Brazilian Environment and Plants as Seen by Japanese Eyes Two Hundred and Twenty Years Ago.

In 2023, the Japanese migration to Brazil completed 115 years. However, the first time Japanese people arrived in Brazil and left a testimony of their experience was about two centuries ago. Their reports were registered in a historical document, handwritten during the Edo period when Japan was adopting a closed-door policy. The episode of their visit to Brazil is only a small part of the odyssey of these four Japanese sailors who departed from Ishinomiya to Tokyo at the end of the 18th century, but unexpectedly traveled around the globe. After a storm, they were adrift for six months until shipwrecking on the Aleutian Islands; from the Russian Aleutian Islands, they crossed the whole of Russia and boarded, in Saint Petersburg, on the first Russian expedition to circumnavigate the world. Their only stop in South America was at Santa Catarina Island, southern Brazil, and this is the first analysis of this episode from an ethnobiological perspective. Their reports described both the forest environment and the plants they observed and included at least 23 taxa of plants, mostly cultivated. These descriptions of plants and the environment are in contrast with other reports from the same period and to the current environment found in Santa Catarina Island, inspiring reflections on the construction of Brazil's image in Japan before the 20th century.

Local and traditional knowledge systems, resistance, and socioenvironmental justice.

In this essay, for the debate series of Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, I argue against the oversimplified causal argument that the maintenance of local and traditional knowledge systems is related to less advantaged circumstances. This statement is based on a colonialist perspective of what a less advantageous circumstance is, which is being questioned by several authors. It also ignores the struggles and resistance of traditional knowledge holders and the urgent call for socioenvironmental justice. As an ethnobiologist, I argue that we must face this reality to build science with justice and inclusiveness.

Ethnobotanical contributions to global fishing communities: a review.

BACKGROUND: Ethnobotanical knowledge about the role of plants in fisheries provides valuable ecological information vital for sustainable management of local resources; however, it is diluted and understudied globally. This literature review aims to map the knowledge of plant use within traditional fishing communities. METHODS: Through the PRISMA method, we identified and selected 34 articles reporting the use of plants in fisheries, and including 344 taxa of plants and algae. Uses of plants and algae were grouped into different categories. RESULTS: In the novel categorization of fishery-related uses we proposed, the most mentioned were for fishing and building/repair of fishing artifacts and habitat-related uses, while the records of plants related to fiber uses, providing aid in fishing management and species causing problems, were among the least mentioned. Semi-structured interview is most commonly used with local resource users, especially fishery experts, in exploring perceptions on plant use within traditional fishing communities. Diversity was high in all the recorded families, but most were reported locally. CONCLUSION: Ethnobotanical studies with fishers are not common in the documented literature but they provide a large number of use reports. On the basis this review, in most of the world, the information is of a casual and sporadic nature. Fishers can provide information on aquatic plants and algae that create problems and aid in fishing management, which are crucial in understanding the ecosystem of a region experiencing environmental challenges. This knowledge is greatly understudied globally and undergoing a rapid decline, as highlighted in several of the reviewed articles. Thus, further systematic research on fishery-related uses of plants by fisherfolk is needed considering its potential contribution to the sustainable management of fishery resources.

Notes on current Mbyá-Guarani medicinal plant exchanges in southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Experts in the Atlantic Forest, the Guarani people have the habit of transporting and exchanging plants due to their mobility throughout the territory. Historically, this habit contributed to the species composition and diversification among different phytophysiognomies that comprise the Atlantic Forest. Medicine and spirituality are traits that stand out within the Guarani culture, which is based on a holistic understanding of physical and spiritual well-being for the person's health. To achieve this balance, they use a range of native and adapted plant species. Our goal is to understand some of the Guarani contributions to the cultural landscape in the Atlantic Forest. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with key persons asking about the importance of forest environments for Guarani health and about visits to other Guarani villages and plants exchanged. Data analysis was qualitative, and through a bipartite network of exchanged plants to show current plant exchanges between villages. RESULTS: We visited seven Guarani Indigenous Territories in south Brazil, and with the participation of 12 respondents, we registered 27 species that were exchanged through different phytophysiognomies in the Atlantic Forest. These results show an intense movement of plants currently occurring between villages and the importance of these movements for both individual health and the integrity of the environments in which the Guarani villages are inserted. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a search for the maintenance of traditional species in the Guarani medical system, and we highlight the fundamental role of Guarani management in the conservation of the southern Atlantic Forest in indigenous territories.

