Conducting ethnobotanical research; Protocol for conducting ethnobotanical research in the tropics; Professional ethics and ethnobotanical research; Collecting ethnobotanical data: an introduction to basic concepts and techniques; Collecting plant specimens; Standard techniques for collecting and preparing herbarium specimens; Collecting palm specimens; Recommendations for collecting mushrooms; Guidelines for collecting bryophytes; Collecting bulk specimens: methods and environmental precautions; Quantitative methods in ethnobotanical fieldwork; Some quantitative methods for analyzing ethnobotanical knowledge; Behavioral orientations toward ethnobotanical quantification; Beyond nomenclature and use: a review of ecological methods for ethnobotanists.
Introduction - The field of ethnobotany has grown significantly in the last few years, incorporating a wide range of methodologies, and investigative and theoretical approaches. The opening of different investigative directions based on diverse lines of research has created a need to consolidate and systematize the different approaches that have been adopted. Much current research is oriented towards examining how local practices influence biodiversity and the conservation of natural resources. The last decade has also seen an increase in the number of published works examining and standardizing research methodologies. The chapters of this book have thus sought to capture some of these new trends in ethnobotany, and we hope they can contribute to exchanging experiences among ethnobotanical investigators. This book comprises eight chapters with distinct focuses, including case studies based on ecological, biological, and social approaches, discussions of methodologies used in data collection, as well as state-of-the-art investigations into new/old areas of ethnobotanical inquiry. The first chapter presents an overview of the ethnobotanical and ecological studies underway in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, México. The authors examine the management techniques adopted by local communities and their impact on biodiversity, and discuss perspectives for conservation and sustainable use of the local vegetation. McClatchey and Bridges have prepared a text that is of great interest to biologists, geographers, and ethnoecologists, which focuses on the selection of habitats by human populations in the Marshall Islands. The authors conclude that the shape of the island appears to explain their selection and habitation within an atoll, while the total land area explains the population distribution in the Marshall Islands. This study goes beyond the traditional limits of ethnobotanical research. In the third chapter, Ladio and Lozada present a case study undertaken in rural communities in northeastern Patagonia (Argentina) that examines the use of medicinal plants and relates this ancestral practice to the concept of resilience. The authors also evaluate the principal illnesses that occur within the community and examine how the prevalence of those infirmities is related to the diversity of plants used by local populations. The text presented by Pulido and collaborators reviews and discusses research on homegardens in Latina America in light of three central topics their ecological, economic, and social sustainability. The authors discuss methodological questions applied to these studies and consider their strengths and weaknesses in terms of data collection. In the fifth chapter, Amorozo and co-authors describe the general panorama of ethnobotanical studies related to small-scale agricultural systems, with special emphasis on work in tropical regions. The authors describe the structure and functioning of these systems in considerable detail, paying special attention to their dynamics and evolution. Questions are raised concerning the maintenance and conservation of genetic recourses, as well as the contribution of ethnobotanical studies to research on the sustainability of agroecosystems. In chapter six, La Torre-Cuadros presents an exhaustive review of research focusing on ethnic groups in the Peruvian Amazon region undertaken between 1895 and 2007. The work is centered upon local folk knowledge collected during the last 50 years, and examines the principal advances in ethnobotany in Peru. The final two chapters discuss the efficiency of a number of methodological tools used in modern ethnobotanical research. Chapter seven, by Monteiro and co-authors, compares the richness of information about useful plants acquired through three different methodologies: general interviews, interviews within a specific cultural domain, and in situ inventories. The authors conclude that different methodologies result in the collection of distinctly different data sets. These results have important implications in choosing data collection techniques. Chapter eight, by Medeiros and co-workers, reviews the role of visual stimuli in ethnobotanical research, discusses the methodological limitations of the different visual techniques employed, and suggests a standardization of the terminology used for the different types of visual stimuli. This work is of considerable importance in light of the current lack of conceptual precision in the application of these research tools. In general, the different chapters of this book emphasize the diversity of questions that face the present generation of ethnobotanists and describe a number of active investigative areas. Finally, we would like to thank those who helped in the production of this book, especially the reviewers for their assistance and helpfulness in evaluating each chapter and for presenting valuable suggestions.
