Plant Diversity in Hmong and Mien Homegardens in Northern Thailand

Plant Diversity in Hmong and Mien Homegardens in Northern Thailand. We surveyed 180 homegardens in three Hmong and three Mien villages in northern Thailand to study their floristic diversity and composition and to understand the impact of forced migration and ecological conditions for the development of the rich homegarden flora. We also looked at the role of culturally important species as carriers of cultural identity. We found 406 species: 341 (99 families) and 270 species (90 families) in Hmong and Mien homegardens, respectively. Five lowland villages had the richest homegarden flora, in part due to the presence of many widespread species. Twenty-two species were widespread in tropical countries and found in most Hmong and Mien homegardens, and 14 additional common species were shared between Hmong and Mien homegardens. Seventeen species were exclusive to Hmong homegardens and eight to Mien homegardens; these we have designated as culturally important species. The presence of culturally important species determines the homegardens’ characteristics and reflects the cultural identity related to plant uses of a group. Similarities in floristic composition of the two groups can be attributed to widespread and common species. Floristic variation and diversity in homegardens were strongly related to homegarden geographical location, personal preference, and cultural background of the owners.     

Weed Diversity and Uses: a Case Study from Tea Plantations in Northern Thailand

Based on concerns that useful weed diversity in agroecosystems as well as associated traditional knowledge may be declining due to agricultural intensification and indiscriminate eradication of weeds, we studied weed diversity and use by local ethnic groups in tea plantations in northern Thailand under different agricultural intensities and landscape complexities, namely agroforestry, organic, and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) based conventional system. In each system, we sampled five tea plantations using belt-transects of 25 m². Use data were collected through interviews with specialist informants. We recorded 214 weed species (gamma-diversity) of which 66 were useful. Agroforestry system had the highest alpha- and beta-weed diversity, suggesting that the low agricultural intensity and high landscape complexity in this system is associated with higher weed diversity in tea plantations. The common weed species were clearly different in the three systems and only a small fraction (22 species) of widespread weeds was shared among them, resulting in low weed similarity between systems. The 66 useful species of weeds were mostly for food and medicine. Uses of some weeds were shared between systems. Many of the useful weeds are invasive species, suggesting that they are prevalent and inexpensive plant resources for rural people and could represent alternative resources in the future. Because the occurrence of invasive weeds may affect the natural habitats of the native flora, integrating the exploitation of weeds into weed management strategies may reduce the weed population while sustaining agrobiodiversity and conserving associated traditional knowledge in the long term.     

Cross-cultural Comparison of Medicinal Plants Used to Treat Infections in Northern Thailand

Economic Botany - Drug resistance in pathogenic microorganisms threatens both human and animal health. This has prompted the search for new antimicrobial drugs, including the ones from...