Catalan ethnoflora: a meta-analytic approach to life forms and geographic territories
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(2020) 16:72
RESEARCH
Open Access
Catalan ethnoflora: a meta-analytic approach to life forms and geographic territories Airy Gras1,2*, Montse Parada2, Joan Vallès2,3 and Teresa Garnatje1
Abstract Background: Catalonia (in the north east of the Iberian Peninsula) is among the most prospected territories in Europe, from the ethnobotanical point of view. The aim of the present paper is to undertake a global analysis in the area considered, including plants, plant life forms, and ethnobotanical data within a physiographic and geographic framework. Methods: Data from 21 ethnobotanical prospection areas in Catalonia were collected, analyzed, and compared, with the focus on plant life forms and geographic divisions. Results: A total of 824 taxa constitute the Catalan ethnoflora, and 316 of them are shared by the six physiographic zones recognized in Catalonia. When three major geographic areas are considered (Pyrenean, inland, and littoral), 394 taxa have been reported in only one out of the three areas. Concerning life forms, phanerophytes and chamaephytes together, i.e., those taxa present all through the year, are the most cited (37.12%). Conclusions: This first study constitutes a new approach to ethnobotanical data analysis. The results show the particular importance of plants with a large distribution area and plants with available biomass throughout the year. Apart from this, other kind of plants, e.g., those present in only one territory, are of interest for its originality and sometimes for the local significance. Keywords: Catalonia, Ethnobotany, Geographic areas, Life forms, Physiographic zones, Traditional knowledge
Introduction Folk plant use for extremely diverse purposes is inherent to humanity, as suggested by the evidence of their varied employment in ancient times [1] and by the convergence of their uses in both close and distant societies [2, 3]. Ethnobotany [4] is situated at the interface between the social and * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-Ajuntament de Barcelona), Passeig del Migdia s.n., Parc de Montjuïc, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 2 Laboratori de Botànica (UB)—Unitat associada al CSIC, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació—Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII 27-31, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
natural sciences [5] and projects ancestral traditional knowledge regarding biodiversity into the present and future wellbeing of human societies [6]. The majority of ethnobotanical work has been devoted to ethnofloristic prospection [7], with an emphasis on pharmaceutical ethnobotany or ethnopharmacology, probably due to the possibilities of using some of the collected information in the drug development process [8, 9]. Apart from the ethnofloristic approach, comparative and quantitative studies are also relevant in ethnobotany. In the last 30 years, ethnobotanical prospection has been prolific in Catalo
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