Botanical garden and arboretum: forest conservation strategies in anthropized landscapes of the Mexican tropics

Abstract

Botanical gardens and arboreta are considered relevant conservation instruments based on the alarming deforestation rates that forests have and the consequent impact on their diversity. In this paper, the diversity, conservation status and potential use of tree species in the botanical garden (JB) and arboretum (A) of the El Tormento Forest Technology Research and Transfer Center were analyzed. In the first, the sampling was carried out in a total area of 9 375 m2; while in the second the sampling was done in 1.6 ha. Both spaces represent vegetation of medium sub-evergreen forest, with 11 871 individuals which belong to 92 species and 35 families. JB was 1.6 times more diverse than A. 15 potential uses were documented in 98.9 % of the species with at least one registered use. Among the species in both collections, there are seven classified in the IUCN red list, two in CITES and eight in the NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. These results underscore the importance of the botanical garden and the arboretum as reservoirs of useful forest species from many different perspectives and as conservation spaces for threatened taxa from the medium-long sub-evergreen forests of southern Mexico.