Studies of plant hydraulics and water relations in mexican environments: adaptation, physiology, and applications

Estudios sobre hidráulica y relaciones hídricas de plantas en ambientes mexicanos: adaptaciones, fisiología y aplicaciones

RODRIGO MENDEZ ALONZO Mark Olson Horacio Paz Casandra Reyes García CELENE MARISOL ESPADAS MANRIQUE CLARA TINOCO OJANGUREN Santiago Trueba (2022, [Artículo])

Given the outstanding global progress of research on the hydraulic pathway in plants, and its important role as an indicator of plant mortality risk, we reviewed: (1) the adaptive basis of hydraulic traits and their importance for overall plant function; (2) the number of primary scientific articles on plant hydraulics that have been produced in Mexico in the last 40 years, (3) research related to specific environments in Mexico, and (4) the possible applications of plant hydraulics to natural resource management. Our systematic review included 83 articles. The number of publications per year steadily increased over time, reaching its maximum in 2021. Veracruz and Yucatán are the states where the majority of scientific articles on plant hydraulics have been produced, but for most states less than two publications on this subject appeared in ca. 40 years, and none was found for Oaxaca and Chiapas, the most biodiverse states. In plant hydraulics, the most studied biome in Mexico was the tropical dry forest, followed by crops; trees were the most studied growth-form, followed by herbaceous crops and epiphytes. We point to the need of enhancing research in the interface between plant hydraulic function and remote sensing, as well as developing applications in adaptive forest management and ecological restoration. We hope that this review may ignite a national collaborative effort to quantify critical traits that could inform the hydraulic functioning of Mexican ecosystems, particularly in the underrepresented and highly diverse states of Mexico. © 2022 Sociedad Botanica de Mexico, A.C. All rights reserved.

ADAPTATION DROUGHT VULNERABILITY ECOPHYSIOLOGY PLANT WATER RELATIONS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

The input reduction principle of agroecology is wrong when it comes to mineral fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa

Gatien Falconnier Marc Corbeels Frédéric Baudron Antoine Couëdel leonard rusinamhodzi bernard vanlauwe Ken Giller (2023, [Artículo])

Can farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) boost crop yields and improve food availability without using more mineral fertilizer? This question has been at the center of lively debates among the civil society, policy-makers, and in academic editorials. Proponents of the “yes” answer have put forward the “input reduction” principle of agroecology, i.e. by relying on agrobiodiversity, recycling and better efficiency, agroecological practices such as the use of legumes and manure can increase crop productivity without the need for more mineral fertilizer. We reviewed decades of scientific literature on nutrient balances in SSA, biological nitrogen fixation of tropical legumes, manure production and use in smallholder farming systems, and the environmental impact of mineral fertilizer. Our analyses show that more mineral fertilizer is needed in SSA for five reasons: (i) the starting point in SSA is that agricultural production is “agroecological” by default, that is, very low mineral fertilizer use, widespread mixed crop-livestock systems and large crop diversity including legumes, but leading to poor soil fertility as a result of widespread soil nutrient mining, (ii) the nitrogen needs of crops cannot be adequately met solely through biological nitrogen fixation by legumes and recycling of animal manure, (iii) other nutrients like phosphorus and potassium need to be replaced continuously, (iv) mineral fertilizers, if used appropriately, cause little harm to the environment, and (v) reducing the use of mineral fertilizers would hamper productivity gains and contribute indirectly to agricultural expansion and to deforestation. Yet, the agroecological principles directly related to soil fertility—recycling, efficiency, diversity—remain key in improving soil health and nutrient-use efficiency, and are critical to sustaining crop productivity in the long run. We argue for a nuanced position that acknowledges the critical need for more mineral fertilizers in SSA, in combination with the use of agroecological practices and adequate policy support.

Manure Crop Yields Smallholder Farming Systems Environmental Hazards CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION LEGUMES NUTRIENT BALANCE SOIL FERTILITY AGROECOLOGY YIELD INCREASES LITERATURE REVIEWS

Revisiting the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Pithecellobium clade (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae) with new generic circumscriptions

Iván Tamayo-Cen Benjamin Torke JOSE ENRIQUE LOPEZ CONTRERAS GERMAN CARNEVALI FERNANDEZ CONCHA Ivón Mercedes Ramírez Morillo Lilia Lorena Can Itza RODRIGO STEFANO DUNO (2022, [Artículo])

We present the most complete molecular phylogeny to date of the Pithecellobium clade of subfamily Caesalpinioideae. This neotropical group was informally recognised (as the Pithecellobium alliance) at the end of the 20th century by Barneby and Grimes (1996) and includes five genera and 33 species distributed from the southern United States and Caribbean Islands to north-eastern South America. Our aims were to further test the monophyly of the group and its genera and to identify sister group relationships within and amongst the genera. A phylogenetic analysis of nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences (ITS and ETS) was performed. The results provide further support for the monophyly of the Pithecellobium clade. The genera Ebenopsis, Pithecellobium and Sphinga were strongly supported as monophyletic. Havardia and Painteria were found to be non-monophyletic, prompting their re-circumscriptions and the description of two new genera: Gretheria and Ricoa. New combinations are made for the three species transferred to the new genera. © Iván Tamayo-Cen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

FABACEAE INGEAE INGOID CLADE MIMOSOID NEW WORLD PHYLOGENETIC SYSTEMATIC TAXONOMY BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) TAXONOMÍA VEGETAL TAXONOMÍA VEGETAL