BACKGROUND Hñahñu (Otomi) farmers organize their experiences and ecological learning into a farmland system designed to grow food in areas of scarce water and low soil fertility. The purpose of this paper is to examine Hñahñu concepts and categories pertaining to the farming landscape and the ecological foundations underlying the system, its management implications, and categorial organization in Huitexcalco de Morelos, Mezquital Valley, Mexico. METHODS Native terms and their links to landscape were recorded and discussed in various workshops. Open interviews and field trips with local experts were used to explain soil and water management practices that allow Hñahñu farmers to maintain sustained yields throughout the year. We then used participatory mapping in order to explore the semantic relations of the terms with the space and its validity in the productive landscape. RESULTS We elicited 7 Hñahñu language terms related to landforms, 4 related to land use categories, and 17 related to their constituent components organized in two hierarchical levels. We found that mothe as a term of land usage was followed by mothee, ñut'athee, gadñhe, or muiñhe; these primarily refer to the topographic position of the parcel and the form of access to water for irrigation. Stone barriers and earth channels represent the functional structures that are most commonly used by Hñahñu farmers to retain soil and water. In the participatory mapping results, mothe muiñhe displayed a robust spatial link with the gullies. Identifying other landscape categories required a substantial understanding both of management practices of soil and water and forms of organization. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed a complex system of knowledge that contributes to the continued proper management of the local landscape. The terms and their elicited meanings are key to understand the ways in which Hñahñu farmers conceptualize and relate the reality of their landscape and its cultural meanings. Scale and perception were found to have a determining role in defining their taxonomic organization, semantic structure, and relations in space.

中文翻译：

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从空间意义上进行映射：桥接Hñahñu（乙女）生态知识和地理信息工具。

背景技术Hñahñu（乙女）的农民将他们的经验和生态学习组织到一个农田系统中，该系统旨在在缺水和土壤肥力低的地区种植粮食。本文的目的是研究墨西哥奈斯奎特山谷的韦特卡索·德·莫雷洛斯（Huitexcalco de Morelos）的Hñahñu概念和类别，这些概念和类别涉及农业景观和该系统的生态基础，其管理意义以及类别组织。方法在各种研讨会上记录并讨论了本地术语及其与景观的联系。公开采访和与当地专家的实地考察被用来解释土壤和水管理实践，这些实践使Hñahñu农民能够保持全年的持续单产。然后，我们使用参与式映射来探索术语与空间的语义关系及其在生产环境中的有效性。结果我们得出了7种与地貌有关的Hñahñu语言术语，其中4种与土地利用类别有关，17种与它们的组成成分相关，分为两个等级。我们发现，mothe是土地使用的术语，其后是mothee，ñut'athee，gadñhe或muiñhe。这些主要是指包裹的地形位置和灌溉用水的形式。石头屏障和土质通道代表了Hñahñu农民最常用于保留土壤和水的功能结构。在参与式制图结果中，人们展示了与沟壑的牢固的空间联系。确定其他景观类别需要对土壤和水的管理实践以及组织形式有充分的了解。结论本研究揭示了一个复杂的知识体系，该知识体系有助于继续适当管理当地景观。这些术语及其引出的含义是理解Hñahñu农民将其景观及其文化含义的现实概念化和关联的方式的关键。发现规模和感知在定义其分类组织，语义结构和空间关系方面具有决定性作用。这些术语及其引出的含义是理解Hñahñu农民将其景观及其文化含义的现实概念化和关联的方式的关键。发现规模和感知在定义其分类组织，语义结构和空间关系方面具有决定性作用。这些术语及其引出的含义是理解Hñahñu农民将其景观及其文化含义的现实概念化和关联的方式的关键。发现规模和感知在定义其分类组织，语义结构和空间关系方面具有决定性作用。