Monarch Extinction (substantial evidence?)

Paul Cherubini monarch at saber.net
Tue Nov 18 03:44:33 EST 2003


MexicoDoug at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Paul, Read this summary by the government of the District of Mexico (Mexico
> City, Federal District) and then we'll talk.  Start with this: "problemas
> severos de destrucción de su hábitat."  Believe it or not there are many budding
> ecologists in Mexico, and in the DF. For a city so much pro-growth, perhaps
> you'll scratch you head after you check what they are saying. 

Doug, here is what one of those budding Mexican ecologists wrote about one
of the oyamel fir forests near Mexico city (on dplex-list in 1998):

Jurgen Hoth, in a paper: "Monarch Butterfly Myths and
other Winged Realities" wrote the following: 

"In the case of the Oyamel forest, although thought to have little 
resistance to fire (Rzedowski, 1981) the clearings caused by strong
 disturbances such as fire contribute to regenerating the forest
(Madrigal, 1967: 69; Manzanilla, 1974), thus helping maintain the 
natural dynamics of this type of forest.

Close to the Federal District [Mexico City] we already have an 
illustration of the negative consequences of complete protection: 
the Lions' Desert has hardly been logged or burnt since it was
declared a national park in 1917. 

That is, it was handled the same way ecologists suggest we handle
the Monarch forest. Today, however, the Lions' Desert could be called
the Oyamel Desert: indeed, without natural regeneration brought about 
by disturbances such as fire and moderate logging, the forest has lost
its vitality and is now extensively infested and in full decline." 

Paul Cherubini

 
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