Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

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

  • Original research article
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

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.

Resumen

Las plantas de humedales litorales como Typha domingensis y Schoenoplectus californicus llamados localmente tul proveen diversos servicios ecosistémicos en el Lago Atitlán, incluyendo la remoción de contaminantes, oxigenación y materiales para artesanías. Las comunidades humanas, en mayoría Indígenas del Pueblo Maya Tz’utujil, cuidan los humedales a partir del conocimiento ecológico tradicional (TEK, en Inglés). Nuestro fin fue evaluar la condición del humedal en cuatro comunidades Maya Tz’utujil (Santiago Atitlán, San Pedro, San Juan y San Pablo La Laguna, Guatemala), cada una con diferentes prácticas de manejo. Utilizamos una evaluación de la condición del humedal de cuatro niveles: (1) Extensión de la vegetación litoral medida con Sentinel-2 y Google Earth; (2) Medición de estructura y diversidad de plantas; (3) Evaluación de factores estresantes; y (4) entrevistas a tuleros, pescadores y artesanos. Santiago sobresalió como la comunidad con la mayor cobertura y número de parches de las tres especies, reflejando la interconexión entre sus características distintivas (e.g. morfología y extensión del litoral) y el rol del manejo indígena de los humedales. Entre las comunidades Maya, en Santiago y San Juan se mantienen más activas las prácticas tradicionales, mostraron humedales más saludables a pesar de ser más afectadas por la reducción del nivel del agua. El manejo indígena de los humedales basado en el TEK incluye acciones que mantienen los tulares a pesar de los factores estresantes y del efecto del cambio global, incluyendo la siembra y corte de tul y la extracción de macrófitas invasoras. El valor ecológico incorporado en el manejo Indígena de los recursos sugiere su inclusión en políticas públicas y la gestión ambiental gubernamental.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • Adamus P, Dorney J (2018) History of wetland and stream RAMs. In: Dorney J et al (eds) Wetland and stream rapid assessments. Academic Press, pp 1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • AMSCLAE (2020) Plan de manejo integrado de la Cuenca del Lago de Atitlán. Panajachel, Guatemala

  • Anderson KM (1999) The fire, pruning, and coppice management of temperate ecosystems for basketry material by California Indian tribes. Human Eco 27(1):79–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Báez-Lizarazo MR, Santoro FR, Albuquerque UP, Ritter MR (2018) Aquatic vascular plants as handicraft: a case study in southern Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 32(1):88–98. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-33062017abb0282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balaguer L, Escudero A, Martín-Duque JF, Mola I, Aronson J (2014) The historical reference in restoration ecology: Re-defining a cornerstone concept. Bio Conserv 176:12–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banack SA, Rondón XJ, Diaz-Huamanchumo W (2004) Indigenous cultivation and conservation of totora (Schoenoplectus californicus, Cyperaceae) in Peru. Econ Bot 58:11–20

  • Bates D, et al (2021) Package ‘lme4’: Linear Mixed-Effects Models using 'Eigen' and S4. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/lme4/index.html

  • Beetle AA (1950) Bulrushes and their multiple uses. Eco Botany 4(2):132–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02873315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger M (2008) El tul: refugio de vida y de cultura en Atitlán. In: Bravo Azurdia I (ed) Ivic de Monterroso M. Ciencia y Técnica Maya. Fundación Solar, Guatemala, pp 1–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2017) Sacred ecology, 4th edn. Routledge, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (2000) Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Eco Appli 10(5):1251–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun-Blanquet J (1932) Plant sociology: the study of plant communities. McGraw-Hill, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Censo (2018) Lugares poblados, Guatemala, INE. https://datos.ine.gob.gt/dataset/censo-2018-lugares-poblados

  • Costanza R, D’Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B, Limburg K et al (1997) The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387(6630):253–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, de Groot R, Sutton P, van der Ploeg S, Anderson SJ, Kubiszewski I, Farber S, Turner RK (2014) Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. Global Environ Change 26(1):152–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.04.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson NC (2014) How much wetland has the world lost? Long-term and recent trends in global wetland area. Marine Freshwater Res 65(10):934–41. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson NC, Van Dam AA, Finlayson CM, McInnes RJ (2019) worth of wetlands: revised global monetary values of coastal and inland wetland ecosystem services. Marine Freshwater Res 70(8):1189–94. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dix M, Fortín I, Medinilla O, Ríos LE (2003) Diagnóstico ecológico social en la cuenca de Atitlán. Universidad del Valle de Guatemala / The Nature Conservancy, Guatemala