Invisible contaminants and food security in former coal mining areas of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Mining activities have environmental impacts due to sediment movement and contamination of areas and may also pose risks to people's food security. In Brazil, the majority of coal mining activities are in the south, in the Santa Catarina carboniferous region. In this region, previously mined areas contaminated with heavy metals frequently occur nearby inhabited zones. Mining is part of the daily lives of local communities, and its environmental impacts are visible in the landscape; however, plants with medicinal and food use from these areas can be still consumed. Heavy metals are contaminants that do not have odor, color, or taste, and are therefore difficult to detect. We aimed to verify whether people use plants from contaminated mine areas, and understand which factors can influence the use of these resources, even from areas visibly impacted. METHODS: We conducted 195 semi-structured interviews with residents from 14 areas nearby abandoned mines in the main municipalities of the Santa Catarina carboniferous region. We asked each interviewee about the length of time they lived in the region, their perception of the quality of the environment, and what plant species were used and for what purpose. We constructed generalized multivariate linear models to verify which variables can affect the group of species mentioned and generalized linear models to verify which variables can affect the total number of citations. We estimated the frequency of citing species collected using the Smith index. RESULTS: From all interviewees, 127 (65%) reported collecting plants for medicinal and food use, directly from contaminated mine areas. Long-term residents, as well as those who noticed more environmental changes (positive and negative), cited more plants used and had more detailed knowledge of plant use in their communities. When asked if they were aware of the possible contamination of mined areas, 85% said they knew about it. However, only 10% associated negative health effects with the use of plant species collected in contaminated mined areas. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that people living nearby contaminated areas use and consume locally sourced plants, e.g., people know little about the danger of this contamination in their food and the risk of these contaminants to their health. These results also reveal a lack of information about contamination, as well as a lack of actions that include local communities in contaminated area restoration strategies. This situation poses a risk to the food security of the people living nearby former coal mining areas.

The ability of artisanal fishers to recognize the dolphins they cooperate with.

BACKGROUND: Human-animal interactions with mutual benefits in the wild are rare. Such positive interactions seem to require an intricate knowledge from the human side on the animals' behavior and their habitat. In southern Brazil, dolphins and human net-casting fishers have specialized in a cooperative foraging, in which fishers report being able to identify and name dolphins. Here, we evaluate the consensus in their ability to recognize the individual dolphins they interact with. By investigating the reliability of this recognition process, we assess the pros and cons of relying on the fishers' traditional knowledge to further understand the behavior and ecology of dolphins at the individual level. We also assess the potential role of traditional knowledge for the maintenance of this unusual interaction. METHODS: We interviewed 38 fishers using a semi-structured questionnaire. During each interview, we evaluate their recognition ability of dolphins by showing high-quality photos of dorsal fins of different dolphins, asking questions about the dolphins' behavior and traits, and about how fishers recognize each dolphin. We also evaluated information about the fishers. Different indices were used to measure the fishers' ability to recognize dolphins via photos, and their consensus on individual identification. These indices were modeled as functions of traits of both dolphins and fishers to investigate which ones influence the recognition process. RESULTS: We found that fishers can primarily recognize dolphins by natural marks in the dorsal fin but there was little consensus in recognition. Fishers also tend to repeat the name of the most "popular" dolphins for different photos, indicating low reliability in individual recognition. We also found that fishers who learned from relatives (vertical learning) how to interact with dolphins tend to be more accurate and have higher consensus in dolphin recognition than those fishers who learned from friends (horizontal learning) or individually. CONCLUSION: Artisanal fishers have a deep understanding of the dolphins and the system they are inserted in. However, the lack of consensus in identifying individual dolphins herein reported indicates that using their traditional knowledge to further understand dolphin behavior and ecology at the individual level requires caution. Our study also suggests that the transmission of this tradition from parents to sons can be crucial to preserve such a unique human-animal positive interaction in its original form.

"The plants have axé": investigating the use of plants in Afro-Brazilian religions of Santa Catarina Island.

