Conservation of wild food plants from wood uses: evidence supporting the protection hypothesis in Northeastern Brazil.

Publisher: Biomed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101245794 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1746-4269 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17464269 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Ethnobiol Ethnomed Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [London] : Biomed Central, [2005]-

Wood* ; Conservation of Natural Resources* ; Plants, Edible*; Brazil ; Humans ; Ethnobotany ; Trees

Background: The interplay between different uses of woody plants remains underexplored, obscuring our understanding of how a plant's value for one purpose might shield it from other, more harmful uses. This study examines the protection hypothesis by determining if food uses can protect woody plants (trees and shrubs) from wood uses. We approached the hypothesis from two distinct possibilities: (1) the protective effect is proportional to the intensity of a species' use for food purposes, and (2) the protective effect only targets key species for food purposes.
Methods: The research was conducted in a rural community within "Restinga" vegetation in Northeast Brazil. To identify important food species for both consumption and income (key species) and the collection areas where they naturally occur, we conducted participatory workshops. We then carried out a floristic survey in these areas to identify woody species that coexist with the key species. Voucher specimens were used to create a field herbarium, which, along with photographs served as visual stimuli during the checklist interviews. The interviewees used a five-point Likert scale to evaluate the species in terms of perceived wood quality, perceived availability, and use for food and wood purposes. To test our hypothesis, we used Cumulative Link Mixed Models (CLMMs), with the wood use as the response variable, food use, perceived availability and perceived quality as the explanatory variables and the interviewee as a random effect. We performed the same model replacing food use for key species food use (a binary variable that had value 1 when the information concerned a key species with actual food use, and value 0 when the information did not concern a key species or concerned a key species that was not used for food purposes).
Results: Consistent with our hypothesis, we identified a protective effect of food use on wood use. However, this effect is not directly proportional to the species' food use, but is confined to plants with considerable domestic food importance. Perceived availability and quality emerged as notable predictors for wood uses.
Conclusion: We advocate for biocultural conservation strategies that enhance the food value of plants for their safeguarding, coupled with measures for non-edible woody species under higher use-pressure.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)

Erratum in: J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2024 Sep 20;20(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s13002-024-00731-7. (PMID: 39304947)

