Advances in Research on Plant Genetic Resources of Mexico :: Ecology Ecological Nature Mexico Essays

Advances in Research on Plant patrimonial Resources of MexicoWe read in this book that in Mexico can be effectuate 30,000 of the 250,000 species of higher plants so far described. Between 5,000 to 7,000 of Mexican species ar deemed to be of economic use, and of these, 1,000 to 1,500 are edible. According to a conservative estimate cited here, 10% of genera and 52% of species found in Mexico are endemic. This makes Mexico, a country that ranks fourteenth globally in terms of territorial extension, the fourth country in terms of biodiversity. It is therefore evident that an understanding of Mexican flora, in join with effective strategies for use and preservation, is of first importance for our plant-dependant, agricultural world. Contributors to this work turn over for this and more 1) the urgency of halting degradation of biological and cultural environments that are closely tied to the use and preservation of many important ecotypes, 2) the import of social issues that affect the viability of ways of life that have created, and that maintain, important stores of the worlds genetic diversity, 3) the need for coordinated strategies and action between field initiatives and those of inter content germplasm agencies.It is straightforward to see Mexican scientists earnestly wrestling with such issues. The book consists of the transactions of the trinity meeting on Mexican biodiversity (8-9 February, 1990), organized jointly by the Mexican Society of Plant Genetics (SOMEFI) and the Botanical Garden of Mexicos national university (UNAM). Strongly represented are top researchers from UNAMs Biology department, from the agricultural university of Chapingo, from the national agricultural research agency (INIFAP), and from the PostGraduate College, Mexicos premiere institutions for the study of bionomic and agricultural sciences. Significantly, the book is dedicated to one of the foremost authorities on Mexican flora and traditional farming systems, Efraim Hernn dez Xolocotzi, who was to die a social class after presenting the lead paper at this conference.The proceedings have been intimately edited for book format. Text is in Spanish, with a summary provided for apiece chapter in Spanish and excellent English. The book is organized into six study sections, including papers on the general philosophy of biodiversity preservation, regional studies, basic studies, the policies of supranational preservation societies, and a succinct summary of the discussions of the symposium. However, the pith of the book is the third section, consisting of depth reviews of current germplasm status for several major species of useful Mexican plants, including Zea, Phaseolus, Amaranthus, Capsicum, Cucurbita, Physalis, Sechium, Persea, Crataegus, Agave, and several medicinal species.