Climate change in the Catalan Pyrenees intersects with socioeconomic factors to shape crop diversity and management.

Most studies on climate change's impacts on agriculture focus on modeling techniques based on large-scale meteorological data, while few have investigated how farmer's perception of climate change's impacts can affect crop diversity and crop management practices, especially in industrialized contexts. To fill this gap, we conducted 24 semi-structured interviews in a study site located in the Catalan Pyrenees. Our results show for the first time in an industrialized context that farmers perceive multiple interrelated climate change impacts on local agroecosystems. For instance, snowfall and freeze events have decreased, which respondents associated with the increase of pests and diseases affecting both wild flora and cultivated plants. Similarly, changes in precipitation patterns lead to a perceived decrease in useful rain for agriculture. Farmers are also reporting changes in their management practices, such as increased irrigation or use of pesticides, which respond to these climatic factors but also to changes in the crops that are cultivated. Crop diversity is in decline in the area both at the species and landrace levels, especially in rainfed fields. This is mainly driven by socioeconomic factors such as agricultural abandonment or access to commercial seeds, although climate change factors such as increased pests or decreased rainfall can have an impact. Despite the crop diversity losses found, many landraces have been maintained, mainly due to their cultural value, and also new crop species have been introduced, which are now viable due to the increase in temperature. Although we focused on a specific case study, we found several trends that are also present in other contexts. Therefore, the results of this research are relevant at a global scale since they show that climate change is affecting mountain agroecosystems in industrialized contexts and may affect more drastically both agrobiodiversity and crop management practices in agroecosystems worldwide. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-022-00806-3.

Documenting and protecting traditional knowledge in the era of open science: Insights from two Spanish initiatives.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The documentation and protection of traditional knowledge face new challenges in the era of open science. Focusing on medicinal and food uses, we discuss two innovative initiatives in Spain to document, protect and return to the society traditional knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Spanish Inventory of Traditional Knowledge related to Biodiversity has compiled and published information on the traditional use and management of flora, fauna, fungi, geodiversity, and ecosystems. CONECT-e (www.conecte.es) is an online platform where citizens can document knowledge and uses of wild and domesticated species. We describe the extent of these initiatives in terms of participation and accomplishment, and discuss their complementarities and challenges. RESULTS: The initiatives described have fostered the establishment of a common standard for organizing traditional knowledge in databases that facilitate knowledge documentation: 131,066 uses and 152,246 local names have been documented so far. Using open data and copyleft licenses, these initiatives also contribute to the maintenance of traditional knowledge in the commons domain, guaranteeing the free exchange and reproduction of knowledge. However, the extensive focus of these initiatives on data sharing does not necessarily guarantee knowledge holders' data sovereignty. CONCLUSION: To protect TEK in a context of open science more efforts should be done to operationalize traditional knowledge holders' rights to data sovereignty.

Trends in wild food plants uses in Gorbeialdea (Basque Country).

Despite wild food plants' potential nutritional and economic value, their knowledge and consumption is quickly decreasing throughout the world. We examine how the consideration that a wild plant use is within the cultural tradition of a given area relates to its consumption by analysing 1) current perception and 2) past and present use of six wild plants' food-uses, of which only three are locally perceived as being part of the local tradition. Research was conducted in Gorbeialdea, an area in the Basque Country with a clearly marked Basque identity opposed to the Spanish identity. Overall, there is a clear decrease in the knowledge and consumption of the selected uses and especially of the three uses acquired from local sources (i.e., the consumption of the raw leaves of Fagus sylvatica and Rumex acetosa and of the fruits of Pyrus cordata). The trend is likely driven by the disappearance of the traditional agrarian lifestyle. Among the uses not acquired from local sources, the use recently adopted from another Basque-speaking area (i.e., macerating the fruits of Prunus spinosa to elaborate a liqueur) is now considered part of the local tradition by young generations, whereas the use acquired from southern Spanish migrants (i.e., using Laurus nobilis leaves as condiments) is not. While lifestyle changes largely explain overall trends in wild edibles consumption, other cultural aspects -in our case study the stigmatization of a given source of information associated to cultural identity- might help shape which new uses of wild plants become embedded in local traditions.

The importance of cultural factors in the distribution of medicinal plant knowledge: a case study in four Basque regions.

ETHNOBOTANICAL RELEVANCE: Previous research suggests that the use of medicinal plants by a given group is mainly driven by biological variables such as the chemical composition or the ecological distribution of plants. However, other studies highlight the importance of cultural aspects such as the curative meaning given to a plant, beliefs, religion or the historical context. Such aspects could play an important role in the use, diffusion or even in the effectiveness of a plant remedy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fieldwork consisted of 233 orally consented semi-structured interviews with 178 informants about medicinal uses of plants. Interviews were conducted in four historically and geographycally delimited regions of Alava and Biscay with similar environmental conditions but different sociolinguistic backgrounds: two regions were Basque- and two Spanish-speaking. Data were structured in use-reports. A Between Class Analysis was conducted to assess the intercultural and intracultural variability of medicinal plants knowledge. RESULTS: The results show the existence of four clearly different medicinal ethnofloras. While the four ethnofloras share remedies widely distributed through the territory, each of them also includes remedies that are only shared among closely related communities. The ecological availability and chemical composition of the plants may explain why there are widely used plant remedies. On the contrary, the distribution of the locally shared remedies matches up with the cultural heterogeneity of the territory, so cultural factors, such as, language, social networks or the meaning response of the plants seem to explain the use of many traditional plant remedies. In Addition, we also found that Basque speaking territories show higher knowledge levels than Spanish speaking territories. In this sense, the development and reinforcement of Basque identity by Basque nationalism seems to have contributed to maintain the traditional knowledge in the Basque speaking regions. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the fact that pharmacological effectiveness and ecological availability are usually considered as the main variables that shape the traditional use of medicinal plants, our results suggest that cultural factors can be at least as important as ecological and chemical factors. In fact, differences in language, in the cultural meaning of the plants, in the context related to cultural identities, and in social networks seem to play a fundamental role in the use and diffusion and maintenance or erosion of traditional knowledge about medicinal plants in the study area.

