A wetland condition assessment to consider ecological relationships of a Maya cultural keystone species within the Lake Atitlan, Guatemala littoral zone

• Published in: Wetlands (Wilmington, N.C.) Vol. 44; no. 4; p. 39
• Main Authors: Garcia-Polo, Jorge, Diemont, Stewart A. W., Falkowski, Tomasz B., Leopold, Donald J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic plants; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coastal Sciences; Ecology; Ecosystem services; Ecosystems; Environmental Management; Environmental restoration; Fluctuations; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Hand crafted products; Handicrafts; Harvesting; Hydrogeology; Indigenous species; Keystone species; Lake shores; Lakes; Land use; Land use planning; Landforms; Landscape Ecology; Life Sciences; Littoral environments; Littoral zone; Macrophytes; Original Research Article; Oxygenation; Plant diversity; Plant extracts; Plant species; Plants (botany); Pollutant removal; Raw materials; Resource management; Schoenoplectus californicus; Typha domingensis; Vegetation; Water level fluctuations; Water levels; Watersheds; Wetland management; Wetlands; Guatemala; Lake Atitlan; nivel del agua; Water level; Invasive non-native macrophytes; Traditional ecological knowledge; macrófitas exóticas invasoras; Conocimiento ecológico tradicional; Tuleros
• ISSN: 0277-5212; 1943-6246
• DOI: 10.1007/s13157-024-01793-9

Littoral wetland plant species such as Typha domingensis and Schoenoplectus californicus both locally called tul provide diverse ecosystem services (ES) in Lake Atitlan. These ES include removal of pollutants, oxygenation, and raw material for handicrafts. Human communities, most of whom are Indigenous Maya, actively steward littoral wetlands informed by their traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Our goal was to assess the wetland condition in four Maya Tz'utujil communities (Santiago Atitlan, San Pedro, San Juan and San Pablo La Laguna, Guatemala), each with different management practices. We used a four-level wetland condition assessment: (1) littoral vegetation extent measured with remote Sentinel-2 and Google Earth photographs; (2) field plant surveys to measure vegetation structure and plant diversity; (3) wetland stressor assessment (stressors analyzed were land use, non-native macrophyte species [ Hydrilla verticillata ] and lake-level fluctuations); and (4) interviews with Maya Tz’utujil tuleros , fishers and artisans. Santiago stood out as having the highest cover and number of patches for all three species, reflecting its distinctive characteristics (e.g., lakeshore landforms and extent of wetlands) and the role of Indigenous wetland management. Of the four Maya communities, Santiago and San Juan had healthier wetlands despite being most affected by fluctuations in lake water level, reflecting the value of traditional management practices. Indigenous wetland management, informed by TEK, includes actions that sustain wetlands from stressors and global changes, including tul planting, harvesting, and extraction of non-native invasive macrophytes. Ecological value embedded in Indigenous resource management suggests the need to include these practices in governmental environmental management and policy.