BACKGROUND: Cultural and religious practices of African origin have decisively influenced traditional health practices in the Americas since the African diaspora. Plants are core elements in the religions of African origin. Compared with other parts of Brazil where the Afro-Brazilian presence is widely recognized, in Southern Brazil, these cultural practices are often socially invisible. Yet, there are several terreiros of three Afro-Brazilian religions: Candomblé, Umbanda, and Ritual deAlmas e Angola. We hypothesize that the importance of plants in Afro-Brazilian religions is linked not only to spiritual and magical issues but also to the medicinal properties of these plants. We seek to answer the following questions: (a) Which plants are used in the terreiros and what are their indications for use?; (b) Are there plants that stand out culturally in these religious groups?; and (c) What is the importance of the adaptive maintenance and replacement process in the use of plants in these religions, considering the Neotropical and African plants? METHODS: We performed a census of the existing terreiros on the Island of Santa Catarina to collect information on the knowledge and use of plants. In all terreiros that consented to participate in the research, we collected data through semi-structured interviews, guided tours for plant collection, and participant observation. We identified the botanical species through expert consultations and botanical literature. RESULTS: We interviewed 27 spiritual leaders, who cited 93 plants belonging to 86 botanical species. We identified 14 categories of use, with emphasis on liturgical ritual use (59%), general and unspecified diseases (32%), and digestive diseases (27%). In most liturgics uses, direct contact between plant and patient occurs, as in the case of bathing and the cleansing use of smoke. Sixteen plants were cited in all terreiros, configuring a set of species that can be considered as culturally important plants for these religious groups. CONCLUSIONS: These groups have extensive knowledge about a highly consensual set of therapeutic plants that should be further investigated pharmacologically to understand the effect of their external use. Also, we emphasize the importance of recognizing and valuing this ancestral Afro-Brazilian knowledge and learning also from these people about their broader vision of health which also adds more spirituality in health care.

The role of women in Brazilian ethnobiology: challenges and perspectives.

BACKGROUND: The article aims to analyze the representativeness of women in ethnobiological publications within the Brazilian context, as well as to relate the difficulties faced by women in their scientific careers in terms of gender bias. Biases found in publications are relevant themes to different areas of knowledge, considering the historical persistence of male privilege in these activities. We analyzed the role of women in ethnobiological scientific publications and sought to reflect on gender issues in academic practices and fieldwork. METHODS: We conducted a 28-year survey of academic publications in Brazil, through the Scopus and Web of Science databases, in order to infer the female representation in ethnobiological literature. We also sent 77 questionnaires to ethnobiologists associated with the Brazilian society of ethnobiology and ethnoecology or indicted by associates through snowball sampling. RESULTS: We observed that there are more articles where the senior author is male (p < 0.05). However, there are no differences in the number of publications led by men and women (p > 0.05), which shows a positive trend in terms of representation. Within subareas, ethnozoology had more male authors than other subareas of ethnobiology. Articles whose senior authors are men tend to be published in journals with a higher impact (p < 0.05). The interviews with Brazilian ethnobiologists showed that 53.2% of the interviewees reported feeling discriminated against in the academic environment because they were women. Moreover, 61.0% said they had disadvantages in collecting data because they were women. Additionally, most of the researchers reported having witnessed cases of sexism in the studied communities. CONCLUSION: In the current scenarios of female participation, it is possible to reflect and identify advances and challenges associated with gender bias in ethnobiological studies conducted by Brazilian, both in the emic and etic spheres of research and in our scientific practice. As researchers in the area, we deal directly with social problems in the studied communities, such as violence against women, sexism, and prejudice, as well as the many problems faced in the academic universe itself.

Local Knowledge and Conservation Priorities of Medicinal Plants near a Protected Area in Brazil.

