The Tropical Deciduous Forest of Alamos

Only a day's drive south of the U.S.-Mexico border,a tropical deciduous forest opens up a world of exotic trees and birds that most people associate with tropical forests of more southerly latitudes. Like many such forests around the world, this diverse ecosystem is highly threatened, especially by large-scale agricultural interests that are razing it in order to plant grass for cattle. This book introduces the tropical deciduous forest of the Alamos region of Sonora, describing its biodiversity and the current threats to its existence. The book's contributors present the most up-to-date scientific knowledge of this threatened ecosystem. They review the natural history and ecology of its flora and fauna and explore how native peoples use the forest's many resources. Included in the book's coverage is a comprehensive plant list for the Rio Cuchujaqui area that well illustrates the diversity of the forest. Other contributions examine tree species used by Mayo Indians and the numerous varieties of domesticated plants that have been developed over the centuries by the Mayos and other indigenous peoples. Also examined are the diversity and distribution of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and birds in the region. The Tropical Deciduous Forest of Alamosprovides critical information about a globally important biome. It complements other studies of similar forests and allows a better understanding of a diverse but vanishing ecosystem.

Barney T. Burns, Native Seeds/search, Tucson, Arizona Alberto burquez, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Hermosillo, Sonora Mahina Drees, Native Seeds/Search, Tucson, Arizona Rigoberto A. Lopez Estudillo, Dictus, Universidad de Sonora, Apartado Hermosillo, Sonora Charles H. Lowe, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson Manuel Maass, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Xangari, Morelia, Michoacan Paul S. Martin, Desert Laboratory, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson Angelina Martinez-Yrizar, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Hermosillo, Sonora Stephanie A. Meyer, Alamos, Sonora Gary P. Nabhan, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona Suzanne C. Nelson, Native Seeds/Search, Tucson, Arizona Ana Lilia Reina Guerrero, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona Stephen M. Russell, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson Andrew C. Sanders, Herbarium, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside Cecil R. Schwalbe, U.S. Geological Survey, Sonoran Desert Field Station, University of Arizona, Tucson Thomas R. Van Devender, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona Rebecca K. Wilson, Herbarium, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson David A. Yetman, Southwest Studies Center, University of Arizona, Tucson