Plant Knowledge and Current Uses of Woody Flora in Three Cultural Groups of the Brazilian Semiarid Region: Does Culture Matter?

• Published in: Economic botany 2017-12, Vol.71 (4), p.314-329
• Main Authors: Soares, Dayanne Támela Nogueira, Sfair, Julia Caram, Reyes-García, Victoria, Baldauf, Cristina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age composition; Availability; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Community; Cultural groups; Culture; Ecological effects; Flora; Geographical variations; Human populations; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous plants; Indigenous species; Knowledge; Life Sciences; Older people; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant diversity; Plant Ecology; Plant Physiology; Plant resources; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Resource availability; Semiarid lands; Social factors; Urban areas
• ISSN: 0013-0001; 1874-9364
• DOI: 10.1007/s12231-017-9393-z

Patterns of plant use in human populations are context-specific and influenced by many different ecological and social factors like plant diversity and availability, and gender, age, and household structure. The aim of this study is to evaluate current levels of knowledge and use of native plant species in different sociocultural groups living in the same ecological area. We examine the association between an individual's species knowledge and use and (1) species availability and (2) individual age, gender, and group pertinence. Data were collected through interviews with three different groups living in the municipality of Açu, Rio Grande do Norte (n = 233): an urban community, a local community of fishers, and a traditional community of self-identified indigenous people (Caboclos de Açu). The results show no correlation between knowledge/use and resource availability. Elders know and use more species than younger interviewees. Men know more species than women, but there is no difference between the number of species used by men and women. Group pertinence was related to both current levels of species knowledge and use: the urban community had less knowledge of the flora than the local and traditional communities. Regarding species uses, the traditional community uses more plants than the local community, and informants in the urban community use the least. Our results dovetail recent anthropological research suggesting that, despite other important cultural changes, the Caboclos de Açu continue to maintain at least part of their traditional knowledge system, probably because they depend on the use of plant resources for their livelihood. Overall, our results highlight the predominance of culture above the environment in driving plant use and knowledge. Os padróes de uso de plantas em populaçóes humanas sáo contexto-específicos, sendo influenciados por diferentes fatores sociais e ecológicos tais como a diversidade e disponibilidade das espécies vegetais, gênero, idade e estrutura do agregado familiar. O objetivo desse estudo é avaliar os níveis atuais de conhecimento e uso de plantas em diferentes grupos socioculturais vivendo na mesma área ecológica. Nós examinamos a associaçáo entre o conhecimento individual e (1) disponibilidade das espécies e (2) idade, gênero e grupo social. Os dados foram coletados através de entrevistas com três grupos moradores do município de Açu, no estado do Rio Grande do Norte (n = 233): uma comunidade urbana, uma comunidade