Can ecological apparency explain the use of plant species in the semi-arid depression of Northeastern Brazil?

Ribeiro, João Paulo de Oliveira; Carvalho, Thamires Kelly Nunes; Ribeiro, João Everthon da Silva; Sousa, Rodrigo Ferreira de; Lima, José Ribamar de Farias; Oliveira, Rodrigo Silva de; Alves, Carina; Jardim, Jomar Gomes; Lucena, Reinaldo Farias Paiva de

doi:10.1590/0102-33062014abb2758

Cited by 23 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…However, other studies were conducted in areas with a predominance of xerophylous vegetation, as the Caatinga, and the researchers found different results, demonstrating that the use standard of plant resources in this region may not totally meet the ecological apparency principles , Lucena et al 2007, 2012a, 2012b, 2014, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Silva & Albuquerque 2005.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Lawrence et al 2005, Lozano et al 2013, Lucena et al 2007, 2012a, 2014, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Thomas et al 2009, Tunholi et al 2013, seeking not only to understand this relation, but also to set standards for the demand of certain species groups through the test of the ecological apparency hypothesis. However, more satisfactory results were found in studies conducted in humid tropical areas ( Lawrence et al 2005, Lozano et al 2013, Lucena et al 2012, 2014, Mutchnick & McCarth 1997, Phillips & Gentry 1993a, 1993b, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Thomas et al 2009, Tunholi et al 2013. Unlike this perspective, sampling in this study was carried out through point-quadrant methods in order to verify that Table 3.…”

Section: The Test Of the Ecological Apparency Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to understand the relationship between knowledge and the use of natural resources of the Caatinga by human populations, studies with an ethnobotanical approach have been carried out in this natural environment, from general surveys to hypothesis tests, to identify use pressures on biodiversity and suggest sustainable and conservationist alternatives (Florentino et al 2007, Lucena et al 2012a, Lucena et al 2012b, Lucena et al 2014, Monteiro et al 2008, Ramos et al 2008a, 2008b, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Sá et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first ethnobotanical studies documented knowledge that traditional populations retained about their biodiversity. Inthe 1990s, there was an increase in this research field at the time statistical tests, quantitative indexes, and hypothesis tests were adopted in investigations (Ferraz et al 2005, Hanazaki et al 2006, La Torre-Cuadros & Islebe 2003, Lucena et al 2007, Luoga et al 2000, Oliveira et al 2010, Phillips & Gentry 1993a, 1993b, Ramos et al 2008a, 2008b, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Shanley & Rosa 2004. Standing out in this context are the use value index and the ecological apparency hypothesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They assumed that people would have the same behavior as herbivores, taking into consideration the search for plant resources in forest areas. The prospect of Gentry (1993a, 1993b) concerning ecological apparency became really interesting, and it was subsequently tested in different regions and ecosystems in the world, both in rainforests such as the Amazon and in dry forests such as the Caatinga , Cunha & Albuquerque 2006, Ferraz et al 2005, Galeano 2000, Jiménez-Escobar & Rangel-Ch 2012, La Torres-Cuadros & Isbele 2003, Lawrence et al 2005, Lucena et al 2007, 2012a, 2012b, 2014, Mutchnick & McCarthy 1997, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Silva & Albuquerque 2005, Thomas et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological Apparency Hypothesis and Plant Utility in the Semiarid Region of Brazil

Guerra

Carvalho

Ribeiro

et al. 2015

Ethnobot. Res. App.

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The ecological apparency hypothesis seeks to understand the dynamics of use that a particular species has through its availability in vegetation areas. According to this hypothesis, apparent plants are the most collected and used by humans. This hypothesis was tested in the rural community of Santa Rita, municipality of Congo, in Cariri microregion (Paraíba state, Northeast Brazil). We calculated the use value (UV) for each species. For the phytosociological inventory, we adopted the point-quadrant method, plotting 500 points distributed in the vegetation areas of the community, registering the perimeter measurements and height of 2000 plants. Interviews were conducted with householders, totaling 98 informants (41 men and 57 women), and 24 species, 21 genera, and 11 families were recorded. The cited species were grouped into 11 utility categories. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to correlate phytosociological and ethnobotanical data. The use values of the species did not correlate with phytosociological parameters. Regarding the use categories, there were positive correlations for fuel (UV with dominance and basal area), construction (UV with all phytosociological parameters), fodder (UV with all parameters), and poison/abortion categories (UV with density and frequency). Ecological apparency significantly explained the local importance of useful plants in fuel, construction, and fodder categories, and less significantly for poison/abortion.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: The Test Of the Ecological Apparency Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological Apparency Hypothesis and Plant Utility in the Semiarid Region of Brazil

