Zapotec and Mixe use of Tropical Habitats for securing medicinal plants in MéXico

Frei, Barbara; Sticher, Otto; Heinrich, Michael

doi:10.1007/bf02866601

Cited by 56 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…This contrasts with results from regions outside of Mesoamerica, such as Patagonia, the Caatinga of Brazil, the Himalayas and some parts of Africa (Albuquerque 2006, Adnan & Hölscher 2012, Kandari et al 2012, Molares & Ladio 2012. However, it coincides with the results of Frei et al (2000) for Isthmus Zapotecs and Mixes, and other parts of Mexico and the world (Stepp & Moerman 2001, Stepp 2004, Rokaya et al 2012. None of the medicinal species obtained from forests was sufficiently important to motivate forest conservation.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 68%

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Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation in the humid mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Mexico?

2018

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Background. Non-timber forest products are being integrated into conservation strategies. Their relevance for obtaining medicinal plants is frequently cited as a reason to conserve forests. Question. Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation? Study site and dates. The study was conducted in Santiago Camotlán, Distrito Villa Alta, Oaxaca, a humid mountainous area in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico, from August 2011 to May 2013. Methods. Ecological Land Units were characterized, and the relative importance of medicinal plants was evaluated. The ethnobotanical methods included participatory mapping, open interviews, semi-structured interviews and free lists with local healers, as well as members of 17 systematically selected households. Medicinal plant species, and plants considered characteristic for an Ecological Land Unit by local specialists, were collected during plant walks with both healers and experts on the territory. For each species, a newly proposed Knowledge, Use and Perception Index based frequency of mention in free lists, frequency of use and perceived importance was calculated. Results. Local people divided their territory primarily by physical geographic characteristics and utilization. Nine units were distinguished: village and roads, home gardens, pastures, cultivated fields (maize, beans, sugar cane and coffee), cloud forest, semi-evergreen tropical forest and evergreen tropical forest, secondary vegetation ("acahuales"), and riparian vegetation. The most important medicinal plants were Salvia microphylla, Lippia alba and Artemisia absinthium, all cultivated in home gardens; weedy vegetation provided the majority of all medicinal plants. Individuals interested in preserving medicinal species transplanted them into a home garden. Conclusion. For people in the study area, the presence and use of medicinal plants was not a decisive reason for forest conservation. Key words: Ecological Land Units, home gardens, Knowledge, Use and Perception Index, tropical forest, wild plant collection. ResumenAntecedentes. Los productos forestales no maderables están siendo integrados en las estrategias de conservación. Su relevancia para la obtención de plantas medicinales se cita frecuentemente como una razón para conservar los bosques. Pregunta. ¿El uso de plantas medicinales puede motivar la conservación de bosques? Sitio y años de estudio. El estudio se llevó a cabo en Santiago Camotlán, Distrito Villa Alta, Oaxaca, en un área montañosa húmeda de la Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, México, de agosto 2011 a mayo 2013. Métodos. Se caracterizaron unidades ambientales y se evaluó la importancia relativa de las plantas medicinales. Los métodos etnobotánicos incluyeron mapeo participativo, entrevistas abiertas, entrevistas semiestructuradas y listados libres con curanderos, así como miembros de 17 hogares seleccionados sistemá-ticamente. También se recolectaron en caminatas botánicas, plantas medicinales con curanderos y plantas consideradas características de cada unidad ambiental por conocedo...

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 68%

“…A classification reported from the Isthmus Zapotecs and Mixes was similar in its criteria; the population distinguished village, home gardens, roadsides, maize fields, corral, pasture, coffee plantation, forest and mountains (Frei et al 2000). However, other studies report the use of physiognomy and dominant species in naming vegetation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation in the humid mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Mexico?

