Traditional Ecological Knowledge of a Riverine Forest in Turkana, Kenya: Implications for Research and Management

The present study explores traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of Turkana pastoralists and cultivators in the context of a riverine forest in northern Kenya. The Turkwel River and its floodplain sustain a thick forest, which is used for grazing and extraction of non-timber forest products. However, sedentarisation and agricultural expansion have resulted in localised clear-felling of trees, while river damming has altered the natural flow regime. A series of structured, semi-structured, and group interviews were combined with a botanical inventory in order to assess the relevance of TEK to ecological research and forest conservation. Turkana informants gave 102 vernacular names for the 113 woody species. Of these, 85% had a domestic or pastoral use among the 105 specific uses that were described. Ethnobotanical knowledge was relatively homogenous and not related to age, gender, or source of livelihood. The informants had in-depth knowledge of some key ecological processes. The conceived threats to forest survival were primarily cultivation and permanent settlements, while the effects of river damming and livestock grazing were disputed. A claimed decline in rainfall was confirmed by official data. There is strong evidence that TEK could be used to generate hypotheses for research and to design sustainable conservation strategies. A revised version of the indigenous system of tree management should be incorporated into the official forestry policy in order to resolve future conflicts between pastoralists and cultivators.     

Rain Forest Islands in the Chilean Semiarid Region: Fog-dependency, Ecosystem Persistence and Tree Regeneration

Tree presence in semiarid ecosystems is generally constrained by insufficient annual rainfall. However, in semiarid Chile, rainforest patches dominated by Aextoxicon punctatum are unexpectedly found on coastal mountaintops (450–600 m) at 30°S, surrounded by a xerophytic vegetation matrix that receives only 147 mm of annual precipitation. It has been proposed that these forests persist as a result of fog-water inputs. If so, then because fog-water deposition is spatially heterogeneous and shows strong edge effects, the potential environmental gradient created by the direction of fog input should determine forest structure and tree regeneration patterns. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured fog inputs, forest structural attributes (age and size distribution, basal area, and coarse woody debris), and tree regeneration in three different habitats: the windward edges (WE), leeward edges (LE), and the interior (center) of rainforest patches varying in area from 0.2 to 22 ha. Mean fog-water input was estimated from passive collectors over 1 year in WE and LE of patches. Tree regeneration was greater in the WE and forest interior (FI) and decreased toward the LE of patches, following a marked pattern of decline in fog inputs. Older trees and coarse woody debris were concentrated in the FI and LE of patches. Tree regeneration and patch structure appear to be largely controlled by fog-input direction and edge effects. We propose that forest patches may be slowly growing toward the incoming fog edge, while dying at the opposite edge.     

Comparison of wild edible plant diversity and foraging strategies in two aboriginal communities of northwestern Patagonia

We have compared edible plant richness, diversity and differential patterns of use in two Mapuche communities of Argentina. The populations of Rams and Cayulef are located in a herbaceous steppe, far from the temperate forests of northwestern Patagonia where their ancestors lived in the past. Ecological concepts and methods, such as diversity indices, niche breadth and optimal foraging theory have been used in this comparative study. Our results indicate that the diversity of wild plants used in Rams and Cayulef is associated with the variety of gathering environments they visit. When comparing diversity indices among the three environments within each community, in Cayulef we found the highest diversity indices for steppe species and the lowest for forest plants. In contrast, in Rams the niche breadth is similar in all environments, indicating an ample exploration and use of edible wild plants. Cost and benefit trade-offs seem to be considered in both communities when edible plants are collected. Nevertheless, we found that the people from Rams not only utilize a greater richness of wild plants than the Cayulef people, but also use more nutritious resources, spend more time traveling to the gathering sites and a longer handling time in preparing these edible plants. This study has quantitatively shown that the restricted access to Pehuen forest (Araucaria araucana) is the main factor which seems to limit wild plant diversity used in these Mapuche communities.     