We investigated the influence of socioeconomic factors (age, gender, and occupation) on the local knowledge of medicinal plants in the Araripe National Forest, Brazil, and the priority of conservation of the species as perceived by people. Additionally, priority species for in situ conservation were identified by calculating conservation priority (CP). Initially, free lists were developed with 152 informants in order to identify the plants known and used by them. Based on the most cited plants in these lists, a salience analysis was performed to identify the ten most prominent tree species. In a second moment, through a participatory workshop, these ten species were classified by the perception of local experts as to their environmental availability and intensity of exploitation. Then, the population size of the forest plant species was quantified through a phytosociological sampling and the conservation priority index (CP) of the species was calculated. A total of 214 ethnospecies were cited by the informants, which were identified in 167 species. Local knowledge was influenced by socioeconomic factors, with positive correlation between age and local knowledge and difference in knowledge among professions. Among the ten most prominent tree species in terms of their medicinal importance, Hancornia speciosa was highlighted as a priority for conservation in the experts' perception because it has low environmental availability and a high exploitation rate. The ten species were ordered by the CP differently from the ordering made by the local experts' perception, indicating that people's perception of species conservation status may not correspond to the actual situation in which they are found in the forests. Conservationist measures based on the perception of informants need complementary ecological studies on the species accessed.

Ethnobotany in a coastal environmental protected area: shifts in plant use in two communities in southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: We investigated local knowledge of plants in terms of plant use shifts and losses, in two coastal communities within a protected area in southern Brazil. Our hypothesis is that people's livelihoods are associated with different ethnobotanical knowledge, and changes in these activities can reflect shifts in ethnobotanical knowledge such as stopping using some plants. METHODS: We interviewed 125 inhabitants after prior informed consent, asking her/him about their socioeconomic profile and to free list the plants they know. The free lists were analyzed by frequency of cited plants. To compare averages of cited plants and age in both communities, we used the Wilcoxon test with a significance of 5%. Spearman correlation was tested with number of plants cited in the past and the interviewees' age. Permanence and change in economic activities in each community were represented using a graph and compared through a chi-squared test with a significance of 5%. Qualitative analyses of the interviews and a field diary were used to analyze driving forces for the abandonment of used plants. RESULTS: We identified 231 plant species that were currently used mainly for food and medicine. Despite being in a protected area, most of the cited plants were exotic and cultivated in home gardens. We do not confirm the hypothesis that changes in livelihoods are reflected in the plants used; however, qualitative analyses showed potential drivers for shifts and losses of plant use. "Environmental law" and "protected area" were the drivers most related to the abandonment of plant use. CONCLUSIONS: While recognizing the importance of the protected area to maintain local people and their traditions, we documented a shift in plant use that is mainly correlated to construction activities that disappeared from daily practices.

Knowledge, use, and disuse of unconventional food plants.

BACKGROUND: People's diets are usually restricted to a small number of plant species, even in regions with great diversity. We investigated the knowledge of residents in Ribeirão da Ilha, a district of Florianópolis (Santa Catarina, Brazil), about unconventional food plants (UFP). We report the UFP of the region, the parts used, the methods of processing, and the reasons for reduced use or even lack of use. METHODS: From June 2014 to January 2015, we interviewed 26 long-established residents and made free listings of plant resources in the region. We also did three guided tours, and 24 residents (among the 26) checked pictures of the mentioned plants in order to identify them. RESULTS: We identified 63 species distributed in 25 botanical families. Half of the species were mentioned only by one informant. The fruit was the most frequently used part (80% of citations), consumed mainly without processing. Among those species, 27% were used exclusively in the past. The residents attributed non-use to the difficulty in locating the plants and loss of interest in the resource. CONCLUSION: Urbanization and environmental restrictions contribute to the difficulty of access to UFP. Encouraging residents to continue using UFP is necessary to perpetuate this threatened knowledge, promote a more diversified and healthier diet, stimulate a greater interaction among people and nature, and promote on farm conservation of edible plants.

The coexistence of traditional medicine and biomedicine: A study with local health experts in two Brazilian regions.