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbs RJ, Davies CL, Walker ML, Pettit NE, Pusey BJ, Close PG, Akune Y et al (2016) Collaborative research partnerships inform monitoring and management of aquatic ecosystems by Indigenous rangers. Rev Fish Biology Fisheries 26(4):711–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-015-9401-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorney J, Savage R, Tiner RW, Adamus P (2018) Wetland and stream rapid assessments: development, validation, and application. Academic Press

  • Escutia-Lara Y, Lara-Cabrera S, Gómez-Romero M, Lindig-Cisneros R (2012) Common reed (Phragmites australis) harvest as a control method in a neotropical wetland in Western México. Hidrobiológica 22(2)

  • Escutia-Lara Y, Lara-Cabrera S, Lindig-Cisneros RA (2009) Efecto del fuego y dinámica de las hidrófitas emergentes en el humedal de La Mintzita, Michoacán, México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 80(3):771-78. https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2009.003.172

  • Everard M (2018) Traditional knowledge and wetlands. In The wetland book: I: structure and function, management, and methods, pp 1379-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9659-3_239

  • Faber-Langendoen D, Lemly J, Nichols W, Rocchio J, Walz K, Smyth R (2019) Development and evaluation of NatureServe’s multi-metric ecological integrity assessment method for wetland ecosystems. Eco Indicat 104:764–775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falkowski TB, Martinez-Bautista I, Diemont SAW (2015) How valuable could traditional ecological knowledge education be for a resource-limited future?: An emergy evaluation in two Mexican villages. Eco Model 300:40–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.12.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falkowski TB, Vázquez-Pérez JR, Chankin A, Campos-Beltrán AY, Rangel-Salazar JL, Cohen JB, Diemont SAW (2020) Assessing avian diversity and community composition along a successional gradient in traditional Lacandon Maya agroforests. Biotropica 52(6):1242–1252. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12832

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fennessy MS, Jacobs AD, Kentula ME (2007) An evaluation of rapid methods for assessing the ecological condition of wetlands. Wetlands 27(3):543–560. https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[543:AEORMF]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Polo J, Diemont SAW, Catalán M, Ávila M, Comité de Tuleros de Santiago Atitlán (2021) Monitoreo de las condiciones ecológicas y la vegetación nativa en la región litoral del Lago Atitlán Guatemala usando sensores remotos. Revista Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, 42:37-46

  • Garibaldi A, Turner N (2004) Cultural keystone species: implications for ecological conservation and restoration. Ecology and Society, 9(3)

  • Gaucherand S, Schwoertzig E, Clement JC, Johnson B, Quétier F (2015) The cultural dimensions of freshwater wetland assessments: lessons learned from the application of US rapid assessment methods in France. Environ Manage 56(1):245–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0487-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guest G, Namey EE, Mitchell ML (2013) Collecting qualitative data: a field manual for applied research. Sage

  • Hall SJ (2009) Cultural disturbances and local ecological knowledge mediate cattail (Typha domingensis) invasion in Lake Pátzcuaro México. Human Ecology 37(2):241–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-009-9228-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall SJ, Lindig-Cisneros R, Zedler JB (2008) Does harvesting sustain plant diversity in central Mexican wetlands? Wetlands 28(3):776–92. https://doi.org/10.1672/07-231.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haller WT (2002) Hydrilla in Lake Izabal, Guatemala. Current status and future prospects. Guatemala.

  • Harmsworth G (2002) Coordinated monitoring of New Zealand wetlands, Phase 2, Goal 2: Maori Environmental Performance Indicators for Wetland Condition and Trend. 22-24

  • Huertos ML, Smith D (2013) Wetland bathymetry and mapping. In Wetland techniques: Volume 1: Foundations, 49–86. Springer

  • Kentula ME (2007) Foreword: monitoring wetlands at the watershed scale. Wetlands 27(3):412–15. https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[412:FMWATW]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer R (2011) Restoration and reciprocity: the contributions of rraditional ecological knowledge. In Human dimensions of ecological restoration, pp 257-76. Washington, DC: Island Press/Center for Resource Economics. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-039-2_18.

  • LaBastille A (1974) Ecology and management of the Atitlán grebe, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Wildlife Monographs 3-66.

