Conservation value of a natural protected area in the state of Puebla, Mexico

Resumen

Mexico has several natural protected areas (NPAs) managed by state administrations. However, the aims of these state NPAs seems to be more closely linked to local political contexts than to their importance as reservoirs of biodiversity. In this study, we assessed the conservation value of a small NPA located at the state of Puebla, the park Flor del Bosque. For this, we focused on two groups of organisms: woody plants and birds. Since this park contains both, well-preserved and human-disturbed habitats, we firstly compared the diversity of plants and birds between these habitat types. Later, to assess its conservation value, we compared the diversity of the park with that at an external, unprotected site with similar vegetation structure. Our results showed that the diversity of both groups of organisms is higher at well-preserved than at disturbed habitats of the park. Further, the analyses indicated that the whole diversity of the park is substantially higher than that at the external site. We then suggest that this kind of initiatives should be promoted by the governments of other states in order to determine the conservation value of their NPAs, which would allow them to develop adequate management programs for these sites.