Traditional markets in Vietnam are considered as important places for trading medicinal plants and also play a social role of exchanging traditional use of herbal medicine among different cultural and social groups at the local level. This study aims to identify and document medicinal plants used in 32 traditional markets of Son La province. Data were obtained through interviews and field observation method. A total of 167 informants include 13 herbalists, 49 herbal sellers, and 105 local people were interviewed. The study collected a total of 99 plant species belonging to 88 genera and 57 families. Identified plant species are used by local people for the treatment of 61 different diseases. Leaves, stems and roots are most commonly used either fresh, dried or by decocting the dried parts in water. In the study, the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) ranged from 0.02 to 0.44; the Use Value (UV) ranged from 0 to 0.84; the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) ranged from 0.84 to 1; the Fidelity Level (FL) ranged from 44.44% to 100%. Villagers view and our observations confirmed that knowledge about the number of medicinal plants available in the study area and used by interviewees positively correlated with the threats on medicinal plants in the wild habitats. Illegal and unsustainable exploitation by the local people is a major cause of their depletion from nature.
TiO 2 -treated acacia hybrid (Acacia mangium x auriculiformis) wood was fabricated by combined pressure-impregnation and hydrothermal posttreatment. The wettability and microstructure morphology, as well as the crystalline structure of the titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) gels of the TiO 2 -treated wood, were studied. Contact angle measurements of the blank wood and the TiO 2 -treated wood indicated a significant increase in hydrophobicity, with contact angles of above 150° in treated samples. Furthermore, the water-resistant property of the treated wood was quite stable, even after immersion in boiling water. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) results showed that the microstructure morphology and the size of TiO 2 gels on the wood surface were dependent on the pH of the post-treatment solutions. Additionally, the presence of amorphous TiO 2 gels was indicated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The results of this study indicate that combined pressure-impregnation and hydrothermal post-treatment can create a hydrophobic wood-TiO 2 composite.
This paper examined how forest has contributed to rural households’ livelihood in Da river basin, the northwest mountainous region of Vietnam. The results revealed that forest predominantly contributes to the total income of rural residents in the region. Specifically, forestry land area, access to non-timber forest products, and payment for forest environmental services significantly affected household’s income in the region. However, rural people in the region have still faced several difficulties that constrain household’s livelihood. Of these difficulties, lack of financial capital, epidemic diseases in animal husbandry, limited access to market information and natural disaster are popular barriers to livelihood of people in the region. This paper also recommended several policies to improve rural livelihood in Da river basin. These includes: (i) integrating issues regarding payment for forest environmental services and REDD+ into socioeconomic development plan; (ii) improving awareness of local people on sustainable natural capital use through ecosystem conservation policy; (iii) providing preferential credit and training on agricultural production techniques; and (iv) encouraging market-oriented agriculture.
Aquilaria yunnanensis S.C. Huang (Thymelaeaceae), known to be endemic to Yunnan, is recorded for the first time from Dong Son Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. A taxonomic description and DNA analysis based on our Vietnamese collections are presented, together with information on its distribution, habitat and colour photographs.
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