Medicinal plants traditionally used in the northwest of the Basque Country (Biscay and Alava), Iberian Peninsula.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Many ethnobotanical studies show that people in industrial countries still rely on their traditional knowledge of medicinal plants for self-treatment, although the trend might not be as common as some decades ago. Given the social and public health implications of ethnopharmacological practices, this survey aims at recording and analysing the medicinal plants used in the folk medicine of the Northwest of the Basque Country focusing on how medicinal plants knowledge and practices evolve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fieldwork consisted of 265 orally consented semi-structured interviews with 207 informants about medicinal uses of plants. Interviews were conducted between September 2008 and January 2011. Informants were on average 76 years old (minimum 45, maximum 95), being more than half of them (112) men. Data collected were structured in use-reports (UR). Following informants' comments, medicinal use-reports were classified as abandoned-UR, when the informants reported that the use was only practiced in the past, and prevalent-UR, when the informants reported to continue the practice. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 2067 UR for 139 species that belong to 58 botanical families were recorded, being the most important families Asteraceae, Liliaceae sensu latu and Urticaceae. Some of the most important species are commonly used in other European areas (e.g., Chamaemelum nobile, Urtica dioica and Chelidonium majus). However, there are also plants commonly used in the area such as Helleborus viridis or Coronopus didymus, that are scarcely used in other areas, and whose record is an original contribution of the local pharmacopeia. It is also the case of remedies such as the use of Plantago leaves against strains in a local remedy called zantiritu. Overall, and for all variables analysed (total UR, medicinal use-categories, drug preparation and administration), the percentage of UR being currently practiced (prevalence ratio) was very low (near 30%) suggesting a strong decay in the use of traditional medicinal plants. Exceptionally, some species (Chamaemelum nobile, Verbena officinalis or Anagallis arvensis) had a high prevalence ratio, reflecting the fact that this erosion process is not evolving homogeneously. Informants also reported that new species and medicinal plant uses were entering into the local pharmacopeia via non-traditional sources such as books, courses, or the internet. These modern ways are now being used to spread some traditional remedies that in the past were only orally transmitted. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that traditional knowledge is continuously changing, evolving and adapting to the new social and environmental conditions. The image of the local folk medicine as a dying reality doomed to disappear should be reviewed. It also shows the need of a culturally sensitive approach by the official health systems to these practices.

Plants used for making recreational tea in Europe: a review based on specific research sites.

This paper is a review of local plants used in water infusions as aromatic and refreshing hot beverages (recreational tea) consumed in food-related settings in Europe, and not for specific medicinal purposes. The reviewed 29 areas are located across Europe, covering the post-Soviet countries, eastern and Mediterranean Europe. Altogether, 142 taxa belonging to 99 genera and 40 families were reported. The most important families for making herbal tea in all research areas were Lamiaceae and Asteraceae, while Rosaceae was popular only in eastern and central Europe. With regards to botanical genera, the dominant taxa included Mentha, Tilia, Thymus, Origanum, Rubus and Matricaria. The clear favorite was Origanum vulgare L., mentioned in 61% of the regions. Regionally, other important taxa included Rubus idaeus L. in eastern Europe, Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All. in southern Europe and Rosa canina L. in central Europe. Future research on the pharmacological, nutritional and chemical properties of the plants most frequently used in the tea-making process is essential to ensure their safety and appropriateness for daily consumption. Moreover, regional studies dedicated to the study of local plants used for making recreational tea are important to improve our understanding of their selection criteria, cultural importance and perceived properties in Europe and abroad.

"Tertius gaudens": germplasm exchange networks and agroecological knowledge among home gardeners in the Iberian Peninsula.

BACKGROUND: The idea that knowledge flows through social networks is implicit in research on traditional knowledge, but researchers have paid scant attention to the role of social networks in shaping its distribution. We bridge those two bodies of research and investigate a) the structure of network of exchange of plant propagation material (germplasm) and b) the relation between a person's centrality in such network and his/her agroecological knowledge. METHODS: We study 10 networks of germplasm exchange (n = 363) in mountain regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a survey. RESULTS: The networks display some structural characteristics (i.e., decentralization, presence of external actors) that could enhance the flow of knowledge and germplasm but also some characteristics that do not favor such flow (i.e., low density and fragmentation). We also find that a measure that captures the number of contacts of an individual in the germplasm exchange network is associated with the person's agroecological knowledge. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of social relations in the construction of traditional knowledge.