priorities for their protection. Invest. Geog [online]. 2011, n.74, pp.19-34. ISSN 2448-7279.

Almost 60% of the Conservation Area of Mexico City is to the south within the Valley of Mexico; there is an extensive area of forests, scrub, wetlands, grasslands and agricultural zones. It is important for the city's sustainability because of the environmental services provided such as aquifer recharge, carbon sequestration and biodiversity. It is being threatened by human activities despite a program of ecological regulation; this is partly because environmental problems are not always immediately visible to the government and general public in terms of the need for prompt action. The present study uses spatial evidence to identify and prioritize threatened environmentally valuable areas. Data from a variety of sources are combined, and information geo-referenced with Geographical Information Systems is verified in the field. The resultant maps show that the most threatened ecologically valuable areas are as follows: the oak wood and scrub relicts east of Milpa Alta; the forests west of Cuajimalpa, Álvaro Obregón and Magdalena Contreras; the forests of the Pelado and Malacatepec volcanoes in Tlalpan; and the forests of the Tláloc and Chichinautzin volcanoes in Milpa Alta. These results could be used by decision makers to design timely strategies to protect the Conservation Area and its supply of environmental services to Mexico City.

Palavras-chave : Environmental value zones; threats; priority areas; environmental services; Suelo de Conservación; Distrito Federal.