This study investigated the combined use of traditional medicine and biomedicine by local experts in Chapada do Araripe communities (Ceará State) and maroon communities (Santa Catarina State), Brazil. The objective was to understand the perception of local health specialists regarding the number of healers, demand for healers and use of medicinal plants, and the dependence of different environments to obtain such plants. We also aimed to understand the role of medicinal plants to treat different categories of diseases and if there is a complementary use of medicinal plants and allopathic biomedicine, according to the context of each group. The research was conducted with local health specialists that answered structured interviews, created free lists and participated in guided tours to collect cited plants. Sixty-six local health specialists were identified in the Araripe communities and 22 specialists in the maroon communities. In the maroon communities, a greater number of specialists thought there was a decrease in the number and demand for healers, as well as the use of medicinal plants, due to changes in traditional livelihoods, since they are located in a region where the effects of the modernization were more intense. In the Chapada do Araripe communities the specialists knew more plants extracted from native vegetation, whereas in the maroon communities cultivated plants were better known, which may reflect the environmental conditions and the history of each region. Medicinal plants are preferred to treat simpler health problems that do not require medical care, such as gastrointestinal problems, general pain, flues and colds. The biomedicine is used principally for problems with blood pressure, general pains and endocrine and nutritional diseases. Even with the particularities of each region, in general the use of medicinal plants and biomedicines occurred in a complementary form in both regions; however, this coexistence may result from these different contexts. This study also found that there was knowledge and appreciation for traditional health practices in both regions.

Local health practices and the knowledge of medicinal plants in a Brazilian semi-arid region: environmental benefits to human health.

BACKGROUND: The concept of eco-cultural health considers the dynamic interaction between humans and ecosystems, emphasizing the implications of the health of the ecosystem for the health and well-being of human populations. Ethnobotanical studies focusing on folk medicine and medicinal plants can contribute to the field of eco-cultural health if they incorporate the perspective and local knowledge of communities. We investigated the local health practices in three rural communities living within the vicinity of a protected area of sustainable use in a semi-arid region of Brazil. We analyzed the opinions of local health experts on the elements that influence human health and on how the environment contributes to this influence. We also analyzed and compared the local knowledge of medicinal plants, as knowledge of this type is an important factor when considering the interaction between environmental and human health. METHODS: We performed structured interviews and free-listings with 66 local health experts. We used content analysis to systematize the elements of the influences on human health. We compared the richness of the plants cited among communities and analyzed the differences among the three communities regarding the ways in which the plants were obtained and the environments in which plants were collected. RESULTS: The local experts identified several influences of the environment on human health. These influences can be associated with ecosystem services, such as climatic conditions, water and air quality, recreation and medicinal and food resources. We identified 192 medicinal plant species, most of which were gathered from wild ecosystems. The most important environments for the three communities were the plateau mountain and backyards. CONCLUSIONS: The informants had a broad and integrated view of health, perceiving the importance of conserving the environment within the National Forest of Araripe for the health and well-being of the local populations.

Does Environmental Instability Favor the Production and Horizontal Transmission of Knowledge regarding Medicinal Plants? A Study in Southeast Brazil.

Greater socio-environmental instability favors the individual production of knowledge because innovations are adapted to new circumstances. Furthermore, instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge because this mechanism disseminates adapted information. This study investigates the following hypothesis: Greater socio-environmental instability favors the production of knowledge (innovation) to adapt to new situations, and socio-environmental instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge, which is a mechanism that diffuses adapted information. In addition, the present study describes "how", "when", "from whom" and the "stimulus/context", in which knowledge regarding medicinal plants is gained or transferred. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from three groups that represented different levels of socio-environmental instability. Socio-environmental instability did not favor individual knowledge production or any cultural transmission modes, including vertical to horizontal, despite increasing the frequency of horizontal pathways. Vertical transmission was the most important knowledge transmission strategy in all of the groups in which mothers were the most common models (knowledge sources). Significantly, childhood was the most important learning stage, although learning also occurred throughout life. Direct teaching using language was notable as a knowledge transmission strategy. Illness was the main stimulus that triggered local learning. Learning modes about medicinal plants were influenced by the knowledge itself, particularly the dynamic uses of therapeutic resources.

Evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome in ethnobotanical research.

