Trees are used on a day-to-day basis by farmers in the X-uilub Maya community in the eastern part of the state of Yucatan. Sixty-eight species of trees and shrubs are usable as fuel, the majority of which belongs to the family Leguminosae. Fourteen principal species were identified, among them Neomillspaughia emarginata, Lysiloma latisiliquum and Caesalpinia gaumeri. Three important sources of fuel exist: forest or hubche (secondary vegetation), the milpa (field where corn is produced) and the homegardens. The collection of firewood is determined by the collector, the gathering area, and the final destination of the wood. The annual consumption of firewood per family was discovered to be about 4 tons. The principal factors that affect the aspects as well. One of the most important strategies for sustainable management is the selective utilization of secondary vegetation which is integrated into a shifting cultivation system of the forest for the growth of the milpa.
Stoves that waste less heat can cut fuelwood use by 50 per cent or more – and reduce deforestation and women's work in fuel-gathering.