Eco-Physiological Vulnerability of Quararibea funebris in Peri-Urban Landscapes: Integrating Gender and Nature-Based Solutions in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are essential for peri-urban resilience; however, a critical research gap exists regarding the lack of species-specific eco-physiological validation for interventions within complex biocultural systems. This study addresses this gap by assessing the vulnerability of Quararibea funebris, a shade-tolerant tree and biocultural keystone for the tejate economy in Oaxaca, Mexico, currently caught in an anthropogenic ecological trap. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating a geospatial analysis of land-use change (1992–2021), microclimatic monitoring, and ethnographic assessment of gendered management. Results reveal the loss of 1552 ha of forest buffer, which has degraded the thermal niche below the species optimum. Urban specimens are subjected to a Daily Light Integral exceeding 38 mol m−2 d−1, triggering biometric stunting and oxidative stress. Furthermore, given that seed recalcitrance limits ex situ conservation, the species’ persistence relies strictly on a domestic monopoly of irrigation managed by women, who effectively subsidize the environmental deficit. The study concludes that the current backyard conservation model has hit its ecological ceiling; sustainability requires a transition toward landscape-scale NbS—specifically biocultural corridors governed by local female knowledge—to restore the multi-strata canopy required to regulate the species’ eco-physiological limits.