Forest Management Considerations for Conservation of Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius and White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos Populations in Quinto Real (Spanish Western Pyrenees)

The woodlands of Quinto Real (Quinto Real, Erreguerena and Legua Acotada) are a 3,000 hectare beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest managed by the shelterwood system applied to even-aged (regular) stands. This study analyses how forest management determines the local distribution of the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) and black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) and its relationship with the type, structure and size of the stands used for nesting by both species, as well as their dead wood requirements. The most suitable nesting habitat of both species is the mature forest (stands of regular large final crop trees), but the size of the mature fragments and a minimum quantity of dead wood is also important.     

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge as Situated Practices: Understanding Fishers' Knowledge in the Western Solomon Islands

ABSTRACT   In this article, we draw on research among fisherfolk of Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands, to examine certain epistemological assumptions of the indigenous knowledge concept. We describe how approaches to knowledge in Roviana differ from prevailing models of knowledge that distinguish between cognitive aspects and other modalities of knowing. For many Roviana fishers, ecological knowledge is not analytically separated from the changing contexts of everyday activities such as navigating and fishing. Inspired by Roviana epistemologies, we argue that a practice-oriented approach provides a more sympathetic and informative theoretical framework for understanding knowledge and its role in contemporary marine-resource conservation efforts. The theoretical and methodological implications of the perspective are illustrated with examples from an ongoing marine conservation project in the western Solomon Islands that integrates indigenous knowledge, remote-sensing techniques, and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies.     

Conservation Implications of Hybridization in African Cercopithecine Monkeys

Numerous field reports of hybrid monkeys and documented cases of persistent hybrid zones suggest that natural hybridization is common among African cercopithecines. Both theoretical considerations and a review of cases lead us to conclude that parapatric hybridization among closely related allotaxa is a widespread, usually natural process whose incidence may be modified by human influence. Sympatric hybridization, between species ecologically distinct enough to have overlapping ranges, is rarer, and in monkeys tends to occur in settings where natural or anthropogenic habitat edges restrict migration and hence access to unrelated conspecific mates. Although sympatric hybridization occurs in the absence of human disturbance, and may even have been a creative force in cercopithecine evolution, anthropogenic habitat fragmentation may increase its incidence. Hybridization with a more abundant form may increase the level of threat faced by a species whose numbers and range have been severely restricted, either naturally or artificially.     

Some Properties of Proteolytic Enzymes and Storage Proteins in Recalcitrant and Orthodox Seeds of Araucaria

Araucaria bidwillii Hook. and Araucaria cunninghamii Don D. are two species of conifers whose seeds belong to different physiological categories: A. bidwillii seeds are recalcitrant, while A. cunninghamii seeds are orthodox. The extraction of enzymes and storage proteins was carried out from A. bidwillii and A. cunninghamii megagametophytes. The endopeptidase activities of both species were assayed with azocasein and with haemoglobin; the exopeptidase activities were detected by various N-carbobenzyloxy-dipeptides and L-leucine p-nitroanilide. The use of appropriate proteinase inhibitors, i.e. pepstatin A, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and trans-epoxysuccinyl-L-leucylamido-(4-guanidino)butane, showed the presence of aspartic and metallo proteinases and the absence of the cysteine ones both in A. bidwillii and in A. cunninghamii ungerminated seeds. Since the results do not show differences between the types of enzymes in the ungerminated araucarian seeds and those present in some ungerminated angiosperm seeds (barley, wheat, maize, rice, buckwheat), we conclude that their physiological role is similar. The electrophoretical analyses of soluble and insoluble storage proteins of A. cunninghamii showed patterns similar to those found in other gymnosperms, while the storage protein patterns of A. bidwillii seeds were rather atypical.     