BACKGROUND: The shifting baseline syndrome is a concept from ecology that can be analyzed in the context of ethnobotanical research. Evidence of shifting baseline syndrome can be found in studies dealing with intracultural variation of knowledge, when knowledge from different generations is compared and combined with information about changes in the environment and/or natural resources. METHODS: We reviewed 84 studies published between 1993 and 2012 that made comparisons of ethnobotanical knowledge according to different age classes. After analyzing these studies for evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome (lower knowledge levels in younger generations and mention of declining abundance of local natural resources), we searched within these studies for the use of the expressions "cultural erosion", "loss of knowledge", or "acculturation". RESULTS: The studies focused on different groups of plants (e.g. medicinal plants, foods, plants used for general purposes, or the uses of specific important species). More than half of all 84 studies (57%) mentioned a concern towards cultural erosion or knowledge loss; 54% of the studies showed evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome; and 37% of the studies did not provide any evidence of shifting baselines (intergenerational knowledge differences but no information available about the abundance of natural resources). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The general perception of knowledge loss among young people when comparing ethnobotanical repertoires among different age groups should be analyzed with caution. Changes in the landscape or in the abundance of plant resources may be associated with changes in ethnobotanical repertoires held by people of different age groups. Also, the relationship between the availability of resources and current plant use practices rely on a complexity of factors. Fluctuations in these variables can cause changes in the reference (baseline) of different generations and consequently be responsible for differences in intergenerational knowledge. Unraveling the complexity of changes in local knowledge systems in relation to environmental changes will allow the identification of more meaningful information for resource conservation.

Exploring the Links between Ethnobotany, Local Therapeutic Practices, and Protected Areas in Santa Catarina Coastline, Brazil.

We investigated the knowledge of medicinal plants in two areas proposed for the creation of protected areas for sustainable use in the city of Imbituba (SC). In this study, we analyzed the influence of gender, form of learning, and modern medicine on medicinal plant knowledge while also reflecting on the relationship of this knowledge to in situ conservation. Data collection was conducted through structured interviews, free listings, guided tours, and collection of botanical material. 197 species of medicinal plants belonging to 70 botanical families were recorded. Gender and the form of learning were factors that significantly influenced the similarity of the knowledge of medicinal plants among the informants. We also observed the existence of a therapeutic pluralism among key informants. Local medicinal plant knowledge emphasizes the importance of strategies to create protected areas of sustainable use as a way to ensure the maintenance of traditional lifestyles and associated local knowledge.

The use of medicinal plants by migrant people: adaptation, maintenance, and replacement.

Given the importance of studying the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of migrant communities to understand the dynamics of plant resource use, we reviewed the scientific literature concerning the use of medicinal plants by migrant populations engaged in international or long-distance migrations. We considered the importance of two processes: (1) adaptation to the new flora of the host country (i.e., substitution and incorporation of plants in the pharmacopoeia) and (2) continued use and acquisition of the original flora from migrants' home countries (i.e., importation, cultivation, and/or continued use of plants that grow in both host and home environments). We suggest that, depending on the specific context and conditions of migration, different processes that determine the use and/or selection of plants as herbal medicines may become predominant.

Dynamics of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in a rural community in the Brazilian semi-arid region

Human beings have accumulated rich experience with natural resources over time, but such knowledge can be strongly influenced by several factors, such as age, sex and occupation. This study focuses on the influence of these factors on knowledge of medicinal plants in a rural community in northeastern Brazil. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 102 people, with the number of plants and uses cited studied for quantitative analysis. Through this research, it was possible to show that the social variables studied (age, sex and informants occupation) have contributed to the formation of different patterns of knowledge regarding medicinal resources. The results indicate that awareness of this dynamic is necessary for the proper implementation of projects where the goal is the sustainable use of natural resources (because it indicates the different levels of knowledge within a community), for studies intended to discover new drugs (because it indicates the peculiarities of certain groups), and for biodiversity conservation strategies.

Ethnobotany and ecological perspectives on the management and use of plant species for a traditional fishing trap, southern coast of São Paulo, Brazil.