  • LaBastille A (1989) Drastic decline in Guatemala’s giant pied-billed grebe population. Environ Conserv 10(4):346–348. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900013072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenth R (2022) Emmeans: Estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means. R package version 1.7. 2. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/emmeans/index.html

  • López J (1990) Análisis del aprovechamiento de tul Scirpus californicus and Typha domingensis en la bahía de Santiago Atitlán, Departamento de Sololá. Thesis, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. http://biblioteca.usac.edu.gt/tesis/01/01_1242.pdf

  • Lothrop, SK (1933) Atitlan: an archaeological study of ancient remains on the borders of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Carnegie institution of Washington. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1934.36.2.02a00210

  • Macía MJ, Balslev J (2000) Use and management of totora (Schoenoplectus Californicus, Cyperaceae) in Ecuador”. Economic Botany 54(1):82–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGarigal K, Marks BJ (1995) Spatial pattern analysis program for quantifying landscape structure. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-351. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 1–122

  • Martin JF, Roy ED, Diemont SAW, Ferguson BG (2010) Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK): ideas, inspiration, and designs for ecological engineering. Ecol Eng 36(7):839–849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2010.04.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyerson LA, Mooney HA (2007) Invasive alien species in an era of globalization. Front Eco Environ 5(4):199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBryde FW (1945) Cultural and historical geography of southwest Guatemala. Smithsonian Institution, Institute of Social Anthropology, Publication No. 4. https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/publication41947smit

  • McGarigal K, Cushman SA, Ene E (2023) FRAGSTATS v4: spatial pattern analysis program for categorical maps. https://www.fragstats.org

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG (2015) Wetlands, 5th edn. John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-Mateos D, Power ME, Comín FA, Yockteng R (2012) Structural and functional loss in restored wetland ecosystems. PLoS Biology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001247

  • Newhall CG, Paull CK, Bradbury JP, Higuera-Gundy A, Poppe LJ, Self S, Bonar Sharpless N, Ziagos J (1987) Recent geologic history of lake Atitlán, a caldera lake in western Guatemala. J Volcanol Geothermal Res 33(1–3):81–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(87)90055-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen J et al (2019) Vegan: community ecology package. R package version 2.5-7. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/vegan

  • Pyke ML, Toussaint S, Close PG, Dobbs RJ, Davey I, George KJ, Oades D, et al. (2018) Wetlands need people: a framework for understanding and promoting Australian Indigenous wetland management. Ecology and Society, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10283-230343

  • Paredes R, Hopkins AL (2018) Dynamism in traditional ecological knowledge: persistence and change in the use of totora (Schoenoplectus Californicus) for subsistence in Huanchaco, Peru. Ethnobiology Letters, 9(2):169-79. https://doi.org/10.14237/EBL.9.2.2018.1176

  • Patience N, Klemas V (1993) Wetland functional health assessment using remote sensing and other techniques: literature search. Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-319, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  • R Development Core Team (2021) R: A language and environment for statistical computing (version 4.1.2). R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria

  • Reiss KC, Brown MT (2007) Evaluation of Florida palustrine wetlands: Application of USEPA levels 1, 2, and 3 assessment methods. EcoHealth 4(2):206–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-007-0107-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rejmánková E, Komárek J, Dix M, Komárková J, Girón N (2011) Cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Limnologica 41:296–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2010.12.003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rejmánková E, Sullivan BW, Ortiz Aldana JR, Snyder JM, Castle ST, Reyes Morales F (2018) Regime shift in the littoral ecosystem of volcanic Lake Atitlán in Central America: Combined role of stochastic event and invasive plant species. Freshwater Biology 63:1088–1106. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13119

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reo NJ, Ogden LA (2018) Anishnaabe Aki: an indigenous perspective on the global threat of invasive species. Sustain Sci 13(5):1443–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0571-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyes Morales F, Ujpan D, Valiente S (2018) Batimetría y análisis morfométrico del lago de Atitlán (Guatemala). Rev Científ Facult Cienc Quím Farm USAC 27(2):48–58

  • Rosenberry DO, Hayashi M (2013) Assessing and measuring wetland hydrology. In Wetland techniques: Volume 1: Foundations, 87–225. Springer

  • Russi D, ten Brink P, Farmer A, Badura T, Coates D, Förster J, Kumar R, Davidson N (2013) The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity for water and wetlands. IEEP, London and Brussels, Ramsar Secretariat, Gland

