Plant cultural indicators of forest resources from the Himalayan high mountains: implications for improving agricultural resilience, subsistence, and forest restoration

Aim Biocultural legacy practices are intricately tied to forestry resources, ethnic identity, and social cohesiveness. This study aims to determine the plant cultural values of forest resources and identify plant cultural indicators in each ethnic group, which can aid in long-term natural resource m...

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Veröffentlicht in:	Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine Jg. 20; H. 1; S. 44
Hauptverfasser:	Haq, Shiekh Marifatul, Khoja, Aadil Abdullah, Waheed, Muhammad, Pieroni, Andrea, Siddiqui, Manzer H., Bussmann, Rainer W.
Format:	Journal Article
Sprache:	Englisch
Veröffentlicht:	London BioMed Central 24.04.2024 Springer Nature B.V BMC
Schlagworte:	Adonis aestivalis Adult Aged Agriculture Aquatic plants Artemisia absinthium Biodiversity cohesion Community Complementary & Alternative Medicine Conservation of Natural Resources Cultural heritage Cultural values Cynoglossum Data collection Ecological transition-economic Ecology Environmental restoration Ethnic groups Ethnicity Ethnobotany family Female focus groups Folklore Forest conservation Forest resources forest restoration Forestry Forests Geranium Geum herbaceous plants Herbal medicine Herbs Himalayan region Humans India Indian Himalayan Jammu and Kashmir Juncus Knowledge Local knowledge systems: how can they help to guide ecological transition and a freer world? Male Medicinal plants Medicine Medicine & Public Health Middle Aged Minority & ethnic groups Mountains nationalities and ethnic groups Natural resource management Oxalis acetosella Plant cultural indicator Plant species Plants, Medicinal - classification Polygonatum biflorum Resource management Salvia Socioeconomic factors species stakeholders surveys Sustainable development Taxa Taxonomy traditional medicine Young Adult India Himalaya Mountains Himalayan region Indian Himalayan Forest resources Ecological transition-economic Plant cultural indicator Ethnic groups Jammu and Kashmir
ISSN:	1746-4269, 1746-4269
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Zusammenfassung:	Aim Biocultural legacy practices are intricately tied to forestry resources, ethnic identity, and social cohesiveness. This study aims to determine the plant cultural values of forest resources and identify plant cultural indicators in each ethnic group, which can aid in long-term natural resource management plans in the current debate on socio-environmental and ecological transitions. Methods Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations were employed to collect data for a comprehensive and systematic ethnobotanical survey from February 2018 to October 2022. Results A total of 330 informants reported 154 plant species from 65 families. Asteraceae was the most prominent botanical family, with herbaceous plant groups outnumbering trees and shrubs. The Gujjar and Pahari groups exhibited the highest level of overlap, followed by significant overlaps between the Gujjar and Kashmiri communities. The close affinity observed between the Gujjar and Pahari groups suggests the horizontal pattern of local plant knowledge between these communities, influenced by their sociocultural interactions and intermarriages. Notably, the Pahari community displayed a rich understanding of medicinal plants and shared unique uses for the reported taxa. This study affirms that both ecological factors and sociocultural influences have played significant roles in shaping local plant knowledge. A total of 31 plant species have been identified as plant cultural markers among all four ethnic groups. We observed a positive correlation between plant cultural values and plant use with the Gujjar and Kashmiri ethnic groups. Artemisia absinthium reported the highest use value of (0.57) with use reports of (189). Adonis aestivalis, Cynoglossum nervosum, Geum elatum, Geranium himalayense, Juncus inflexus, Oxalis acetosella, Polygonatum biflorum, and Salvia hians from the Himalayan region are among the plant taxa whose ethnomedicinal applications are described here for the first time. Conclusion Our data show that local and indigenous forest knowledge and practices could significantly contribute to forest conservation and ecological transition. This may happen if stakeholders generate clear frameworks and biocultural conservation strategies aimed at both dynamically preserve natural habitats and ways of traditional management of local natural resources.
Bibliographie:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23
ISSN:	1746-4269 1746-4269
DOI:	10.1186/s13002-024-00685-w