We need to appreciate common synanthropic plants before they become rare: Case study in Latgale (Latvia)

Abstract

Local ecological knowledge holds great potential in contributing to sustainable resource management and conservation activities. For this reason, the authors choose to analyse an ethnobotanical dataset from the Baltic Sea region by exploring the relationship between plants and humans on the basis of three main categories: habitat characteristics, distribution in the wild and plant sensitivity to human impact beyond physical distance. The study provides empirical evidence of widespread usage of so-called common species which are widely distributed in the territory and benefit from human activity. When considering the data via the intensity of use, based on detailed use-reports (DUR), the main category is shown to be apophytes (1001 DUR), followed by anthropophytes (426), hemeradiophores (255) and hemerophobes (54). The authors highlight the co-dependency of plants and humans in the medicinal and wild food domains and stress the need for integrated management strategies where local community knowledge plays a part. Keywords: Common Species; Conservation; Ethnobotany; Synanthropic Plants.

Land cover differentially affects abundance of common and rare birds

“…Incorporating common species into more traditional conservation paradigms may be challenged by limited conservation funding (McCarthy et al, 2012) and by knowledge gaps about common species' population dynamics and drivers (Baker et al, 2019). Nevertheless, keeping common species common is valuable because they can have an outsized role in ecosystems and provide important connections to nature (Frimpong, 2018; Gaston, 2010; Prūse et al, 2021).…”

The Appeal of Ethnobotanical Folklore Records: Medicinal Plant Use in Setomaa, Räpina and Vastseliina Parishes, Estonia (1888–1996)

“…Although from today’s nature conservation point of view, the majority of used local medicinal plants have a low extinction risk (Least Concern status), their general conservation status does not reflect their future sustainability. As we have shown in a recent study, even common plants in the immediate vicinity of humans may be disappearing because of changes in the management of semi-wild areas [ 32 ].…”

Chemical Profiling and Antioxidant Activity of Tanacetum vulgare L. Wild-Growing in Latvia

“…Tanacetum vulgare L., commonly known as tansy, is an intensely aromatic plant of the Asteraceae family, native to Europe and Asia, where it grows along roadsides, hedges, and wastelands [ 1 ]. T. vulgare subspecies vulgare is a common plant in Latvia, and its range of distribution covers the whole country [ 2 ]. It has traditionally been used as a spicy additive for food, in cosmetics, and as a herbal remedy due to its biologically active compounds.…”