  • Segeplan (2018) Plan de desarrollo municipal y ordenamiento territorial, municipio de San Juan La Laguna. Sololá 2018–2032. Guatemala

  • Shappell LJ, Feldmann AL, Spencer EA, Howard TG (2016) New York State wetland xondition assessment, EPA Wetland Program Development Grant. www.nynhp.org

  • Shebitz D, Kimmerer RW (2005) Reestablishing roots of a Mohawk community and a culturally significant plant: xweetgrass. Restoration Eco 13(2):257–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2005.00033.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner J (2009) Indigenous peoples and lake basin management- lessons from Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM) Training materials. ILEC, Japan. 1-10

  • Stelk MJ, Christie J, Weber R, Lewis R.R.III, Zedler J, Micacchion M, Merritt J (2017) Wetland restoration: contemporary issues and lessons learned. Windham, Maine.

  • Stevens ML (2020) Eco-cultural restoration of riparian wetlands in California: case study of white root (Carex barbarae Dewey; Cyperaceae). Wetlands 40(6):2461–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01323-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomaz SM (2023) Ecosystem services provided by freshwater macrophytes. Hydrobiologia 850(12–13):2757–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04739-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiner RW (2018) Introduction to landscape-level wetland assessment. In: Dorney J et al (eds) Wetland and stream rapid assessments. Academic Press, pp 9–18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tiner RW, Lang M, Klemas V (2015) Remote sensing of wetlands: applications and advances. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Toledo VM, Icaza PA, García PA (1992) Plan Pátzcuaro 2000: investigación multidisciplinaria para el desarrollo sostenido. Fundación Friedrich Ebert

  • Turner NJ, Ignace MB, Ignace R (2000) Traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom of aboriginal peoples in British Columbia. Eco Appli 10(5):1275–1287. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[1275:TEKAWO]2.0.CO;2

  • Uprety Y, Asselin H, Bergeron Y, Doyon F, Boucher JF (2012) Contribution of traditional knowledge to ecological restoration: practices and applications. Ecoscience 19(3):225–37. https://doi.org/10.2980/19-3-3530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss. 1971. Water Quality Investigations in Guatemala Lake Atitlan.

  • Zedler JB (2016) Integrating traditional ecological knowledge with adaptive restoration. Ecosystem Health Sustain 2(6):2. https://doi.org/10.1002/ehs2.1222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler JB, Stevens ML (2018) Western and traditional ecological knowledge in ecocultural restoration. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2018v16iss3art2.

Download references

Acknowledgments

Financial contributions for this study were provided by the Society of Ethnobiology 2018 Ecological Knowledge Research Fellowship and a travel grant from The Randolph G. Pack Environmental Institute, SUNY ESF. The authors wish to thank Michelle Catalán and Miguel Ávila for their work in remote sensing at Grupo Consultor TopoSIG. Margaret Dix and Estuardo Bocel for field equipment of the CEA Lab. Thanks are also due to students of Universidad del Valle Campus Altiplano Walter Rodríguez and Emmanuel Pérez for their assistance in field surveys. The authors wish to express their deepest gratitude to the local community members for their time, for sharing their traditional knowledge and for access to their wetlands.

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Jorge Garcia-Polo, Stewart A. W. Diemont & Donald J. Leopold

  2. Centro de Estudios Atitlán, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Sololá, Guatemala

    Jorge Garcia-Polo

  3. Department of Forestry, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA

    Tomasz B. Falkowski

Authors
  1. Jorge Garcia-Polo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stewart A. W. Diemont
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tomasz B. Falkowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Donald J. Leopold
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

JGP and SAWD did study conception and design. JGP performed material and equipment preparation and data collection. JGP and SAWD wrote a first draft. TBF advised statistical analysis. DJL reviewed earlier versions of the manuscript and provided significant editions and comments. All authors contributed to commenting on previous versions and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jorge Garcia-Polo.

Ethics declarations

Competing Interests

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 2806 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Garcia-Polo, J., Diemont, S.A.W., Falkowski, T.B. et al. A wetland condition assessment to consider ecological relationships of a Maya cultural keystone species within the Lake Atitlan, Guatemala littoral zone. Wetlands 44, 39 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01793-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01793-9

Keywords

Palabras clave

Search

Navigation