Abstract

NERI SUAREZ, Martín; BUSTAMANTE GONZALEZ, Angel; VARGAS LOPEZ, Samuel  and  GUERRERO RODRIGUEZ, Juan de Dios. Ecological representativeness of the natural protected areas of Puebla State, Mexico. Ecol. apl. [online]. 2015, vol.14, n.2, pp.87-93. ISSN 1726-2216.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the natural protected areas network design in the State of Puebla, Mexico. We hypothesized that, due to the fact that in Mexico the protected areas networks is based in an ad hoc design, the current natural protected areas network in the State of Puebla does not adequately represent existing state ecosystems. A gap analysis was conducted in order to identify conservation gaps and omissions of vegetation types in seven federal and 12 local natural protected areas. The results indicated that state natural protected areas network concentrate 15% of the natural vegetation. Although the national goal of protecting 12% of the national area is exceeded, the analysis found out conservation gaps in four vegetation types and conservation omissions in six vegetation types. It is suggested that new protected areas, and other initiatives for biodiversity conservation, should be directed to the protection of ecosystems unrepresented or underrepresented in the current network of protected natural areas of the State of Puebla, such as the seasonally dry tropical forest and the mountain cloud forest.

Keywords : gap analysis; protected natural areas; biodiversity; ecological representativeness; vegetation.

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