Economic Botany最新文献

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main mechanism of global appeal and action regarding the attainment of sustainability, with a focus on environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Ethnobotany can make relevant contributions to the pursuit and achievement of the SDGs due to its interdisciplinary nature and ability to give visibility to the worldviews, knowledge, and practices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC). Although the primary focus of ethnobotany is the investigation of the plant-related knowledge and practices of different groups, including IPLC, with an emphasis on the environmental dimension, the appreciation of biocultural diversity cannot be decoupled from social and economic contexts. In this study, we evaluated how the Brazilian ethnobotanical literature has contributed to the sustainability debate through the SDGs. We conducted two systematic reviews of the ethnobotanical literature: first, a broad review of 810 articles identified using keywords related to each of the 17 SDGs; and second, an in-depth analysis of 45 indicators related to the 17 SDGs in 23 articles that mentioned sustainability or sustainable development. In both reviews, we found the most results for SDG 15 (life on land), indicating that environmental sustainability is strongly connected to ethnobotanical studies. We also identified information that explored the social and economic dimensions of sustainability through SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equity), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), and SDG 9 (innovation and infrastructure). We discuss gaps and opportunities to be explored by ethnobotany and conclude that the connections between ethnobotany and the SDGs can be reinforced. This would improve the ability of ethnobotanical studies to effectively contribute to the political aspect of the 2030 agenda through appreciation of and respect for traditional knowledge and practices of IPLC and their active participation in the sustainability debate.

Biodiversity is crucial for human well-being and sustenance, especially for rural communities that directly depend on plant resources. We investigated the plant selection process among rural communities in the Brazilian semiarid region. We aimed to understand how these communities choose plants for various functions, including fuel, construction, and forage. We hypothesized that people’s choices are influenced by specific functional plant traits, leading them to select the most suitable species for each purpose. Our results support this hypothesis, as they showed that agropastoralists base their plant choices on functional traits that correspond to their needs. For instance, wood density, which is directly linked to wood durability, plays a key role in selecting plants for fuel and construction. By integrating ethnobotany and functional ecology, this study highlights the connection between functional plant traits and Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK), and thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the nuanced bond between humans and biodiversity. This allowed us to identify functional plant traits that guide plant selection in the Caatinga and probably also in other semiarid tropical regions worldwide. Based on our results, we conclude that functional plant traits play a critical role in decision-making for the selection of plant species for different primary uses.

Wild palms provide high-value resources and contribute to generating income for rural people. This study documents the usage patterns and conservation practices of wild palms in Western Burkina Faso. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted with 258 participants across five different communities. The participants cited seven palm species. The number of palm species cited per participant varied according to their ethnic group, gender, and age category. Elaeis guineensis and Borassus akeassii were the most cited and useful species. The influence of ethnic group, gender, and age on use values depended on the specific palm species among the communities. Local people adopted natural assisted regeneration (watering, protecting, and taking care of seedlings that germinate naturally) and cultivation to conserve Borassus akeassii and Elaeis guineensis. Local conservation practices and sustainable exploitation of wild palms are needed for their successful and effective conservation in the semi-arid climatic context of Burkina Faso.

Archaeologists and others have long overlooked ecosystems stewarded by Indigenous Peoples on the Northwest Coast of North America due to colonial perspectives on food-procurement strategies. As a result, these places remain largely overlooked and unprotected in present-day conservation and cultural resource management. Further, identifying, understanding, and revitalizing these systems are key to supporting the food security, cultural identity, and inter-generational knowledge transfer of Indigenous Peoples. This is the case with the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking Songhees First Nation (Coast Salish/southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia), where colonialism has severely impacted traditional knowledge about estuarine root gardens. To address this issue, and the desire of the lək̓ʷəŋən to revitalize these sites, this study employs a novel interdisciplinary methodology to evaluate a potential garden on the archipelago of Tl’chés. By combining archaeology, ecology, and pedology, and conducting ecological surveys, soil analysis, and archaeological excavations, we found that past cultivation practices have left measurable impacts at the site more than 100 years after management ceased. We conclude that evidence of estuarine root garden management is present in the Coast Salish, and that it is possible to identify sites in areas where they are no longer known by the community, re-integrating them within traditional food systems and re-defining archaeological approaches to their study.

The black plum Vitex doniana is a wild tree widely distributed in Africa. It is consumed as a leafy vegetable by at least 22 ethnic groups in Benin and also used as a source of income. This research analyzed the value chain of this leafy vegetable in order to define strategies that create added value for maximum profits for stakeholders. For each segment of the value chain, we investigated the flow of goods and services, financial flows, opportunities, and bottlenecks. The results indicate that three groups of stakeholders, including collectors-processors, wholesalers, and retailers, were involved in the production and marketing of Vitex doniana leaves. The Vitex doniana investigated in this study came from Kpokissa, a village located in the southeast near Bohicon. Vitex doniana was parboiled before selling and generated reasonable income for stakeholders. Bottlenecks in this value chain included the low density of trees for high productivity, the use of traditional tools for leaf harvest, and poor yield performance of trees due to ageing. Moreover, Vitex doniana was not found in supermarkets and small restaurants, indicating that the species remains an underutilized leafy vegetable. The analysis of the Vitex doniana value chain revealed that some consumers adopted freeze preservation, which requires keeping the pre-cooked vegetable below 0 °C before further use. This method added value. These results provide a baseline for further investigations in improving the value chain of Vitex doniana.

Local medical systems (LMSs) are shaped by the interaction of human beings with biota, so understanding how human beings use natural resources for their survival is one of the most discussed topics in ethnobiology studies. Although many studies have focused on describing the structure of LMSs (for example, plants or animals used for medicine), there is a need to better understand their functionality (for example, how the species are used) and maintenance, with emphasis on their resilience. This synthesis is based on a literature review about the functioning of LMSs. Also, to better understand the dynamics of these medical systems, it takes into account literature about learning processes and knowledge variation across different spatial scales. The evidence indicates that the incorporation and differential use of medicinal resources can be predicted by the social-ecological theory of maximization, which postulates that human cognitive and behavioral mechanisms mediate the selection of strategies that maximize benefits and reduce costs in human interactions with the environment, thereby reinforcing the complexity and dynamism of LMSs since several factors can affect their functionality. We identify gaps in this area and suggest directions for future research that seeks to understand the functionality of LMSs.