Analysis of the agrobiodiversity of home gardens in the tropical regions of Mexico

Abstract

Traditional land use systems such as home gardens serve as a reservoir for plant genetic resources. Mexico is one of the centre of origin of cultivated plants and one of the richest countries in vascular plants. Therefore, the agrobiodiversity of Mexican home gardens gains special research importance. The attempt of the study is to provide an overview about the agrobiodiversity of the home gardens in the tropical region of Mexico. As a database served the information of 31 caution fully selected home garden studies from 12 different Mexican states. The data was used to create a complete floristic list that represents the species richness and infra- and interspecific diversity of home garden vegetation. In a further step, taxonomic and additional information about plant use and origin was analyzed. Moreover, complementary data was taken to describe influencing factors of agrobiodiversity in home gardens. In total 1347 plants were recorded (including 22 hybrids, 24 botanical varieties and 13 subspecies) that correspond to 149 plant families and 732 different genus. The portion of native plants, with 65%, is high. The species composition shows analogies to the natural vegetation of Mexico and to similar floristic regions of the world. Most of the home garden plants are dedicated to food production, followed by ornamental and medicinal use. Fruit trees are typical plant components. The home garden consists of various layers. According to the growth habit, most of the plants are expected to be found in the herb strata. The numerous listed local names indicate a high infraspecific diversity of home garden plants...