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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

In Mexico, some regions have frequent droughts, while others are beginning to experience their presence and impacts. Therefore, this work aimed to characterize drought in the last twenty-one years and evaluate the vulnerability of forests to this phenomenon. The method consisted of applying the standard precipitation index (SPI-12), calculating the drought vulnerability index (DVI), and applying it to the country’s forest areas. The results confirm that forests are vulnerable to drought for five main reasons. First, geographically, the country has large arid and semiarid areas with little natural precipitation. Second, droughts frequently occur and are present in the national territory, covering from 25% to 75% of the surface in recent years. Third, the socioeconomic characteristics of the population living in municipalities and forest territories increase the vulnerability of these areas to drought. Fourth, drought can trigger other catastrophes, such as fires or forest pests. Fifth, the combination of two or more of the above in the same territory magnifies exposure to drought for both forests and people. Temperate forest ecosystems, in particular, have been subject to the prevalence of drought in recent years and, thus, should receive more attention. Finally, technical and cartographic elements, such as those presented herein, are essential for supporting the formulation of proactive forest response plans to address drought events.

Details

Title
Drought and Vulnerability in Mexico’s Forest Ecosystems
Author
Noé San Agustín-Canales 1 ; Cruz-Sánchez, Yadihra 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ma Amparo Borja-de la Rosa 1 ; Ma Rosa González-Tepale 3 ; Alejandro Ismael Monterroso-Rivas 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 División de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Texcoco 56230, Mexico 
 Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Texcoco 56230, Mexico 
 Departamento de Preparatoria Agrícola, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Texcoco 56230, Mexico 
 Departamento de Suelos, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Texcoco 56230, Mexico 
First page
1813
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
19994907
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2869326401
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.