Historical Notes on the Vegetation of the Rangelands of Chihuahua

Abstract

A historical review of the vegetation on the rangelands of Chihuahua, Northern Mexico is presented. Even-though notes and chronicles dealing with the vegetation are rather fragmentary, an interesting view of the vegetation through the eyes of the early Spanish explorers that first moved through Chihuahua is given. A sequence of historical documents giving brief descriptions of the vegetation, give an idea of the changes that have occurred through time. Through these fragmentary documents, it is possible to asses the impacts the mangement practices of the early settlers could have had on the vegetation. Also, the paper looks at the possible causes for vegetation change in the area. In most cases, drastic changes occurred. Valuable plant species have been depleted or eliminated, along with the encroachment of certain woody species such as Prosopia, Acacia, Eysenhardtla and others.