Ribeiro EMS, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Santos BA, Tabarelli M, Leal IR. Chronic anthropogenic disturbance drives the biological impoverishment of the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation. J Appl Ecol. 2015;52(3):611–20. (PMID: 10.1111/1365-2664.12420)
Ribeiro DA, de Macedo DG, de Oliveira LGS, de Oliveira Santos M, de Almeida BV, Macedo JGF, et al. Conservation priorities for medicinal woody species in a cerrado area in the Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil. Environ Dev Sustain. 2019;21(1):61–77. (PMID: 10.1007/s10668-017-0023-9)
Medeiros PM, De Almeida ALS, Da Silva TC, De Albuquerque UP. Pressure indicators of wood resource use in an atlantic forest area, Northeastern Brazil. Environ Manag. 2011;47(3):410–24. (PMID: 10.1007/s00267-011-9618-3)
Ros-Tonen MAF. The role of non-timber forest products in sustainable tropical forest management. Holz Roh Werkstoff. 2000;58(3):196–201. (PMID: 10.1007/s001070050413)
Brokamp G, Borgtoft Pedersen H, Montúfar R, Jácome J, Weigend M, Balslev H. Productivity and management of Phytelephas aequatorialis (Arecaceae) in Ecuador. Ann Appl Biol. 2014;164(2):257–69. (PMID: 10.1111/aab.12098)
Gaoue OG, Ticktin T. Patterns of harvesting foliage and bark from the multipurpose tree Khaya senegalensis in Benin: variation across ecological regions and its impacts on population structure. Biol Conserv. 2007;137(3):424–36. (PMID: 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.02.020)
Stanley D, Voeks R, Short L. Is non-timber forest product harvest sustainable in the less developed world? A systematic review of the recent economic and ecological literature. Ethnobiol Conserv. 2012;2012(1):1–39.
Shackleton CM. Non-timber forest products in livelihoods. In: Ecological Sustainability for Non-timber Forest Products. Milton Park: Routledge; 2015. p. 12–30. (PMID: 10.4324/9781315851587)
Jacob MCM, de Medeiros MFA, Albuquerque UP. Biodiverse food plants in the semiarid region of Brazil have unknown potential: A systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(5):e0230936. (PMID: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230936323797757205212)
Bacchetta L, Visioli F, Cappelli G, Caruso E, Martin G, Nemeth E, et al. A manifesto for the valorization of wild edible plants. J Ethnopharmacol. 2016;191:180–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2016.05.061 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.05.06127321281)
Delang CO. The role of wild food plants in poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation in tropical countries. Prog Dev Stud. 2006;6:275–86. (PMID: 10.1191/1464993406ps143oa)
Lowore J. Understanding the livelihood implications of reliable honey trade in the miombo Woodlands in Zambia. Front For Glob Change. 2020;3(March):1–16.
Casas A, Caballero J, Mapes C, Zárate S. Manejo de la vegetación, domesticación de plantas y origen de la agricultura en Mesoamérica. Bot Sci. 2017;47(61):31. (PMID: 10.17129/botsci.1537)
Almeida A. Avaliação ecológica do extrativismo do pequi (Caryocar coriaceum Wittm.) na Floresta Nacional do Araripe, Ceará: informações para um plano de uso sustentável. Tese de Doutorado. 2014;164.
Avocèvou-Ayisso C, Sinsin B, Adégbidi A, Dossou G, Van Damme P. Sustainable use of non-timber forest products: impact of fruit harvesting on Pentadesma butyracea regeneration and financial analysis of its products trade in Benin. For Ecol Manag. 2009;257(9):1930–8. (PMID: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.01.043)
Ribeiro JPO, Carvalho TKN, da Silva Ribeiro JE, de Sousa RF, de Farias Lima JR, de Oliveira RS, et al. Can ecological apparency explain the use of plant species in the semi-arid depression of Northeastern Brazil? Acta Bot Brasilica. 2014;28(3):476–83. (PMID: 10.1590/0102-33062014abb2758)
Soldati GT, de Medeiros PM, Duque-Brasil R, Coelho FMG, Albuquerque UP. How do people select plants for use? Matching the ecological apparency hypothesis with optimal foraging theory. Environ Dev Sustain. 2017;19(6):2143–61. (PMID: 10.1007/s10668-016-9844-1)
Gonçalves PHS, Albuquerque UP, De Medeiros PM. The most commonly available woody plant species are the most useful for human populations: A meta-analysis. Ecol Appl. 2016;26(7):2238–53. (PMID: 10.1002/eap.136427755717)
Hora JSL, Feitosa IS, Albuquerque UP, Ramos MA, Medeiros PM. Drivers of species’ use for fuelwood purposes: a case study in the Brazilian semiarid region. J Arid Environ. 2021;185:104324. (PMID: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104324)
Cardoso MB, Ladio AH, Dutrus SM, Lozada M. Preference and calorific value of fuelwood species in rural populations in northwestern Patagonia. Biomass Bioenergy. 2015;81(October):514–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.08.003 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.08.003)
Gonçalves PHS, Medeiros PMD, Albuquerque UP. Effects of domestic wood collection on tree community structure in a human-dominated seasonally dry tropical forest. J Arid Environ. 2021;193:104554. (PMID: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104554)
Cruz MP, Medeiros PM, Combariza IS, Peroni N, Albuquerque UP. “I eat the manofê so it is not forgotten”: local perceptions and consumption of native wild edible plants from seasonal dry forests in Brazil. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2014;10(1):1–11. (PMID: 10.1186/1746-4269-10-45)
do Nascimento VT, de Lucena RFP, Maciel MIS, de Albuquerque UP. Knowledge and use of wild food plants in areas of dry seasonal forests in Brazil. Ecol Food Nutr. 2013;52(4):317–43. (PMID: 10.1080/03670244.2012.70743423802914)
Lucena RFP, Araújo EDL, De Albuquerque UP. Does the local availability of woody Caatinga plants (Northeastern Brazil) explain their use value? Econ Bot. 2007;61(4):347–61. (PMID: 10.1663/0013-0001(2007)61[347:DTLAOW]2.0.CO;2)
Lucena RFP, Lucena CM, Araújo EL, Alves ÂGC, de Albuquerque UP. Conservation priorities of useful plants from different techniques of collection and analysis of ethnobotanical data. An Acad Bras Cienc. 2013;85(1):169–86. (PMID: 10.1590/S0001-3765201300500001323460442)
da Silva JPC, Gonçalves PH, Albuquerque UP, da Silva RRV, de Medeiros PM. Can medicinal use protect plant species from wood uses? Evidence from Northeastern Brazil. J Environ Manag. 2021;279:111800. (PMID: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111800)
Alexiades MN, Sheldon JWS. Selected guidelines for ethnobotanical research: a field manual. New York: New York Botanical Garden; 1996.
