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Indigenous Mexican agroecosystems have been of considerable interest to the scientific community in recent years. Much attention has been focused on the archeological and agricultural significance of ancient Maya raised-field systems in the tropical lowlands of southeastern Mexico (Matheny, 1976; Turner and Harrison, 1981) and the chinampa system in the Valley of Mexico (Coe, 1964; Armillas, 1971). Most of these formerly intensively cultivated agricultural areas exist today only as relics on the landscape, often visible only from the air, and have been studied primarily from an archeological or sociological standpoint. On the other hand, the local farmers (campesinos) in many areas in modern-day Mexico have continued to manage several different traditional agroecosystems using time-honored farming methods. These methods balance productivity by using practices designed to sustain long-term crop production rather than maximize it on a short term basis (Gliessman et al., 1981). In addition to the more obvious effect of sustained agricultural yield, some of these systems appear to suppress or check the development of various plant diseases associated with the soil (Garcia-E., 1980; Garcia-E., pers. observ.). |
