Interacción sociedad-paisajes: elementos para el manejo de ecosistemas en la Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, México

The relationships  between society and natural ecosystems are complex and it is necessary to understand them in order to undertake actions that contribute to sustainable management. With the objective of evaluating the influence of some anthropogenic activities on the ecosystems that make up the Sierra Fria Protected Natural Area, 20 interviews were conducted, 10 of them directed at owners and 10 at ranch managers. The interview format included the past, present and future times, to analyze the activities and phenomena that have caused alterations in the landscape. Radial analyses were carried out to observe the main threats and detect the most frequently used biotic resources. The results show that the strongest disturbances decreased in the decades of the 1970s and 1990s. Currently, dead firewood extraction, wildlife hunting and forest sanitation are the most important management activities, while the main threats are habitat fragmentation and wild fauna extinction. The most frequently used biotic resources are wild fauna and live oaks (Quercus spp.), madrones (Arbutus spp.) and junipers (Juniperus spp.), as timber-yielding resources. The results obtained will serve to design management strategies with a socio-ecosystem vision in Sierra Fria, Aguascalientes.