Ethnoecology has blossomed in recent years into an important science because of the realization that the vast body of knowledge contained in both indigenous and folk cultures is being rapidly lost as natural ecosystems and cultures are being destroyed by the encroachment of development. Ethnobotany and ethnozoology both began largely with direct observations about the ways in which people used plants and animals and consisted mainly of the compilation of lists. Recently, these subjects have adopted a much more scientific and quantitative methodology and have studied the ways in which people manage their environment and, as a consequence, have used a much more ecological approach. This manual of ethnobotanical methodology will become an essential tool for all ethnobiologists and ethnoecologists. It fills a significant gap in the literature and I only wish it had been available some years previously so that I could have given it to many of my students. I shall certainly recommend it to any future students who are interested in ethnoecology. I particularly like the sympathetic approach to local peoples which pervades this book. It is one which encourages the ethnobotanical work by both the local people themselves and by academically trained researchers. A study of this book will avoid many of the arrogant approaches of the past and encourage a fair deal for any group which is being studied. This manual promotes both the involvement oflocal people and the return to them of knowledge which has been studied by outsiders.
Ethnopharmacology is one of the world’s fastest-growing scientific disciplines encompassing a diverse range of subjects. It links natural sciences research on medicinal, aromatic and toxic plants with socio-cultural studies and has often been associated with the development of new drugs. The Editors of Ethnopharmacology have assembled an international team of renowned contributors to provide a critical synthesis of the substantial body of new knowledge and evidence on the subject that has emerged over the past decade. Divided into three parts, the book begins with an overview of the subject including a brief history, ethnopharmacological methods, the role of intellectual property protection, key analytical approaches, the role of ethnopharmacology in primary/secondary education and links to biodiversity and ecological research. Part two looks at ethnopharmacological contributions to modern therapeutics across a range of conditions including CNS disorders, cancer, bone and joint health and parasitic diseases. The final part is devoted to regional perspectives covering all continents, providing a state-of-the –art assessment of the status of ethnopharmacological research globally. A comprehensive, critical synthesis of the latest developments in ethnopharmacology. Includes a section devoted to ethnopharmacological contributions to modern therapeutics across a range of conditions. Contributions are from leading international experts in the field. This timely book will prove invaluable for researchers and students across a range of subjects including ethnopharmacology, ethnobotany, medicinal plant research and natural products research. Ethnopharmacology- A Reader is part of the ULLA Series in Pharmaceutical Sciences www.ullapharmsci.org
Contrary to ingrained academic and public assumptions, wherein indigenous lowland South American societies are viewed as the product of historical emplacement and spatial stasis, there is widespread evidence to suggest that migration and displacement have been the norm, and not the exception. This original and thought-provoking collection of case studies examines some of the ways in which migration, and the concomitant processes of ecological and social change, have shaped and continue to shape human-environment relations in Amazonia. Drawing on a wide range of historical time frames (from pre-conquest times to the present) and ethnographic contexts, different chapters examine the complex and important links between migration and the classification, management, and domestication of plants and landscapes, as well as the incorporation and transformation of environmental knowledge, practices, ideologies and identities.
