Dendroenergetic species used for mezcal production in the Región Norte of the state of Guerrero

Abstract

Artisanal mezcal production in Northern state of Guerrero, Mexico, is a deeply rooted biocultural practice, where firewood plays a key role as the primary energy source. This ethnobotanical study was conducted in four communities with a strong mezcal tradition (El Calvario, Apetlanca, Temalac and Mezquitlán) to identify and analyze the dendroenergetic species that are used as fuel for cooking and distillation for mezcal production. Eighty semi-structured interviews were carried out with producers, representing 50 % of the total population in the study area. The Use Value (UV), Significant Use Level (SUL) and Direct Matrix Ranking (DMR) indices were applied. Results documented 15 timber species, with the Fabaceae family predominating due to its high density and calorific value. Species such as Lysiloma acapulcense and Leucaena esculenta showed the highest levels of cultural consensus (SUL>50 %). Inferential analysis showed highly significant differences in ethnobotanical knowledge and fuel consumption among locations (p<0.0001). It was identified that 90 % of producers use green firewood in at least one of their processes, a practice that compromises energy efficiency and increases pressure on the low deciduous forest. It is concluded that the sustainability of the mezcal system requires integrating community forest management and firewood traceability into regulatory frameworks such as NOM-070-SCFI-2016, recognizing dendroenergetic resources as an input as critical to the industry's identity and permanence as the agave itself.