Domestication: an indigenous method in conserving plant diversity on farmlands in west Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

Msuya, Tuli S.; Mndolwa, Mathew A.; Kapinga, Consolatha

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.00932.x

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Kindt et al (2007) reported 92 indigenous tree species in lowland Acacia-Commiphora bushland, but still up to 105 species in forest vegetation types of higher zones. Comparable results of dominant exotics in highlands are reported from the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, where 73% of the total on-farm plant species were indigenous, but this represented only 14% of the total plant individuals (Msuya et al 2008). However, no exact altitude data and frequencies were documented.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Exotic tree species displace indigenous ones on farms at intermediate altitudes around Mount Kenya

et al. 2011

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Agroforestry systems are potentially suitable for conservation of tree genetic resources. Farmers around Mt. Kenya usually integrate trees into their farm. Large parts of these trees seem to be of exotic origin, whereas indigenous species have priority for conservation. This study aimed at determining on-farm richness, composition and frequency of indigenous and exotic woody species around Mount Kenya to assess the suitability of farms for the conservation of indigenous tree species. 265 onfarm plots of 0.5 ha size each were selected in 18 different agro-ecological zones by using a stratified sampling scheme. All woody species within the plot were recorded with their local and scientific names. Total species richness was 424 (including 306 indigenous ones), mean richness per plot 16.5 species (including 8.8 indigenous ones). Eight out of the 10 most frequent species were exotic ones with Grevillea robusta from Australia ranking first (found on almost 76% of the surveyed farms). The proportion of indigenous species increased with increasing aridity and temperature. Dominance of exotic species was found at farms of humid mid-and highlands. Ordination analysis revealed that mostly exotic species contributed to separation of farms in the highlands and upper midlands, whereas indigenous species in the lower midlands and lowlands. As the frequencies of most indigenous trees were low, only parts of the surveyed farms can contribute to conservation of tree genetic resources, particularly the less intensively managed farms of the more arid lands. Farmers' access to knowledge on valuable indigenous tree species and to quality seedlings of these trees need to be improved to increase indigenous species' frequencies on farms and possibly to replace some of the exotic species in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Exotic tree species displace indigenous ones on farms at intermediate altitudes around Mount Kenya

et al. 2011

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“…The domestication rate of 89% is in line with the findings of Hamilton (1989), which revealed that domestication as part of the traditional agroforestry system and a conservation practice started in the West Usambara Mountains as early as about 2000 years ago. Similarly, other researchers reported domestication in the study area (Kaoneka 1996;Moshi 1997;Msuya 1998;Msuya et al 2008). Certain medicinal plants, such as Albizia spp., Erythrina abyssinica, Catha edulis and Tamarindus indica, were domesticated deliberately to conserve them against excessive harvesting from their natural habitats (the forests).…”

Section: Domestication Of Medicinal Plantsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The Shambaa tribe domesticated more plants (8 AE 4 (SE) than other tribes (4 AE 6 (SE), and the difference was significant (P ¼ 0.001, t ¼ 5.84). This difference could be attributed to the fact that the Shambaa is the native tribe in the study area and other tribes are immigrants to the West Usambara Mountains, and that domestication has been an indigenous conservation practice for wild plants in these mountains for over 2000 years (Hamilton 1989;Msuya 1998;Msuya et al 2008). Also, most of the Shambaa are traditional healers and hence domestication of medicinal plants is pursued as a way of facilitating their services, and traditional healing as a (Msuya and Kideghesho 2009), and the traditional healers' knowledge of medicine is not commonly shared with other people.…”

Section: Ethnicitymentioning

confidence: 96%

Gender and socio-economic factors influencing domestication of indigenous medicinal plants in the West Usambara Mountains, northern Tanzania

Kideghesho

Msuya

2010

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Servic

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The limited capacity of governments in developing countries to service primary health care has resulted in a rapid increase in use of indigenous medicinal plants. This increase, together with other biological and non-biological factors, has rendered these plants vulnerable to over-use and extirpation. Domestication is a conservation intervention that can relieve pressure on medicinal species. In order to ensure effectiveness and sustainability of an intervention, understanding the influencing factors is imperative. We examined the influence of gender and some socio-economic factors on domestication of medicinal plants in the West Usambara Mountains of northern Tanzania. Participatory wealth ranking, structured and semi-structured interviews, botanical surveys and participant observations were employed in data collection. Results showed that domestication has played a fundamental role in conservation of medicinal plants in the study area. Forty (89%) and twelve (27%) of forty-five indigenous plant species were domesticated on farms and around homesteads, respectively. A total of 89% of respondents (n ¼ 173) had domesticated medicinal plants on their farms and around homesteads. Gender was the most important factor that influenced this practice, with more male-headed than female-headed households involved in the domestication effort. This can be attributed to social and cultural factors that, besides dispossessing women of tenure rights over resources and land, also subject them to heavy workloads and therefore diminish the time available for plant domestication. The number of domesticated medicinal plants also depended on age, affluence, farm size, household size and ethnicity. We recommend that agroforestry research should focus not only on integrating forest plants in farmlands, but also on cultural, socio-economic and institutional aspects affecting the whole system of domestication.

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“…Throughout the world, the process of plant domestication has been either broadly analysed [5–9] or studied for species or group of species including acacias [10], yam [11, 12], tomatoes [13], barley [1], rice [4, 14], baobab [15], leafy vegetables [16], and fonio [17, 18]. These studies revealed the existence of different steps in the domestication process and highlighted that the practices used to highly vary with the species and the sociolinguistic groups across countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Bringing into Cultivation” Phase of the Plant Domestication Process and Its Contributions toIn SituConservation of Genetic Resources in Benin

Vodouhè

Dansi

2012

The Scientific World Journal

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All over the world, plant domestication is continually being carried out by local communities to support their needs for food, fibre, medicine, building materials, etc. Using participatory rapid appraisal approach, 150 households were surveyed in 5 villages selected in five ethnic groups of Benin, to investigate the local communities' motivations for plant domestication and the contributions of this process to in situ conservation of genetic resources. The results indicated differences in plant domestication between agroecological zones and among ethnic groups. People in the humid zones give priority to herbs mainly for their leaves while those in dry area prefer trees mostly for their fruits. Local communities were motivated to undertake plant domestication for foods (80% of respondents), medicinal use (40% of respondents), income generation (20% of respondents) and cultural reasons (5% of respondents). 45% of the species recorded are still at early stage in domestication and only 2% are fully domesticated. Eleven factors related to the households surveyed and to the head of the household interviewed affect farmers' decision making in domesticating plant species. There is gender influence on the domestication: Women are keen in domesticating herbs while men give priority to trees.

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Domestication: an indigenous method in conserving plant diversity on farmlands in west Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

Cited by 13 publications

References 2 publications

Exotic tree species displace indigenous ones on farms at intermediate altitudes around Mount Kenya

Exotic tree species displace indigenous ones on farms at intermediate altitudes around Mount Kenya

Gender and socio-economic factors influencing domestication of indigenous medicinal plants in the West Usambara Mountains, northern Tanzania

The “Bringing into Cultivation” Phase of the Plant Domestication Process and Its Contributions toIn SituConservation of Genetic Resources in Benin

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