Applying Indigenous Knowledge to the Restoration of Degraded Tropical Rain Forest Clearings Dominated by Bracken Fern

The Lacandon Maya of Chiapas, southern Mexico, have traditionally used a long fallow rotational slash‐and‐burn system for maize production in small clearings within tropical forest. Although successional processes usually lead to rapid restoration of abandoned fields, the invasive fern, Pteridium aquilinium (commonly known as Bracken), can block natural succession. The Lacandon are aware of this and use the fast‐growing tree Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) to accelerate succession toward mature forest. We carried out a 12‐month‐long experiment in a Bracken‐infested area to test the effectiveness of the Lacandon’s low‐input restoration techniques. We found that we could successfully establish Balsa in plots dominated by Bracken using the Lacandon methodology. Their technique involves broadcasting large numbers of small seeds and applying traditional weeding techniques. After 12 months’ growth, Balsa reached a top height of over 6 m and basal areas of 4.1 (±0.3) m²/ha. We contrasted this low‐cost traditional fallow management with more costly techniques involving transplanting Balsa seedlings and sowing directly in the experimental area. The results validated the effectiveness of the Lacandon method for directing succession and confirmed the general potential of Balsa as a facilitator in the restoration of degraded tropical forest areas.     

西双版纳勐宋哈尼族的传统文化与生态系统多样性管理

世界各地的原住民族 (ｉｎｄｉｇｅｎｏｕｓｐｅｏｐｌｅ) ,在悠久的历史发展过程中 ,与当地的动植物和森林结成了极其密切的关系 ,他们之间互相作用、互相影响 ,形成了多样化的原住民知识体系 (ｉｎｄｉｇｅ ｎｏｕｓｋｎｏｗｌｅｄｇｅｓｙｓｔｅｍ)和传统文化信仰 (ｃｕｌｔｕｒａｌｂｅｌｉｅｆｓ)。这些知识体系和传统文化包含着丰富的认识、利用与保护动植物以及生态系统的知识与实践 ,因而也就成为这些原住民族与当地生态环境、生物多样性相互协调和持续发展的社会基础和技术保障[3 ,8,1 0 ,1 1 ] 。在全球性环境变化和生物多样性迅…     

Production, use and fate of Chilean brown seaweeds: re-sources for a sustainable fishery

Chile is an important producer of brown seaweeds representing 10% of world supply. Landings of Chilean kelp fluctuated between 40,000 t.year⁻¹ in the early ‘80s to 250,000 t.year⁻¹ more recently. Commercialized algae come from natural populations and no mass-cultures of involved species have been established. Four species of brown algae are commercially collected in the country: Lessonia trabeculata, L. nigrescens, Macrocystis pyrifera and M. integrifolia. Since 2000, the demand of alginate sources and food for cultivated abalones dramatically raised the harvesting of these species. Direct evaluations of Lessonia spp. and Macrocystis standing-stocks were made along 700 km of coast in northern Chile. Lessonia spp. estimated populations exceed 900,000 t, whereas M. integrifolia does not exceed 300 t. The insights provided indicate that sustainability of Chilean kelp subjected to intense harvesting would require management programs including the following bio-ecological recommendations: (1) to harvest the entire plant including the holdfast; (2) to harvest plants larger than 20 cm in diameter; (3) to harvest plants sparsely, selecting mayor specimens; (4) rotation of harvesting areas; and (5) for Macrocystis, to cut the canopy 1–2 m from the surface. They must be implemented in a National Program of Kelp Management, elaborated by government, scientists, fisherman, and industry.     

Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Crop Diversity in Swidden Fields: A Study in a Native Amazonian Society

Crop diversity protects food consumption in poor households within developing nations. Here we estimate the association between crop diversity on swidden fields and ethnobotanical knowledge. We conducted research among 215 male household heads from a native Amazonian society. Using multivariate regressions, we found higher crop diversity among households that depend on agricultural production for household consumption. We also found a statistically significant and positive, but low, association between the ethnobotanical knowledge of the male household head and crop diversity. Doubling the stock of ethnobotanical knowledge of the male household head is associated with a 9% increase in the number of crops sown by a household. The association remained after we controlled for the household level of market exposure, but vanished after we controlled for the social capital of the male household head. Future research should compare the association between ethnobotanical knowledge and crop diversity across different agricultural systems (i.e., home gardens, fallow fields).     

