Advancing ethnobiology for the ecological transition and a more inclusive and just world: a comprehensive framework for the next 20 years.

This opinion piece, written by ethnobiologists from different parts of the world, emphasizes the importance of ethnobiology research in advancing contemporary biology, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and, especially, contributing to the ecological transition and more just and inclusive world. To achieve these goals, it is essential to develop research and collaborate with social groups that live in close relationship with nature in research activities, such as Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC), as well as Afro-descendants and other Marginalized, Minority or Minoritized Communities (AMMC). Ethnobiology can identify and provide locally appropriate solutions to local problems, enabling sustainable resource management at the landscape level. The text explores important aspects that need to be considered to guide the future of ethnobiology in the next 20 years, aiming to integrate and amplify previous discussions held in the discipline and identify points that demand ongoing attention. This paper highlights reflections from diverse researchers, emphasizing how ethnobiology can embrace different perspectives and employ rigorous analysis of complex phenomena toward effective policies and practices. This approach holds the potential to address the challenges the planet is currently facing in the coming decades.

Plant parentage influences the type of timber use by traditional peoples of the Brazilian Caatinga.

Local populations select different plants to meet their demands, so that morphologically similar species can be more used for a given use. Herein, we seek to understand whether plant species that are phylogenetically closer together are used more similarly than distant species in the phylogeny. Ethnobotanical data were collected in five rural communities in a semi-arid region of Brazil. A total of 120 local experts were selected and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. The people's knowledge of plants was organized into usage subcategories. We estimated the redundancy values for the mentioned species, and we compiled data from the literature on the wood density values of the cited species. We constructed our phylogenetic hypothesis of useful plants and used comparative phylogenetic methods to estimate the signal. Our results showed a strong phylogenetic grouping for both tool handle and craft uses. We observed a moderate phylogenetic grouping in which related cited plants exhibit similar redundancy and a weak grouping in which cited plants present similar wood density values. Our results revealed the importance of using phylogeny for useful plants. We conclude the phylogenetic proximity of useful plants and the lower redundancy for some species in our study may suggest greater use pressure, given that few species fulfill the same function.

Latitudinal patterns and environmental drivers of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of woody plants in western Amazonian terra firme forests.

Elucidating how environmental factors drive plant species distributions and how they affect latitudinal diversity gradients, remain essential questions in ecology and biogeography. In this study we aimed: 1) to investigate the relationships between all three diversity attributes, i.e., taxonomic diversity (TD), functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD); 2) to quantify the latitudinal variation in these diversity attributes in western Amazonian terra firme forests; and 3) to understand how climatic and edaphic drivers contribute to explaining diversity patterns. We inventoried ca. 15,000 individuals from ca. 1,250 species, and obtained functional trait records for ca. 5,000 woody plant individuals in 50 plots of 0.1 ha located in five terra firme forest sites spread over a latitudinal gradient of 1200 km covering ca. 10°C in latitude in western Amazonia. We calculated all three diversity attributes using Hill numbers: q = 0 (richness), q = 1 (richness weighted by relative abundance), and q = 2 (richness weighted by dominance). Generalized linear mixed models were constructed for each diversity attribute to test the effects of different uncorrelated environmental predictors comprising the temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, soil pH and soil bulk density, as well as accounting for the effect of spatial autocorrelation, i.e., plots aggregated within sites. We confirmed that TD (q = 0, q = 1, and q = 2), FD (q = 0, q = 1, and q = 2), and PD (q = 0) increased monotonically towards the Equator following the latitudinal diversity gradient. The importance of rare species could explain the lack of a pattern for PD (q = 1 and q = 2). Temperature seasonality, which was highly correlated with latitude, and annual precipitation were the main environmental drivers of variations in TD, FD, and PD. All three diversity attributes increased with lower temperature seasonality, higher annual precipitation, and lower soil pH. We confirmed the existence of latitudinal diversity gradients for TD, FD, and PD in hyperdiverse Amazonian terra firme forests. Our results agree well with the predictions of the environmental filtering principle and the favourability hypothesis, even acting in a 10°C latitudinal range within tropical climates.

