The land classification system of the San Nicolás Zoyatlán (S Mexico) nahuatl indigenous community: A basis for a suitable parametric soil use proposal

Abstract

The incorporation of ethnopedological knowledge in soil science and the inclusion of indigenous communities as beneficiaries of the agricultural technology are indispensable premises to make a better use of soil. However, to achieve this, it is necessary to have clearer communication and understanding between peasants and soil specialists. This paper contributes to the understanding of the way in which the ethnopedologic knowledge of the community of Zoyatlán (Mexico) has been used in making decisions on soil management and production. It also proposes a methodological alternative that will contribute to the communication among land users and soil specialists. Our results show that Zoyatlán peasants identify seven soil types grouped into four classes according to their agricultural suitability. These classes are determined by distinctive land properties that enclose six agronomic characteristics of the topsoil and four specific characteristics of the work area. Based on this criteria, we designed a parametric method assuming that the agricultural suitability of the land is determined by several characteristics of the topsoil; among them topsoil thickness was outstanding. This characteristic was susceptible to being represented parametrically by numerical values (obtained from a mathematical model), which is a single numerical expression of topsoil thickness performance. The application of this methodology provided information that is useful and can easily be interpreted by both the peasants and the soil specialists. Furthermore, this information can be represented at different cartographic scales