Can socioeconomic factors explain the local importance of culturally salient plants in a social-ecological system?

Abstract

Th e aim of this work was to determine whether socioeconomic factors explain the importance of culturally salient plants to social-ecological systems. Extractive communities of the Araripe-Apodi Environmental Protection Area in Northeast Brazil were studied, and a random sample of the population was selected. Quantitative variables (education, age and income) were analyzed using Spearman correlations, while categorical variables (gender and occupation) were analyzed using Mann-Whitney tests. Relationships between socioeconomic factors and the importance of culturally salient plants were all weak. Nevertheless, age infl uenced the local importance of the largest number of species. Other factors not considered in this study (historical, cultural, ecological, and psychological) may be outstanding predictors of the importance of culturally salient plants and should be studied in future investigations.

Use, Perception, and Local Management of Copernicia Prunifera (Miller) H. E. Moore in Rural Communities in the Brazilian Savanna

“…In regards to age, according to the results, we did not observe an in uence of this variable on the use and management of carnaúba straw. Similarly, Sousa et al [41] demonstrated that the local importance of species from the region of Floresta do Araripe, in Ceará, was not in uenced by socioeconomic factors, with the exception of a smaller number of species which had age as a factor that explained the importance of some culturally salient species. Moreover, according to these authors, younger people were motivated mainly by the commercial potential of some of the native forest resources, giving them greater local importance.…”

“…Therefore, some studies sought to understand the in uence of socioeconomic factors on the knowledge and uses of plants, and some made various types of associations, beginning with general plant use [39][40][41] to categories of speci c uses, such as medicinal [42][43][44] and food [45]. In general, studies on this focus have varied according to the approach of each researcher.…”

“…In general, studies on this focus have varied according to the approach of each researcher. Income and education have been addressed in studies on useful plants in general, which suggest that knowledge decreases with the increase in schooling [46,47] and increased income [41,48,49]. Our data, however, did not show a relationship between socioeconomic variables (length of residence, time in extractive activity, and age) with the extraction of carnaúba straw, with the exception of the income obtained from extraction and the number of leaves extracted, which had a signi cant relationship, indicating an effort to maximize straw collection, including through group organization, according to local extractors.…”

Cactaceae: uses and knowledge of rural communities in the semi-arid zones of Cucaita, Ráquira and Villa de Leyva (Boyacá, Colombia)

“…Several studies that integrate ethnobotany and socioeconomic factors at the global level, not only for the conservation of biodiversity and local knowledge but also for the benefits in the quality of life that plants bring to communities [65][66][67][68].…”

“…Factors which statistically influence the wealth index of knowledge were age and time of residence in the area; that is to say that people with ages between 40 and 60 or more, and who have resided in the area for a longer time, are the ones who recognize the species of the cactus present in their municipality the most. However, [68] consider that socioeconomic factors such as education, gender, and occupation are not sufficient to explain the local importance of native plant species in a socioecological system; these authors express that other historical, cultural, ecological, and psychological factors should be taken into account, which can interfere in the socioecological system and would better explain the local importance of the species.…”