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THE PLEASURES OF APPLYING RESEARCH

by José Sarukhán

It was 7:30 in the morning, already 28º C and more than 80% relative humidity. Struggling to dislodge myself from the razor-sharp thorns of the Mimosa vines that criss-crossed our path in the low deciduous tropical forest, and trying to avoid hitting my head on the overhanging nests of the "mata-venado" wasps, I wondered what the chances were that the research we carried out in the water catchments at the Chamela Tropical Biological Station would be applied. And, for that matter, how much of the basic ecological research that my research group and others at the Instituto de Ecología of the National University of Mexico were carrying out would be applied to solve the scores of ecological and environmental problems of our country. Manuel Maass, Angelina Martínez, Victor Jaramillo and I were walking toward a weir (an installation for gauging water flow) at one of the five water catchments we had been monitoring for more than ten years to assess their biogeochemical cycles. We wanted to establish strong baseline data from which to select catchments in which we would alter the vegetation (mimicking forms of local land-use) and assess the effect of the different disturbances on water, nutrient, and energy cycles. The doctoral research of Manuel Maass already had provided information on the effects of different types of cover (like leaf-mulching) on water runoff, mineral loss, and sediment loss of land cultivated for agriculture versus unprotected or forest soils. We wanted to produce enough information to extend Maass's work to peasant communities so they could be convinced of the results and make an effort to apply simple techniques to protect the soils, soil fertility, and the water retention capacities of the areas they had to deforest for cultivation. Besides collecting some of the first information for this type of tropical forest, we aimed at having the relevant results applied in conservation policies for the remaining forests or for better management of the already deforested areas.

I drifted into ecosystem ecology after almost ten years of research in plant population ecology, particularly the study of models of plant demography. I began research in this discipline with Professor John Harper in Welsh meadows. We studied buttercups, a system far removed from the tropical forests in which I had worked for seven years, except for the incredible dampness of the Welsh pastures. Back in Mexico, I started comparative demographic studies between trees of high-elevation temperate forests, tropical evergreen forests, and tropical deciduous forests. The research was not planned to render information applicable to the management of either the forests or the species I was working with, but it soon became obvious that many of the results could be applied to managing the forests or understanding much more of their dynamics. However, my students and I were far more concerned about producing high quality, innovative research that could be published in the best specialized journals. We were starting to build the bases of a research group in ecology in Mexico, and attaining high academic standards was my main focus if we wanted to really establish the solid foundations of a diversified and world class group. Application of our results was certainly not the highest priority in this process.

Ironically, my beginnings in ecological studies in the Mexican tropics were prompted by applied research. As an undergraduate in 1961-62 in Oaxaca, I studied the dynamics of secondary succession of tropical evergreen forests in Mexico immediately after abandonment of agricultural fields. This was the first study of its type for the tropical forests of the world, but it never was published in an English language journal, and therefore passed largely ignored by most people working in the then-incipient field of tropical ecology. It was a costly lesson that I learned with time. That piece of research was linked to studies of the availability of Dioscorea composita, the pharmaceutical yam which was at the time the main source of the compound Diosgenin (the natural precursor for synthesizing corticoids), of which cortisone and the contraceptives were the main pharmaceutical applications. Mexico was the world leader of these products at the time.

It was not until almost ten years ago, when I was involved in the design, and for a year with the daily operation, of CONABIO, the National Biodiversity Commission of Mexico, that I experienced the great pleasure (because it is a pleasure!) of seeing the results of academic research being consistently applied to the conservation policies of my country. The results of basic research on taxonomy and systematics, which has been and continues to be conducted by scores of people, resides in herbaria and museums in Mexico and in other countries around the world. CONABIO has compiled this information on the plants and animals of Mexico and developed the world's largest distributed GIS database (www.conabio.gob.mx). The database not only provides precise geographic locations for specimens, but also established a basis for the selection of prioritized Natural Protected Areas of Mexico, both terrestrial and marine. The CONABIO database facilitates prediction of potential species distributions based on a few known localities, making it easier to design potential protected areas for preservation of endangered species. We can also predict the potential distribution of introduced species and their potential effect on natural systems. After the destructive forest fire season of 1998, data provided by CONABIO helped protect areas of high biodiversity value in Mexico and prevent them from being converted to agricultural use.

I am convinced that in countries like mine, for ecological research to truly flourish and develop solidly, it should not only aim for academic excellence, but also seek from the beginning its possible application to the many needs for conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of natural ecosystems.

José Sarukhán Kermez received a 2001 SCB Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his leadership in using diverse mechanisms to coordinate and implement conservation activities and national environmental policy in Mexico.

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