Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine最新文献

Background: Insects have long been an integral part of Malagasy cuisine; however, their role in children's lives outside traditional household contexts remains overlooked. This study examined the non-familial collection and consumption of edible insects among Malagasy children aged 6 to 15 years in rural communities of the Analamanga region in central Madagascar.

Methods: Using two different assessment methods, direct questioning with adults and a game-based approach with children, we investigated children's activities with edible insects during play. The findings revealed important differences between the two methods. Ethical compliance was confirmed by the institutional committee, which reviewed and approved the study design prior to data collection.

Results: Adults identified eight insect species consumed by children while playing, whereas children themselves reported consuming eleven species, suggesting that direct questioning may overlook certain aspects of children's diets. The game-based approach proved to be a more effective tool in revealing hidden consumption patterns, as it allowed children to naturally show their interactions with insects. Overall, 35% of children's games involved insects, with 71% of these games leading to consumption. On average, children consumed insects while playing three times a week, in addition to any insect intake during household meals, indicating a separate pathway of entomophagy. The most commonly consumed species include beetles such as Voangory (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) and Voanosy (Curculionidae: Polycleis Marshall, 1916), which are often collected during the rainy season, a period of food scarcity.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of alternative, child-centered methods for studying food consumption practices. Game-based observation can reveal informal eating practices that are invisible to adult-reported surveys. These results confirm the nutritional and cultural significance of edible insects in Madagascar, highlight the surprisingly frequent consumption of insects outside formal meal contexts by children, and reveal overlooked pathways relevant to food security.

This paper explores the erosion of foraging-related ethnobotanical knowledge in three coastal Mediterranean areas: Gozo Island (Malta), Kasos Island (Greece), and the Castagniccia region of Corsica Island (France). Based on recent ethnobotanical fieldwork between the summer of 2023 and the spring of 2025 in the three study areas, we document the few remaining wild vegetable uses in each region and contextualise the absence of robust LEK linked to plant foraging within broader socio-environmental changes. Our findings show that land abandonment, mass migration, desertification, and the rise of seasonal tourism have contributed to the disintegration of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). These forces have severed communities from everyday land-based practices, transforming vibrant ethnobotanical traditions into fragmented memories. We argue that LEK, particularly foraging knowledge, cannot survive in the absence of continuous interaction with the landscape, and that the revival of such practices requires more than nostalgic return, demanding a reconnection with local agro-ecological systems.

Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine have progressively shifted from utilitarian inventories toward more decolonized and inclusive approaches. Beyond their recognized contributions to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, their role in global health remains insufficiently explored. This short opinion paper argues that ethnobiology and ethnomedicine offer key conceptual and methodological tools to improve health and well-being among Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant and Local Communities (IPADLC) by promoting a holistic understanding of health that integrates ecosystems, human and non-human beings, territories, and spiritual dimensions. Drawing on concepts such as One Health, global health, planetary health, and the ecology of health, we highlight how local medicinal systems articulate multiple scales of care, from individuals to multispecies communities and ecosystems. We discuss the complementarity and hybridization between biomedical and local medicinal systems, emphasizing the importance of cultural safety, women's empowerment, and methodological reflexivity in the study and integration of traditional remedies. Finally, we address the critical challenges surrounding the protection of local medicinal knowledge, intellectual property rights, and fair benefit-sharing in the context of growing industrial interest. We conclude that strengthening ethically grounded, community-centered ethnobiological research is essential for building more equitable, plural, and sustainable global health systems.

Background: Ethnobotanical research increasingly relies on quantitative methods to identify knowledge patterns. However, current approaches often fail to assess the multidimensional nature of ethnobotanical knowledge systems. Despite methodological progress, there remains a need for methods that reveal internal knowledge heterogeneity within communities. Therefore, here, I introduce a comprehensive methodological framework based on a multi-algorithm approach. The main aim is to enhance ethnobotanical knowledge pattern detection, while providing protocols for algorithm selection.

Methods: I analyzed an ethnobotanical dataset of 1,000 informants from Valparaíso, Chile (ranging from edible and medicinal uses to magic-religious purposes). Five clustering algorithms were evaluated: hierarchical clustering, partition-based methods (k-means and PAM), density-based methods (DBSCAN and OPTICS), model-based (Latent Class Analysis and Gaussian Mixture Models), and neural network-based (Self-Organizing Maps). Their performance was assessed using internal validation metrics, cross-method concordance, and cluster stability. Additionally, I examined cluster properties using three novel indices: Variable Influence Index (identifies the most important variables determining clustering), Cluster Cohesion Index (measures overall similarity of individuals grouped within clusters), and Categorical Homogeneity Index (evaluates socioeconomic uniformity of individuals within clusters).

