Use of columnar cacti in the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico: perspectives for sustainable management of non-timber forest products

Table 4 Diagnosis criteria and indicators to evaluate sustainability in the systems of natural resources management analyzed

System attribute	Critical points	Diagnosis criteria	Indicators
Productivity	Low productivity	Efficiency	Yield
	Low rentability		Cost/benefit relation
	Low rentability		Demand of labour hand
Equity	Low differentiated access level	Equity in access to the systems	Differential access to resources
Stability	Biological diversity	Diversity	Species richness
	Biological diversity	Diversity	Shannon diversity index
	Risk	Inter-annual rainfall variation	Variation in maize production
	System stability	Maintenance of biotic interactions	Impact on biotic interactions
Adaptability	Adoption of new systems	Capacity of technical innovation	Acceptance of the system
Autonomy	Dependence from outside	Self-sufficiency	Degree of inputs dependence

Based on the “framework for sustainability evaluation of natural resources management systems”, MESMIS [37]. Yield of the scenarios analyzed corresponds to the amount of fruits per hectare according to the percentage of fruit of each species collected in each vegetation type. The relation cost/benefit was calculated in terms of the amount of fruit and monetary incomes generated in each scenario. Labour hand demanded was calculated in terms of hours per person based on real actual observations of time invested in gathering. Differential access to resources was estimated in terms of rights and permits differently asked from local authorities to ejidatarios and comuneros. Information on biological diversity based on vegetation sampling in both forests and maize fields. Information on variation in maize production based on interviews to local people. Impact on biotic interactions is a qualitative estimation of the impact of harvesting fruits on frugivorous and granivorous species of the biotic community.

ISSN: 1746-4269