The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has put online a Environmental Atlas North America
. This tool can help us consider what may be the reasons for the "change of land use" or deforestation. 
The Interactive Atlas is available at http://www.cec.org/atlas/sp.html Section of terrestrial ecosystems, is the map of Land cover, allowing you to place roughly the distribution of forests, jungles, bushes, grass and other vegetation covers. In the context of approaches
Johann von Thunen, Ester Boserup
or Norman Borlaug, two interesting features can be highlighted on that map. one hand, is north of the vast band of forests and wilderness areas temperate and sub-polar. This area is well suited to the concepts of von Thünen: are areas with good forest cover, which are far more densely populated by humans. It seems that the production costs and freight, would not be profitable to open land for agriculture and transport agricultural products to market. Could be characterized as areas not yet reached the "penetration" of agricultural land uses. On the other hand, emphasizes the eastern United States and Mexico, from New York to Mexico City and the Yucatan Peninsula, also have considerable forest cover, but at the same time have some of the largest cities of the subcontinent. The coexistence of increased population density and forest cover does not fit the model of the "penetration" of the agricultural economy into the forest regions. This coincidence suggests rather that have developed technology that have allowed employers face growing public demand without removing the entire forest cover, as suggested by Boserup happens when the population density grows.
Atlas of CCA, has another interesting map. In the section on "human influence" is the map of human influence on terrestrial ecosystems. Based on population density, infrastructure, communications and nocturnal emission light, this map shows the areas most affected by human activities. Superimposed on land cover, are the two trends mentioned patents. On the one hand, the strip of woodland north of temperate and sub-polar is shown as a vast area that has been stolen from human influence and penetration of the agricultural economy. But on the other hand, the great eastern edge, is presented as the area of \u200b\u200bgreatest impact of human activities that nevertheless retains a significant forest cover.
Zooming in Mexico, there are also distinct patterns. On the one hand they may be areas where conservation of forest cover could be explained as lack of penetration of the agricultural economy. This is evident in the Sierra Madre Occidental, in the Maya forest of Quintana Roo and Campeche, in the Lacandon jungle of Chiapas and in the jungle of the Chimalapas in Oaxaca. The prevalence of cropland in the Coastal Plain, also supports the idea that the loss of forest cover has been caused by the penetration of the agricultural economy. But another trend is observed in the strong human influence has not led to the removal of forest cover, possibly because it has developed a better ability to agronomic and technological frameworks generally able to meet the demand for free food having to remove forest cover, following the approach of Ester Boserup.
is remarkable coexistence of forest areas and human activities in the transverse volcanic axis, since in this age is a significant forest cover and are the cities of Guadalajara, Mexico and Puebla. In Michoacan, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, there is a mosaic pattern of deforested areas with high impact of human activities and forest cover areas, which also suggest that there is a pattern that has allowed technology meet the demand of agricultural products without resorting to total removal of forest cover.
Environmental Atlas North America, includes a map of "anthropogenic biomes." In this map, is located at the subcontinental level again, the strip temperate and sub-polar north, as the area where the wild and remote forests. Wastelands are also seen in wild and remote areas with little human influence. Most of the rest of the sub continent, are formations of trees, forest or farm in which the structure and functioning of ecosystems has a significant human influence. The eastern side of the continent stands as the richest in forest ecosystems, although virtually all of them are considered "anthropogenic."
According to this map, for the specific case of Mexico, only the arid northern part of the Maya in Quintana Roo and Campeche, Chimalapas jungle and portions of the Sierra Madre Occidental are considered wild and remote. The rest are anthropogenic ecosystems. This reinforces the idea that most of Mexico's forest heritage can survive, not to the extent that they remain "pristine" because that's not possible, but insofar as they are technological schemes in which face human needs without resorting to the removal of forest cover.
Related website: http://ecotope.org/anthromes/
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