Results: Ethnobotanical knowledge exhibited a hierarchical and multidimensional structure. Knowledge was organized from broad community-level patterns to finer specialized knowledge profiles. Hierarchical and partitioning methods identified the main community patterns, while density-based and neural models detected rare or specialized profiles. Lastly, model-based methods revealed intermediate and balanced structures, integrating both common and rare knowledge types. Age and occupation were identified as the most important predictors across models, reflecting the sociodemographic organization of knowledge. The low concordance observed among algorithms indicates that each captures a distinct dimension of cultural knowledge variation rather than converging on a single classification.

Conclusion: This framework enhances the analytical toolkit for ethnobotanical research. Together, these methods allow understanding how knowledge is structured, shared and specialized within communities. Importantly, the suitability of each algorithm depends on the research context. In this study, binary methods captured broad patterns, partition-based reflected socioeconomic variation, density-based identified specialist profiles, and model-based revealed balanced typologies. Overall, these results provide a basis for understanding and comparing knowledge structures within communities.

Background: Wild edible plants (WEPs) are a vital supplementary food source for many rural populations worldwide. In the rural communities of northwest Morocco, the consumption and trade of these plants play a crucial role in both the local diet and as a source of income, particularly for women. This ethnobotanical study aimed to identify and document the WEPs consumed and sold in local markets, with a focus on women vendors.

Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted across thirteen local markets in northwest Morocco, involving semi-structured interviews with 728 women vendors. Data were collected on the plant species used, preparation methods, collection habitats, and seasonal availability, as well as their culinary and trade applications. Quantitative indices, including Frequency of Relative Citations (FRCs), Use Reports (UR), and the Cultural Importance Diversity Index (CUDI), were calculated to assess species importance and cultural relevance.

Results: The study recorded 55 market-traded WEP species (43 genera, 23 families), with Asteraceae being the most dominant (followed by Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, and Malvaceae). Seasonal availability peaked in spring (43.8%) and winter (37.5%), with most species gathered from cultivated or ruderal areas (39%), forests (23%), and other natural habitats (38%). Leaves (45%) and stems (39%) were the most utilized parts, while fruits accounted for 10%. Primary uses included vegetables (39 species), fruits (10 species), flavoring agents (8 species), and raw consumption (8 species).

Conclusions: Wild edible plants significantly contribute to food security and local livelihoods in northwest Morocco. Women vendors act as key custodians of traditional ecological knowledge, and local markets serve as hubs for the preservation and transmission of these cultural practices. Supporting these systems can contribute to biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty.

Background: Traditional management practices are essential for maintaining the biodiversity of many semi-natural grassland habitats. Abandonment of these practices is leading to shrub encroachment and a decline in biodiversity in many European regions. For this reason, understanding the social processes behind transforming traditional management practices and the subsequent habitat changes is currently a major focus of ecological research. We aimed to identify ecologically relevant indirect drivers (economic, demographic, institutional, cultural, and technological) impacting Natura 2000 grassland habitats since the mid-twentieth century in two neighbouring Central European post-communist countries, Hungary and Romania.

Methods: Ecological memory on 21 semi-natural grassland localities was collected through 60 oral history interviews from knowledgeable locals. The studied localities were covered by semi-natural grasslands listed in the Habitats Directive, Annex I: 1.) Semi-natural dry grasslands (6210); 2.) Alluvial meadows of river valleys (6440); and 3.) Pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes (1530*). We asked about three time periods (before: 1950-1961, during: 1962-1989, and after socialist collective farming: 1990-2007).

Results: We identified 211 mentions of indirect drivers and categorised them into five main indirect driver categories. Economic drivers were the most often mentioned indirect driver categories for alluvial and saline habitats. Demographic drivers, such as ageing, labour shortage, and rural-urban migration, were highly intertwined and most pronounced for dry semi-natural grasslands. We found that the impacts of ecologically relevant social processes beginning in the 1960s-1970s became visible only decades later, reflected by delayed changes in grassland management and vegetation (e.g. shrub encroachment, spread of weeds and invasive species). Migration to cities was amplified by changing lifestyles and values, leading to a decrease in the village labour force and a consequent ageing of inhabitants, ultimately resulting in a major decline in livestock numbers and in traditional management practices. We argue that the decline of grassland management in the 1990s and 2000s was driven by long-term social processes that began in the 1960s.

Conclusions: We argue, that appropriate subsidy schemes and governance models are essential to support surviving traditional farming practices, integrate biodiversity conservation with cultural heritage, and sustain innovative rural communities transitioning within Europe's marginalised agricultural landscapes.

