Is Ethnobotany an Ecological Science? Steps towards a complex Ethnobotany

Abstract

There are different links between ecology and ethnobotany. In principle, because they have some common interests, like the conservation of plant resources. Nevertheless, the consolidation of the ecology as a science of synthesis that is based on the complexity of relationships between organisms and their surroundings, allows the ecology to provide a conceptual framework for more complex and comprehensive ethnobotany. This is also, for origin, a science of synthesis. In this contribution we discuss the basic aspects of ecology that can become guides for a complex framework of ethnobotany, which acts as a context in which their contributions to acquire significance. It also discusses various aspects of ethnobotany which, by its own complexity, are linked to the theoretical framework of ecology. Finally, we consider ethnobotany as an ecological science, from which certain assumptions are given, that can guide investigations based on the complex relationships between people and plants, the object of study of this science.

Bases ecológicas e evolutivas do comportamento humano

“…A definição de etnobiologia, tendo foco nas interações entre pessoas e biota, sinaliza para um forte viés ecológico (ver, por exemplo, Ladio et al 2007;Hurrell & Albuquerque 2012;Santoro et al 2015;Barnes et al 2019). Cenários ecológicos abarcam os fatores atuais que modulam as relações das pessoas com seus ambientes, no espaço e no tempo .…”

Animals ethnozoology as traditional medicine in the Dayak Tamambaloh Tribe, Labian Ira'ang Village, Kapuas Hulu District, Indonesia

“…Ethnobiology is the study of biological knowledge about certain groups of plants and animals and their relationship by considering ecological components (Sreedevi et al 2013). Studies in ethnobiology relate to analyzing the use of plants and animals and the study of local people's perceptions of managing biological resources and the environment (Hurrell and Albuquerque 2012). Ethnobiology studies and gives value to traditional community knowledge systems in utilizing biological natural resources in the surrounding environment as a form of biodiversity and cultural conservation (Vandebroek et al 2020).…”

Evolutionary ethnobiology

“…The definition of ethnobiology, with the focus on interactions between people and biota, also suggests an approach from an ecological perspective (see, for example, Ladio et al 2007;Hurrell and Albuquerque 2012;Santoro et al 2015;Hart et al 2017;Barnes et al 2019). Ecological scenarios allow the understanding of the current factors that modulate people's relations with their environments in space and time (Albuquerque and Ferreira Júnior 2017).…”