Ethnobotanical Inventory of Plants Used by Mountainous Rural Communities in NW Portugal.

Plants (Basel)

Technological Center for AgriFood Sustainability (NUTRIR), CISAS-Center for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability, Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, Monte de Prado, 4960-320 Melgaço, Portugal.

Published: October 2024

Mountains matter. Rural subsistence communities living in areas with high biodiversity, such as mountains, are hotspots of ecological knowledge. However, modern lifestyles may threaten this unique cultural heritage. Our study aimed to document and analyze information on plants used to fulfill the everyday needs of the people in three rural communities in NW Portugal. Fieldwork was carried out for a period of one year and information was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. A total of 98 species, belonging to 46 families, were identified, and 142 vernacular names were recorded. Ethnobotanical richness was similar among the studied communities. The five most frequently cited species were: , , , and . Phanerophytes and hemicryptophytes comprise nearly 81% of the list. The top three uses categories (total 14) were: medicine, fuel and ritual. Digestive, skin and respiratory symptoms were the most often conditions treated with plants. Medicinal plants were used fresh and dried, mostly as infusions. The insights gathered here are important for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the local communities. Moreover, the data are of considerable scientific interest because it provides the fundaments for future studies that aim to validate/invalidate specific uses.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11479140PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants13192824DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

rural communities
8
communities portugal
8
cultural heritage
8
communities
5
ethnobotanical inventory
4
plants
4
inventory plants
4
plants mountainous
4
mountainous rural
4
portugal mountains
4

Similar Publications

Aims And Objectives: Approximately 50% of Americans report having low health insurance literacy, leading to uncertainty when choosing their insurance coverage to best meet their healthcare needs. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between lack of prescription drug benefit knowledge and problems paying medical bills among Medicare beneficiaries.

Methods: We analysed the 2021 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Public Use File of 5586 Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥ 65 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hydrothermal biochar has demonstrated potential in enhancing crop growth by improving soil properties and microbial activity; however, its effectiveness varies with application rate, with excessive amounts potentially inhibiting plant growth. This study employed a pot experiment approach to compare varying application rates of hydrothermal biochar (ranging from 0 to 50 t/ha) and to analyze its effects on alfalfa biomass, photosynthetic efficiency, soil nutrient content, and microbial community composition. Biochar application increased alfalfa dry weight by 12.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Heat stress (HS) is an impactful condition in ruminants that negatively affects their physiological and rumen microbial composition. However, a fundamental understanding of metabolomic and metataxonomic mechanisms in goats under HS conditions is lacking. Here, we analyzed the rumen metabolomics, metataxonomics, and serum metabolomics of goats (n = 10, body weight: 41.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Understanding the association between urban noise and nighttime light in China.

Sci Rep

December 2024

School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China.

Nighttime light data partially reflects the process of urban modernization and its reaction to urban scale, but its correlation with noise remains unclear, especially over a long-term time series, remains unclear. To address this gap, we examine 31 provincial capital cities and municipalities in China as the study area, utilizing noise monitoring data and nighttime light data to explore their relationship in urban areas from 2012 to 2021. The results show that: (1) During the study period, the regional environmental noise and night light index of 31 major cities exhibited a consistent upward trend, with the average equivalent sound level of environmental noise in most urban areas fluctuating between 50.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rural Revitalization (RR) is a key national strategy in China aimed at sustainable rural development and has gained significant attention. Given the unique characteristics of different villages, understanding differentiated paths to achieve RR is essential. This study introduces a new "5I Framework" (INDUS-INHAB-INDOC-INFRA-INCOM) to assess RR's overall development status (ODS) and differentiated paths.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!