Background: In Indian Trans-Himalaya, Drass is one of the coldest high-altitude areas which remain cut off from rest of the world for many months. In this geographically isolated region, a treasure trove of ethnobotanical knowledge has accumulated through generations of interaction between the local residents and rich floristic diversity, resulting in a profound understanding of the plant uses in nutritional, medicinal, cultural and ritual contexts. Thus, aim of the study was to gather, analyse and document the indigenous knowledge of plant utilization of this unique region.

Methods: Data on ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical knowledge was obtained through semi-structured interviews using a pre-prepared questionnaire. A total of 60 informants were interviewed in local languages (Balti, Sheena and Pahadi) among three ethnic communities. Use value (UV), fidelity level (FL%) and Jaccard's similarity index (JI%) were employed to quantitatively analyse the data.

Results: We documented 121 plant species, of which 35 had medicinal properties and 86 species were used for other ethnobotanical purposes. Most of the plant species used in ethnomedicines was herbaceous. Leaves were the most used plant part to treat a variety of human diseases. The formulations were administered orally in most cases, while few were applied externally. The FL% of the plant species ranged from 12 to 100%, and the highest UV was found for Rumex patentia. Ethnic uses not previously known were recorded for 13 plant species.

Conclusions: We documented diversity of plant species with traditional uses in the study region. These plant species were used as medicine as well as for other ethnobotanical purposes. Our study recommends further phytochemical investigations and pharmacological validations of 13 plant species that were documented for the first time for their ethnomedicinal uses. Also the plants used as food, fodder, firewood can be utilized for further studies to ensure nutritional and energy security with due benefit sharing among local stakeholders.

Background: Cloudberry, Rubus chamaemorus L. (Rosaceae), is traditionally harvested as food in northern Scandinavia. It is rich in vitamins C, A and E, and antioxidants. This berry has gained much cultural, economic, nutritional, social and symbolic importance in Sweden during the past century. Cloudberries are an important part of culinary heritage.

Methodology: This qualitative diachronic study analyses historical data available in archives and published collections, fragmentary notes in literature and relevant modern data, using a historical ethnobiological approach.

Results: Cloudberry is the third most important wild berry species gathered for human consumption in Sweden. The berries were earlier preserved in wooden barrels during the long circumpolar winter; now they are usually frozen or made into jam and other processed products and sold throughout the country. Difficult access to growth areas, weather fluctuations, timing of harvest and lack of gatherers make harvesting challenging. Commercial harvesting has gone from being a sideline income source for the northern peasants to engaging imported seasonal workers mainly from Southeast Asia.

Conclusion: This historical overview reveals that local berry picking is decreasing in recent decades. Fluctuations in local weather and lack of foragers influence the availability of cloudberry on the market. In 2025, there were neither enough workers nor berries, and the prices of cloudberry products have risen steeply. The cloudberry, which has enjoyed several decades of popularity both in haute cuisine and among ordinary consumers, will perhaps return to a local wild food gathered only for household needs.

Background: Wild edible plants (WEPs) are among the most important non-timber forest products harvested because of their contribution for food security of local populations and generation of income for families. To evaluate the importance of WEPs in Guinea-Bissau (West Africa), this study characterized the diversity of their uses in the country and discusses their current socioeconomic relevance and potential for sustainable use, and conservation.

Methods: Data on WEPs were collected during fieldwork and market surveys carried out across the country, as well as from bibliographic and herbarium sources. A total of 62 interviews (49 women and 13 men, aged 15-60 years) were conducted between November 2021 and August 2024. A set of variables concerning the collection, trade, and consumption of WEPs was drawn up to classify the socioeconomic importance of the species traded.

Results: We documented 115 WEPs from 45 families and 89 genera; 111 of them are native species and four are introduced and naturalized in Guinea-Bissau. Most of the WEP are woody plants found in woodlands and savannah woodlands. Fruits, followed by leaves and underground organs are the most usually consumed parts, mainly eaten raw. Thirty-nine WEPs are traded in the markets, eight of which can be considered as having high socioeconomic importance both as food and income source. Some patterns of use can be highlighted: children consume a larger number of wild fruits than adults, certain plants are only eaten in periods of food shortage, and several species are highly valued in the markets.

Conclusions: In Guinea-Bissau, WEPs play a key role in the traditional diet of local communities, especially when crops are scarce, thus ensuring food security, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. The sustainable use of WEPs can contribute to the well-being of local populations and to the conservation of the natural resources and ecosystems in this West African country.