IBGE. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatísticas. Cidades [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2023 Aug 19]. Available from: http://cidades.ibge.gov.br/download/mapa_e_municipios.php?lang=&uf=al.
CLIMATE-DATA.ORG. Climate data, 2020. < https://pt.climate-data.org/america-do-sul/brasil .
IMA. Instituto do Meio Ambiente. APA Marituba do Peixe [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 May 1]. Available from: https://dados.al.gov.br/catalogo/dataset/apa-da-marituba-do-peixe.
Gomes DL, Ferreira RPDS, Santos ÉMDC, Da SRRV, De MPM. Local criteria for the selection of wild food plants for consumption and sale in Alagoasm, Brazil. Ethnobiol Conserv. 2020;9(May):1–15.
Cabral SAS, de Azevedo Júnior SM, de Larrazábal ME. Abundância sazonal de aves migratórias na Área de Proteção Ambiental de Piaçabuçu, Alagoas, Brasil. Rev Bras Zool. 2006;23(3):865–9. (PMID: 10.1590/S0101-81752006000300033)
Ramos MA, Medeiros PM, Albuquerque UP. Methods and techniques applied to ethnobotanical studies of timber resources. In: de Albuquerque UP, Cunha LVFC, editors. Methods and techniques in ethnobiology and ethnoecology. New York: Springer; 2014. p. 15–23.
Burnham KP, Anderson DR. Multimodel inference: Understanding AIC and BIC in model selection. Sociol Methods Res. 2004;33(2):261–304. (PMID: 10.1177/0049124104268644)
Evans, M.I. (1993). Conservation by commercialization. In: Hladik CM, Hladik A, Linares OF, Pagezy H, Semple A, Hadley M, editors. Tropical forests, people and food: biocultural interactions and applications to development, vol. 13. 1993. Pp. 815–822.
Shackleton CM, Garekae H, Sardeshpande M, Sinasson Sanni G, Twine WC. Non-timber forest products as poverty traps: Fact or fiction? For Policy Econ. 2024;158:103114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103114 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103114)
Collado S, Staats H, Corraliza JA. Experiencing nature in children’s summer camps: affective, cognitive and behavioural consequences. J Environ Psychol. 2013;33:37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.08.002 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.08.002)
Cheng JCH, Monroe MC. Connection to nature: children’s affective attitude toward nature. Environ Behav. 2012;44(1):31–49. (PMID: 10.1177/0013916510385082)
Hinds J, Sparks P. Engaging with the natural environment: the role of affective connection and identity. J Environ Psychol. 2008;28(2):109–20. (PMID: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.11.001)
Marquez-Reynoso MI, Ramírez-Marcial N, Cortina-Villar S, Ochoa-Gaona S. Purpose, preferences and fuel value index of trees used for firewood in El Ocote Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, Mexico. Biomass Bioenergy. 2017;100:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.03.006 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.03.006)
Bahru T, Kidane B, Tolessa A. Prioritization and selection of high fuelwood producing plant species at Boset District, Central Ethiopia: an ethnobotanical approach. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2021;17(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-021-00474-9 . (PMID: 10.1186/s13002-021-00474-9)
Barbosa DM, dos Santos GMC, Gomes DL, Santos EMD, da Silva RRV, de Medeiros PM. Does the label “unconventional food plant” influence food acceptance by potential consumers? A first approach. Heliyon. 2021;7(4):E0673. (PMID: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06731)
Freitas MAB, Magalhães JLL, Carmona CP, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Vieira ICG, Tabarelli M. Intensification of açaí palm management largely impoverishes tree assemblages in the Amazon estuarine forest. Biol Conserv. 2021;261:109251. (PMID: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109251)
Nazmul Alam SM, Chowdhury SJ. Improved earthen stoves in coastal areas in Bangladesh: economic, ecological and socio-cultural evaluation. Biomass Bioenergy. 2010;34(12):1954–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.08.007 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.08.007)
Jeuland MA, Pattanayak SK. Benefits and costs of improved cookstoves: assessing the implications of variability in health, forest and climate impacts. PLoS ONE. 2012;7(2):e30338. (PMID: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030338223480053278415)
Hanna R, Esther D, Greenstone M. Up in smoke: the influence of household behavior on the long-run impact of improved cooking stoves. Am Econ J Econ Policy 2016;8(1):80–114. http://www.jstor.org/stable/247391 . Am Econ J Econ Policy ;2012;66:37–9.
Bensch G, Peters J. A recipe for success? Randomized free distribution of improved cooking stoves in Senegal. SSRN Electron J 2012.
Agurto AM. Improved cooking stoves and firewood consumption: quasi-experimental evidence from the Northern Peruvian Andes. Ecol Econ. 2013;89:135–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.02.010 . (PMID: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.02.010)
Alam SMN, Chowdhury SJ, Begum A, Rahman M. Effect of improved earthen stoves: improving health for rural communities in Bangladesh. Energy Sustain Dev. 2006;10(3):46–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0973-0826(08)60543-8 . (PMID: 10.1016/S0973-0826(08)60543-8)
Nascimento VT, Sousa LG, Alves AGC, Araújo EL, Albuquerque UP. Rural fences in agricultural landscapes and their conservation role in an area of caatinga (dryland vegetation) in northeast Brazil. Environ Dev Sustain. 2009;11(5):1005–29. (PMID: 10.1007/s10668-008-9164-1)
IUCN. The red list of threatened species (IUCN). Version 2022-2. 2022 [cited 2022 Oct 24]. Available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Nº 025/2022 Brazilian Biodiversity Fund - FUNBIO, the HUMANIZE and Eurofins Foundations (FUNBIO - Fellowships Conserving the Future, granted to RAC; Nº 141873/2020-5 National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (Doctoral fellowship for RAC); Nº 304866/2020-2 National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (Productivity grant for PMM); Nº APQ2022021000027 Research Support Foundation of the State of Alagoas (FAPEAL) (Granted to PMM)

Keywords: Conservation through use; Ethnobiology; Traditional management; Wild edible plants; Wood uses

Date Created: 20240828 Date Completed: 20240829 Latest Revision: 20240920

20240921

PMC11360515

10.1186/s13002-024-00719-3

39198862