Guerra

Carvalho

Ribeiro

et al. 2015

Ethnobot. Res. App.

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The most commonly available woody plant species are the most useful for human populations: a meta‐analysis

Gonçalves

Albuquerque

Medeiros

2016

Ecological Applications

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An increasing number of studies have aimed to clarify the factors leading human groups to prioritize the use of some woody plant species compared to others. Some of these studies have tested the apparency hypothesis in aiming to understand this phenomenon. According to the apparency hypothesis, the most commonly available local plant species on a forest path are the most useful to that local human population. However, the sparse and diverse nature of the results from studies investigating the factors that influence human exploitation of plant resources motivated us to perform a meta-analysis on the apparency hypothesis. We searched in the main databases (Scopus, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Scielo) for studies that correlated the environmental availability of woody species (estimated through vegetation parameters) with the degree of importance of such species to the local human population (estimated by means of the use value index). Overall, this meta-analysis supported the apparency hypothesis, although we also found high levels of heterogeneity in these studies. When the distinct uses of woody flora were considered separately, we found that local species availability is important for fuelwood (firewood and charcoal) and construction (houses, fences, etc.) purposes but does not explain medicinal and technological (object manufacture) plant use. We found no important differences in correlation values between the degree of species importance for people and the different vegetation parameters, although correlations are slightly higher for the dominance and importance value index. Our findings suggest that the exploitation of woody flora is influenced by local availability.

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Global pattern of plant utilization across different organisms: Does plant apparency or plant phylogeny matter?

Dai

Zhang

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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The present study is the first to consider human and nonhuman consumers together to reveal several general patterns of plant utilization. We provide evidence that at a global scale, plant apparency and phylogenetic isolation can be important predictors of plant utilization and consumer diversity. Using the number of species or genera or the distribution area of each plant family as the island “area” and the minimum phylogenetic distance to common plant families as the island “distance”, we fitted presence–area relationships and presence–distance relationships with a binomial GLM (generalized linear model) with a logit link. The presence–absence of consumers among each plant family strongly depended on plant apparency (family size and distribution area); the diversity of consumers increased with plant apparency but decreased with phylogenetic isolation. When consumers extended their host breadth, unapparent plants became more likely to be used. Common uses occurred more often on common plants and their relatives, showing higher host phylogenetic clustering than uncommon uses. On the contrary, highly specialized uses might be related to the rarity of plant chemicals and were therefore very species‐specific. In summary, our results provide a global illustration of plant–consumer combinations and reveal several general patterns of plant utilization across humans, insects and microbes. First, plant apparency and plant phylogenetic isolation generally govern plant utilization value, with uncommon and isolated plants suffering fewer parasites. Second, extension of the breadth of utilized hosts helps explain the presence of consumers on unapparent plants. Finally, the phylogenetic clustering structure of host plants is different between common uses and uncommon uses. The strength of such consistent plant utilization patterns across a diverse set of usage types suggests that the persistence and accumulation of consumer diversity and use value for plant species are determined by similar ecological and evolutionary processes.

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Can ecological apparency explain the use of plant species in the semi-arid depression of Northeastern Brazil?

Cited by 23 publications

References 42 publications

Ecological Apparency Hypothesis and Plant Utility in the Semiarid Region of Brazil

Ecological Apparency Hypothesis and Plant Utility in the Semiarid Region of Brazil

The most commonly available woody plant species are the most useful for human populations: a meta‐analysis

Global pattern of plant utilization across different organisms: Does plant apparency or plant phylogeny matter?

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