The cerco-fixo is an artisanal fishing trap widely used by traditional communities in the estuarine region of the southern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The primary goal of the study was to investigate, through ethnobotanical and ecological approaches, the use of plant species by traditional fishermen to build the cerco-fixo at Cardoso Island State Park and Cananéia Island. Ethnobotanical data were collected through interviews, direct observation, plant collection and identification, and document analysis. An ecological evaluation was also done comparing five 20 × 20 m plots in a managed area to five 20 × 20 m plots in an unmanaged area, both within arboreal sandy soil vegetation called restinga arbórea, found within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest domain. This study involved 34 fishermen living at Cardoso and Cananéia Islands. The fishermen know more than 90 Atlantic Forest plant species that can be used to build the cerco-fixo. Tree species from the family Myrtaceae were the most quoted in the interviews. With respect to the ecological evaluation, the cluster analyses showed greater heterogeneity in terms of floristic composition (i.e. greater floristic dissimilarity) within the plots of the managed area. The analyses of diversity showed a slightly higher species richness and slightly lower values for Shannon, Simpson, Hurlbert's PIE and Evenness indices in the managed area (59 species; H' = 3.28; 1/D = 10.77; E = 0.80; Hurlbert's PIE = 0.91) compared to the unmanaged area (54 species; H' = 3.39; 1/D = 20.21; E = 0.85; Hurlbert's PIE = 0.95). The Hutcheson's t test showed no significant difference between both areas' Shannon diversity indices (t: -1.04; p: 0.30). These results are attributed to the greater dominance of the palm species Euterpe edulis Mart. in the managed area (28.2% of the trees sampled at this area; n = 118), which equals twice the percentage of individuals of the same species found for the unmanaged area (14.6% of the sampled trees; n = 48). We discuss the impact of the fishermen's harvesting practices in the managed area with an emphasis on three main points: (1) the harvesting practices are likely not contributing to a decrease in diversity in the managed area; (2) the greater heterogeneity in terms of floristic composition found for the managed area may reflect a mosaic pattern created by the opening of small tree-gaps distributed across this area over the course of more than 50 years; (3) the disturbance promoted by the fishermen's harvesting practices can be compared to natural disturbances of low impact that create mosaic patterns in tropical forests. This study emphasizes the prominence of the human dimension in ecological processes and the importance of considering the perspectives of local people when discussing the conservation of the natural environments in which these people live.

Ecologic salience and agreement on the identification of tree species from Brazilian Atlantic Forest / Saliência ecológica e concordância na identificação de espécies arbóreas de Mata Atlântica Brasileira

This study aims to investigate the consensus among informants in the naming of tree species from a high diversity environment, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Sete Barras, SP), through a methodological procedure based on standardized stimuli. Seven selected local experts on tree species used for timber and handicrafts were asked to walk individually across the same area of 1.72 ha and identify and name all the known trees of more than 4 cm DBH (diameter at breast height) using common names. All trees were botanically identified, and their DBH and height were measured. The ecologic salience of tree species, expressed in terms of abundance, average height and DBH, was tested in relation to the informants' knowledge and species naming. The guided walks resulted on 708 identification events, with common names corresponding to 122 botanical species, or 68 percent of all tree species present. Both the reduced abundance and ecological salience of rare species can explain their recognition. The highest concordances in naming a tree were related only to the species abundance and not to their size (given by diameter and height). In some cases, there is no single common name for a botanical species, reflecting the intrinsic variation in local knowledge, which must be considered in ethnobotanical studies, in ecological assessments based on local knowledge, as well as in community-based conservation and management programs.

Este estudo visa investigar o consenso entre informantes no reconhecimento e denominação de espécies arbóreas de um ambiente com alta diversidade, a floresta atlântica brasileira (Sete Barras, SP), através de um procedimento metodológico baseado em estímulos padronizados. Foram selecionados sete especialistas locais conhecedores de espécies arbóreas usadas para madeira e artesanatos, que percorreram individualmente uma mesma área de 1,72 ha para identificar e nomear todas as árvores conhecidas com mais de 4 cm de DAP (diâmetro na altura do peito) através de nomes populares. Todas as árvores foram identificadas botanicamente e tiveram seus DAP e altura determinados. A saliência ecológica das espécies arbóreas, expressa em termos da abundância, da altura média e do DAP, foi testada com relação ao conhecimento de cada informante em nomear as espécies. As caminhadas guiadas resultaram em 708 eventos de identificação, com nomes populares que correspondem a 122 espécies botânicas, ou a 68 por cento de todas as espécies arbóreas presentes. Tanto a reduzida abundância como a saliência ecológica de espécies raras podem explicar seu reconhecimento. As concordâncias mais elevadas em nomear uma árvore foram relacionadas somente à abundância da espécie e não ao seu tamanho (dado pelo diâmetro e pela altura). Em alguns casos, não há um único nome popular para uma espécie botânica, refletindo a variação intrínseca no conhecimento local, que deve ser considerada em estudos etnobotânicos, nas avaliações ecológicas baseadas no conhecimento local, assim como em programas de manejo e conservação participativos.