Knowledge and use of biocultural diversity by Nahua in the Huasteca region of Hidalgo, Mexico

In the Huasteca region, high biological diversity and diverse ethnic groups converge. The implementation of metrics for biocultural diversity was developed based on metrics used in analyzes of biological diversity. We compared the results of the diversity known and used by two communities of Nahuatl origin established in two types of vegetation (Tropical Semi Evergreen Forest [TSEF] and Mountain Cloud Forest [MCF]). The fieldwork was carried out from January 2011 to December 2012; the ethnobiological information was collected combining the methods: percentual and snowball, additional applying as an ethnographic tool: multiple free lists and semi-structured interviews to 125 informants. The ethnobiological information was analyzed by adapting indexes used in the evaluation of biological diversity and multivariate methods. The informants identified 409 ethnospecies for both communities, although they only correspond to 383 biological species, the several taxonomic groups. The TSEF presents a greater richness of species-ethnospecies concerning the MCF. Eleven categories of use were identified, with the edible category being the most mentioned. In general, local people have extensive knowledge of the biological diversity present in their territory, and there are distinct differences in knowledge between communities established in different ecosystems. However, there is much similarity in knowledge and use of biodiversity, since both populations belong to the same cultural group. We believe that our results show the relevance of using the metrics used in the evaluation of biocultural diversity.