2018

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“…Voeks (1996) and Caniago & Siebert (1998) found a use pattern of medicinal resources similar to that found in the present study, which leads to the inquiry: are, in fact, primary tropical forests are rich source of medicinal resources? Those data suggest that secondary forests and disturbed areas do concentrate a large number of medicinal plants (see also Frei et al 2000). Voeks (1996) called attention to that fact and concluded that local people prefer to use the medicinal plants of disturbed areas.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of plant resources in a seasonal dry forest (Northeastern Brazil)

2005

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RESUMO -(O uso de recursos vegetais em uma floresta estacional seca (Nordeste do Brasil)). Para estudar o uso de recursos vegetais de uma floresta estacional seca por uma comunidade rural, foram demarcadas parcelas em áreas de vegetação perturbada e relativamente preservada. O estudo foi conduzido em vegetação de caatinga arbórea hiperxerófila situada no município de Alagoinha (08 o 27'59" S e 36 o 46'33" W), no estado de Pernambuco, Nordeste do Brasil. Os resultados mostram que um padrão semelhante de oferecimento de recursos medicinais foi encontrado ao de outras florestas tropicais, nas quais as áreas perturbadas ou de vegetação secundária são uma maior fonte de plantas medicinais. Todavia, um novo padrão foi evidenciado ao verificar-se que áreas perturbadas não detêm a preferência das pessoas, e que isso pode estar relacionado com a disponibilidade temporal dos recursos (adaptação a estacionalidade característica do tipo vegetacional) e a permanência dos valores culturais e de conhecimentos básicos sobre as plantas da vegetação natural, e que são de maior importância para a comunidade.Palavras-chave: etnobotânica quantitativa, florestas sazonais secas, caatinga, plantas medicinais, diversidade tropical ABSTRACT -(Use of plant resources in a seasonal dry forest (Northeastern Brazil)).To study the use of plant resources by a rural community in a seasonal dry forest, plots were established in a disturbed area and in a relatively preserved area. The study was carried out in caatinga vegetation located at the municipality of Alagoinha (08 o 27'59" S and 36 o 46'33" W), state of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil. The results show a pattern of medicinal resources offering similar to that found in other tropical forests, in which the disturbed areas or those of secondary vegetation are a major source of medicinal plants. Nevertheless, a new pattern was evidenced as it was found that disturbed areas are not preferred by local people, and that it may be related to temporal availability of resources (adaptation to the characteristic seasonality of the vegetation type) and to the permanence of cultural values and basic knowledge on plants of the natural vegetation, which are of major importance for the community.

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“…We could assume that knowledge about this group of resources as foodstuffs would make some inhabitants grow and keep them in their home gardens and cultivation fields. Nevertheless, just as happens in other communities in different regions around the world, people do not take these species to their own land because they identify more abundance and diversity of these species in secondary forests and areas abandoned after cultivation (Alcorn 1981(Alcorn , 1989Hart and Hart 1986;Padoch 1987;Anderson and Posey 1989;Balée and Gély 1989;Posey 1992;Frei et al 2000;Peacock and Turner 2000). Knowledge about distribution and abundance of these resources may explain why they are obtained from some particular areas as it occurs with similar management practices developed by other groups of people (Gadgil and Berkes 1991;Berkes 1998;Berkes et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors that influence the intensity of non-agricultural management of plant resources

2008

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We investigated the relationships of land tenure, biological, cultural and spatial variables and their effect on the intensity of management of 20 edible plants used by the Santa Maria Tecomavaca community in Oaxaca State, Mexico. We developed a non-linear generalized model showing that land ownership, cultural importance and biological characteristics of a plant are the most significant factors influencing farmers' decisions to intensify management of plant resources. On common land, species with high cultural importance and long life cycles are managed intensively, while, regardless of cultural importance, species with short life cycles are simply gathered. On land where particular people have an acknowledged right of use, species with long life cycles are always managed at an intermediate level of intensity regardless of their cultural importance, while for species with short life cycles, management intensity tends to slightly decrease as cultural importance increases. Even though management is generally more intensive in lands where individuals have use rights, as expected from the ''supervised collective action model'', culturally important resources are more intensively managed in communal areas, probably as a result of a long tradition of consumption and of their economic importance.Keywords Models of plant management Á Tehuacán-valley Mexico Á Wild food plants

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Zapotec and Mixe use of Tropical Habitats for securing medicinal plants in MéXico

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Cited by 56 publications

References 20 publications

Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation in the humid mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Mexico?

Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation in the humid mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Mexico?

Use of plant resources in a seasonal dry forest (Northeastern Brazil)

Factors that influence the intensity of non-agricultural management of plant resources

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