Is it possible that plants have shaped the very trajectory of human cultures? Using riveting stories of fieldwork in remote villages, two of the world’s leading ethnobotanists argue that our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants. Creating massive sea craft from plants, indigenous shipwrights spurred the navigation of the world’s oceans. Today, indigenous agricultural innovations continue to feed, clothe, and heal the world’s population. One out of four prescription drugs, for example, were discovered from plants used by traditional healers. Objects as common as baskets for winnowing or wooden boxes to store feathers were ornamented with traditional designs demonstrating the human ability to understand our environment and to perceive the cosmos. Throughout the world, the human body has been used as the ultimate canvas for plant-based adornment as well as indelible design using tattoo inks. Plants also garnered religious significance, both as offerings to the gods and as a doorway into the other world. Indigenous claims that plants themselves are sacred is leading to a startling reformulation of conservation. The authors argue that conservation goals can best be achieved by learning from, rather than opposing, indigenous peoples and their beliefs. KEY FEATURES • An engrossing narrative that invites the reader to personally engage with the relationship between plants, people, and culture • Full-color illustrations throughout—including many original photographs captured by the authors during fieldwork • New to this edition—"Plants That Harm," a chapter that examines the dangers of poisonous plants and the promise that their study holds for novel treatments for some of our most serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s and substance addiction • Additional readings at the end of each chapter to encourage further exploration • Boxed features on selected topics that offer further insight • Provocative questions to facilitate group discussion Designed for the college classroom as well as for lay readers, this update of Plants, People, and Culture entices the reader with firsthand stories of fieldwork, spectacular illustrations, and a deep respect for both indigenous peoples and the earth’s natural heritage.
Its wise and sensitive approach to working with local people will be relevant in situations throughout the world.' ECOS 'The numerous diagrams, tables of data, information flow charts, fieldwork sketches etc. give a great vibrancy to the work... It deserves a wide readership.' TEG News Wild or non-cultivated plants are crucial to the lives of a large portion of the world's population, providing low-cost building materials, fuel, food supplements, medicines, tools and sources of income. Despite their importance, their vulnerability to harvesting and other social impacts is not well understood. Applied Ethnobotany is the first practical guide to be published on how to manage wild plant species sustainably. This detailed manual on wild plant resources sets out the approaches and field methods involved in participatory work between conservationists, researchers and the primary resource users. Supported by extensive illustrations, it explains how local people can learn to assess the pressures on plant resources and what steps to take to ensure their continued availability. For all those involved in resource management decisions regarding plant species and diversity, and in particular those studying or working in conservation, rural development and park management, this guide is invaluable. Published with WWF, UNESCO and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
The enormous impact of sugarcane plantations in Hawai'i has overshadowed the fact that Native Hawaiians introduced sugarcane to the islands nearly a millennium before Europeans arrived. In fact, Hawaiians cultivated sugarcane extensively in a broad range of ecosystems using diverse agricultural systems and developed dozens of native varieties of kō (Hawaiian sugarcane). Sugarcane played a vital role in the culture and livelihood of Native Hawaiians, as it did for many other Indigenous peoples across the Pacific. This long-awaited volume presents an overview of more than one hundred varieties of native and heirloom kō as well as detailed varietal descriptions of cultivars that are held in collections today. The culmination of a decade of Noa Lincoln's fieldwork and historical research, Kō: An Ethnobotanical Guide to Hawaiian Sugarcane Cultivars includes information on all known native canes developed by Hawaiian agriculturalists before European contact, canes introduced to Hawai'i from elsewhere in the Pacific, and a handful of early commercial hybrids. Generously illustrated with over 370 color photographs, the book includes the ethnobotany of kō in Hawaiian culture, outlining its uses for food, medicine, cultural practices, and ways of knowing. In light of growing environmental and social issues associated with conventional agriculture, many people are acknowledging the multiple benefits derived from traditional, sustainable farming. Knowledge of heirloom plants, such as kō, is necessary in the development of new crops that can thrive in diversified, place-specific agricultural systems. This essential guide provides common ground for discussion and a foundation upon which to build collective knowledge of indigenous Hawaiian sugarcane.
Kindscher documents the medicinal use of 203 native prairie plants by the Plains Indians. He also adds information on recent pharmacological findings to further illuminate the medicinal nature of these plants. He uses Indian, common, and scientific names and describes Anglo folk uses, medicinal uses, scientific research, and cultivation.
