Abstract
Modern agricultural practices pose serious threats to biodiversity worldwide. Species losses from habitat conversion are well documented, but indirect impacts such as reduced water availability to adjacent ecosystems are less known. San Quintín is an important agricultural valley in the mediterranean climate region of Baja California, Mexico. The region is also a hotspot of plant species richness and endemism. Plant species in the region are here analyzed by comparison of the contemporary flora to historical botanical collections to identify extirpations. Historical collections indicate that habitat loss to agriculture has been a direct cause of species losses. As importantly, the unsustainable extraction of groundwater has apparently led to salt water intrusion, resulting in the loss of 22 native plant taxa, including 13 rare plants. Seventy-eight percent of all the vernal pool taxa have been lost from the flora (including 85 % of the rare taxa) and 11 % of plants of riparian and pond habitat (including 25 % of the rare taxa) are no longer found in the region. Unsustainable agricultural practices continue to threaten fragile coastal ecosystems and are a serious challenge to current and future conservation efforts. Ironically, these same practices frequently result in abandonment of cultivated areas. Owing to indirect impacts, conservation of biodiversity and large-scale agricultural operations are even less compatible on a regional scale than indicated by direct impacts. It is vital that sustainable agricultural practices be adopted locally and globally to avoid further losses of biodiversity.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- CFP:
-
California Floristic Province
- GSQ:
-
Greater San Quintín
References
Aguirre-Muñoz A, Buddemeier RW, Camacho-Ibar V, Carriquiry JD, Ibarra-Obando SE, Massey BW, Smith SV, Wulff F (2001) Sustainability of coastal resource use in San Quintín, Mexico. AMBIO 30:142–149
Baldwin AH, Mendelssohn IA (1998) Effects of salinity and water level on coastal marshes: an experimental test of disturbance as a catalyst for vegetation change. Aquat Bot 61:255–268
Baskin Y (1994) California’s ephemeral vernal pools may be a good model for speciation. Bioscience 44:384–388
Brooks TM, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB, Rylands AB, Konstant WR, Flick P, Pilgrim J, Oldfield S, Magin G, Hilton-Taylor C (2002) Habitat loss and extinction in the hotspots of biodiversity. Conserv Biol 16:909–923
Cartron JE, Ceballos G, & Felger RS (eds). (2005) Biodiversity, ecosystems and conservation in Northern Mexico. Oxford University Press, New York, USA. 496 p.
Castellanos AE, Martinez MJ, Llano JM, Halvorson WL, Espiricueta M, Espejel I (2005) Successional trends in Sonoran Desert abandoned agricultural fields in northern Mexico. J Arid Environ 60:437–455
Dedina S (2007) Baja California land rush. US residents flock to build on Mexico’s unprotected coast. Calif Coast Ocean 23:1–5
Ellstrand NC, Elam DR (1993) Population genetic consequences of small population size: implications for plant conservation. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 24:217–242
Finkl CW Jr (ed) (1994) Coastal hazards, perception, susceptibility and mitigation. J Coast Resour 12(special issue):372
Fuller T, Sánchez-Cordero V, Illoldi-Rangel P, Linaje M, Sarkar S (2007) The cost of postponing biodiversity conservation in Mexico. Biol Conserv 134:593–600
Guilliams CM, Mata S, Delgadillo J (2012) Charcas temporales de Valle de Las Palmas: a first report from an ongoing project to map and assess the vernal pools of Baja California, México. In: California Native Plant Society 2012 conservation conference, San Diego, 10–14 January 2012
Kangas M (2005) Vernal pools: a little known but critical habitat. Front Ecol Environ 3:286
Keeley J, Zedler PH (1998) Characterization and global distribution of vernal pools. In: Witham CW, Bauder ET, Belk D, Ferren WR Jr, Ornduff R (eds) Ecology, conservation, and management of vernal pool ecosystems: proceedings from a 1996 conference. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, pp 1–14
Llamas MR (1988) Conflicts between wetland conservation and groundwater exploitation: two case histories in Spain. Environ Geol Water Sci 11:241–251
Martínez-Veloz J (2012) http://terrapeninsular.blogspot.mx/2012/01/san-quintin-valley-agricultural.html. Accessed 18 Nov 2012
McGlaughlin A, Mineau P (1995) The impact of agriculture on biodiversity. Agric Ecosyst Environ 55:201–212
Moran R (1981) Vernal pools in Northwest Baja California, Mexico. In: Jain S, Moyle P (eds) Vernal pools and intermittent streams: a symposium. Institute of Ecology Publication # 28, UC Davis, Davis, pp 173–184
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da-Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858
O’Brien B, Delgadillo-Rodríguez J, Junak SA, Oberbauer TA, Rebman JP, Riemann H, Vanderplank SE (in press) Rare, endangered and endemic plants of the California floristic province portion of Baja California, Mexico. Aliso.
Oude Essink GHP (2001) Improving fresh water ground supply—problems and solutions. Ocean Coast Manag 44:429–449
Pombo A, Breceda A, Valdez Aragón A (2008) Desalinization and wastewater reuse as technological alternatives in an arid, tourism booming region of Mexico. Fronterra Norte 20:191–216
Raven PH, Axelrod DI (1978) Origin and relationships of the California Flora. Univ Calif Publ Bot 72:1–134
Riemann H, Ezcurra E (2005) Plant endemism and natural protected areas in the peninsula of Baja California, Mexico. Biol Conserv 122:141–150
Riemann H, Ezcurra E (2007) Endemic regions of the vascular flora of the peninsula of Baja California, Mexico. J Veg Sci 18:327–336
Soto HJA (1987) Identificación taxonómica de malezas en cultivo de tomate Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. en la región de San Quintín. B.C. Tesis de Licenciatura, Esculela Superior de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, B.C., México
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) (2007) Conservation vision for Bahia de San Quintín. Report from the Conservation Biodiversity Institute
Vandenbohede A, Van Houtte E, Lebbe L (2009) Sustainable groundwater extraction in coastal areas: a Belgian example. Environ Geol 57:735–747
Vanderplank SE (2010) The vascular flora of Greater San Quintín, Baja California. Thesis for completion of MSc, Claremont Graduate University
Vanderplank SE (2011) The flora of Greater San Quintín, Baja California, Mexico 2005–2010. Aliso 29:65–106
Wiggins I (1980) The flora of Baja California. Stanford University Press, Stanford
Zalidis G et al (2002) Impacts of agricultural practices on soil and water quality in the Mediterranean region and proposed assessment methodology. Agric Ecosyst Environ 88:137–146
Zektser S, Loáiciga HA, Wolf JT (2005) Environmental impacts of groundwater overdraft: selected case studies in the southwestern United States. Environ Geol 47:396–404
Acknowledgments
This work represents part of Vanderplank’s master’s research at Claremont Graduate University and doctoral studies at the University of California, Riverside. Funding was generously provided by The Jiji Foundation. Jon Rebman (San Diego Natural History Museum) generously assisted with plant identifications and access to specimen data. Many people helped with field work, Vanderplank is particularly grateful to Naomi Fraga, Sergio Mata, and Bart O’Brien for their continued support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by David Hawksworth.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vanderplank, S., Ezcurra, E., Delgadillo, J. et al. Conservation challenges in a threatened hotspot: agriculture and plant biodiversity losses in Baja California, Mexico. Biodivers Conserv 23, 2173–2182 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0711-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0711-9