IDENTIFICATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED BY HOME GARDENS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE OF MÉXICO

Abstract

The current socio-environmental crisis characterized by climate change and the loss of biodiversity requires huma- nity to revalue its interaction with nature. The homegardens is located around the house, where the family applies agronomic, ecological, and cultural knowledge in the cultivation of plants. In this sense, it is an agroecosystem that favors the society-environment relationship. The aim of this study was to identify and describe the ecosystem services provided by homegardens in three rural localities in the south of the State of Mexico, Mexico. The method to investigate how people identify ecosystem services in homegardens consisted of participatory research and involved participant observation ethnographic techniques, systematic walkthrough, questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and participatory workshops. In total, 28 ecosystem services were identified, the results reveal that the sociocultural context is crucial to understand the multifunctionality of the homegardens. Ecosystem services, cultural and provision, were better recognized by local collaborators because of the products they obtain, while those of regulation and support were less perceived for being intangible. It is concluded that the local population recognizes ecosystem services for the diverse benefits of the homegardens, and that people have valuable traditional ecological knowledge that influences the use of species for their wellbeing.