Indigenous Knowledge of Rock Kangaroo Ecology in Western Arnhem Land, Australia

Indigenous peoples of western Arnhem Land, central northern Australia, have detailed knowledge of the rock kangaroos of the region, species that are little known to science. Information about the ecology of the species is required for their conservation and management. Ethnoecological studies can assist senior indigenous people with transfer of knowledge and can give respect and meaningful employment to those involved. We used semidirected interviews in the regional vernacular, Bininj Kunwok, to record indigenous knowledge of the ecology of the four rock kangaroo species (Petrogale brachyotis, P. concinna, Macropus bernardus and M. robustus). Discussions focussed on habitat preferences, diet, activity patterns, reproduction, predation, and hunting practices. The ethnoecological knowledge of the rock kangaroo species was extensive, and both complemented and extended that reported in the scientific literature. In contrast to scientific understanding of taxonomy and ecology, consultants recognized the rock kangaroos as a natural group. They also described subtle differences in the species’ comparative ecology. The methodology used proved highly successful and we recommend recording indigenous knowledge of the ecology of fauna species in the local vernacular wherever possible. This study is one of the most comprehensive ethnozoological studies of a group of species undertaken in Australia.

Salal Harvester Local Ecological Knowledge, Harvest Practices and Understory Management on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Despite growing interest in traditional and local ecological knowledge for conservation and resource management, the role of migrant resource users is largely unexplored. Challenging many assumptions about what constitutes “local knowledge,” migrant and immigrant harvesters of non-timber forest products on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington possess useful ecological knowledge of overstory–understory relationships and how forestry practices affect understory biological and commercial production. Harvesters of salal (Gaultheria shallon), a shrub used in the multi-million dollar floral greens industry, were interviewed in Mason County, Washington in 2001–2003. Interviews revealed that harvesters possess different kinds of resource management knowledge depending on whether they are experienced harvesters or more recent newcomers to the area. These differences may also correlate with differences in their harvesting practices. Understanding how resource management knowledge differs between experienced and newcomer harvesters can inform forest managers in their efforts to develop effective management and permitting policies for floral greens and other non-timber forest resources in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Habitat Use and Mobility of Two Threatened Coastal Dune Insects: Implications for Conservation

We studied the habitat use and mobility of the Grayling butterfly (Hipparchia semele) and the Blue-Winged Grasshopper (Oedipoda caerulescens), two threatened insects within spatially structured blond and grey dunes in a nature reserve along the Belgian coast. Although both species occur in the same biotope, H. semele were more abundant in open, dynamic sites with a relatively high amount of bare sand, while O. caerulescens preferred sheltered, more stable environments with a lower amount of bare sand. Unlike H. semele, substrate use varied in accordance to body colouration in O. caerulescens, especially on cold days, with light-coloured animals being more abundant on sand and dark-coloured animals more abundant on moss. During a mark-recapture-study, we marked 493 Grayling butterflies and 1289 Blue-Winged Grasshoppers. On average, both sexes of H. semele were equally mobile (about 150 m/day; maximum recorded distance of about 1700 m) while male O. caerulescens were significantly more mobile than females (daily average 47 vs. 5 m; maximum distances observed for O. caerulescens were about 800 m). The importance of habitat heterogeneity (within and among patches) and the consequences of habitat use and mobility of both species for the conservation of typical coastal dune habitats are discussed. The complementary use of species-specific information to site-based management measures is advocated.     

Medicinal Plants in the Atlantic Forest (Brazil): Knowledge, Use, and Conservation

This study focuses on knowledge of medicinal plants among the Caiçaras (rural inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil). In particular, we examine the use of medicinal plants according to sex and age to reveal general patterns of Caiçara knowledge and use of plant resources. Data collected through 449 interviews at 12 Caiçara communities (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coastal sites) include citations of 249 plants and identification of 227 species. We show the importance of introduced as opposed to native plants and of key individuals for the conservation of the Caiçaras-Atlantic Forest.     

Indigenous Knowledge and Use of Anisodus tanguticus in Pastoral Communities of Eastern Tibet,China, and Its Implications for Local Adaptation

Wild plant resources and related indigenous knowledge often play important role in facilitating human societies to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters and climate variability. We present a case study of using a traditional herb, Anisodus tanguticus, in a novel way by local pastoralists on the eastern Tibetan Plateau in coping with extreme winter events. Interviews of 13 key informants were carried out in seven villages, and in depth household surveys were conducted in two villages covering all the pastoral dependent households. Participatory observation has also been employed. We found that local herders applying dried above ground part of Atanguticus as a supplementary feed to livestock in winter, with the purpose of helping animals to overcome cold events and snow disasters. According to local communities, time of harvesting and type of animal to be fed are key factors of using this toxic plant. Local communities have accumulated a rich repository of knowledge about Atanguticus, including its habitat, life history, uses, and health enhancing effects. They developed an informal tenure system and benign management practices on this plant. This paper demonstrates that indigenous knowledge evolved from long term human nature interaction is important in preventing climate induced damages and lowering the risk aroused from climate uncertainties.     

Conditioning of the culture medium by suspension cells and formation of somatic proembryo in Araucaria angustifolia (coniferae)

Summary Cell masses of Araucaria angustifolia cultured in LP liquid medium showed different uptake and utilization patterns for different sugars. Fructose was slowly utilized by cell growth during the lag phase. After this lag period, fructose concentration decreased quickly, corresponding to the start of linear growth. Glucose rapidly decreased following fructose depletion. The level of extracellular proteins in the culture medium increased for the first 5 d after cell inoculation, during the transition from the lag phase to the high-growth phase. The pH of the medium decreased through the first half of the culture period (4.94) and increased (5.6) thereafter. Proembryos originated from a single cell, without a cleavage process. Suspensor cells and proembryonal groups developed independently. Only embryogenic cells divided and formed a suspensor or a proembryo group, which differentiated further along the longitudinal axis. The pathway observed for proembryo formation in Araucaria differs from the model proposed for other conifers, which show cleavage polyembryony.     

Changes in IAA, tryptophan and activity of soluble peroxidase associated with zygotic embryogenesis in Araucaria angustifolia (Brazilian pine)

In A. angustifolia seeds the highest values of freeIAA occurred in the embryonic axis, at the initial phases of development. Thesevalues decreased sharply coincident with the increase of IAA with thedifferentiation of cotyledons and seed elongation. During seed development,tryptophan concentrations varied inversely with free IAA and directly withconjugated IAA. An increase in peroxidase activity was followed by a decreaseinfree IAA in the embryo axis, and in conjugated IAA in the megagametophyte.Megagametophyte tissues did not exhibit significant variation in free IAAduringseed development. Following the stage where cotyledons arise, tryptophandecreased in the megagametophyte and increased in the cotyledons and embryonicaxis.     

Heavy infestation by endoparasitic copepod crustaceans (Poecilostomatoida: Splanchnotrophidae) in Chilean opisthobranch gastropods, with aspects of splanchnotrophid evolution

Copepods of the family Splanchnotrophidae are very significant parasites of shell-less opisthobranchs, but little information exists on their occurrence, infection frequencies, and local or seasonal abundances. Using a quantitative faunistic approach, 2257 potential hosts belonging to 47 opisthobranch species were collected from 1991 to 1996 off the Chilean and Argentinian coasts, mainly by SCUBA. Endoparasitic splanchnotrophids of the genus Ismaila were found in 303 host specimens, corresponding to a 13% prevalence of infection. The opisthobranch hosts were one sacoglossan, three doridoidean and four aeolidoidean nudibranch species. In total, 12 Chilean opisthobranch species are known to be infected with splanchnotrophids. This amounts to about 20% of all shell-less opisthobranch species from Chile, and a remarkable 26% of all splanchnotrophid hosts worldwide. Infection frequencies are low in most host species, but reached 89–100% in certain populations of Thecacera darwini, Okenia luna, Flabellina sp. 1 and Elysia patagonica, representing the highest rates of infestation by splanchnotrophids ever documented. In Thecacera darwini, the prevalence was very low in northern Chile, consistently high in central Chile, and low in the south. High infestation coupled with a high number of sympatric but host-specific species indicate the coast of central Chile is a centre of Ismaila evolution. The biogeography of splanchnotrophid genera is discussed, and a hypothesis on their distributional history is presented.See also Electronic Supplement (Parts 1 and 2) at http://www.senckenberg.de/odes/02-03.htm