Los bosques estacionalmente secos del Perú: un re-análisis de sus patrones de diversidad y relaciones florísticas

Los bosques estacionalmente secos en el Perú constituyen un conjunto de ecosistemas que incluye tres grandes grupos florísticos: bosques costeros, interandinos y orientales. Con la excepción de los bosques estacionalmente secos de las llanuras costeras del norte del país, hasta hace poco la ausencia de datos hacía difícil describir adecuadamente estos grupos en base a su florística. En los últimos 20 años, en estos bosques se han generado diversos estudios florísticos e inventarios botánicos enfocados en plantas leñosas, que han llenado vacíos de conocimiento en áreas críticas. Con estos estudios hemos generado la base de datos DRYFLOR Perú que a la fecha incluye 526 inventarios cuantitativos (listas de especies en áreas discretas incluyendo registros de sus abundancias) y que nos permiten confirmar la distinción florística de los tres grandes grupos. Adicionalmente logramos reconocer claramente dos subgrupos de bosques estacionalmente secos costeros (de llanura y de montaña), dos subgrupos interandinos (valles del Marañón-Mantaro y del Pampas) y tres subgrupos orientales (valles del Huallaga, Tambo y Urubamba). Todos los subgrupos tienen un ensamblaje de especies de plantas leñosas que los distingue y caracteriza en términos de abundancia, frecuencia, riqueza de especies y niveles de endemismo. Si bien ahora podemos describir mejor la heterogeneidad florística de los bosques estacionalmente secos en el Perú, hemos identificado vacíos de conocimiento importantes que requieren de atención prioritaria: i) requerimos de esfuerzos de inventario adicionales en los bosques orientales, ii) necesitamos resolver las afinidades florísticas de los bosques del valle del Apurímac, iii) nuestros datos coinciden en poco más del 75% con las definiciones y distribución de bosques secos del reciente Mapa Nacional de Ecosistemas del Perú, y será necesario revisar el concepto de bosque estacionalmente seco para lograr capturar adecuadamente su distribución en este instrumento de gestión.

Seasonally dry forests in Peru are a combination of ecosystems that include three large floristic groups: coastal, inter-Andean and eastern forests. Except for the seasonally dry forests of the northern coastal plains of the country, until recently it was difficult to explore what occurred floristically within each group due to lack of data. However, in the last 20 years various floristic studies and botanical inventories focused on woody plants have managed to fill knowledge gaps in critical areas. With these studies we have generated the DRYFLOR Peru database that to date includes 526 quantitative inventories (lists of species in discrete areas, including records of their abundances) and that allows us to confirm the floristic distinction of the three large groups. Additionally, we were able to clearly recognize two subgroups of seasonally dry coastal forests (on coastal plains and along the Andean piedmont), two inter-Andean subgroups (within the Marañón-Mantaro and Pampas valleys) and three eastern subgroups (within the Huallaga, Tambo and Urubamba valleys). All subgroups have an assemblage of woody plant species that distinguishes and characterizes them in terms of abundance, frequency, species richness, and levels of endemism. Although we can now better describe the floristic heterogeneity of seasonally dry forests in Peru, we have identified important knowledge gaps that require urgent attention: i) we require additional inventory efforts in the eastern forests, ii) we need to resolve the floristic affinities of the forests of the Apurímac valley, iii) our data agree in little more than 75% with the definitions and distribution of dry forests of the recent National Ecosystem Map of Peru, and it will be necessary to review the concept of seasonally dry forests to adequately capture its distribution in this management tool.

Surrogacía taxonómica en bosque montano andino / Taxonomic surrogacy in andean montane forests

En ecología, los surrogados son variables ambientales o bióticas que representan la biodiversidad de un área. Su uso permite afrontar limitaciones logísticas y/o desconocimiento taxonómico para muestrear e identificar especies, y se ha convertido en una herramienta importante en conservación y gestión. En este trabajo, ilustramos un método de surrogacía basado en ordenaciones multivariadas, y lo aplicamos a datos de cobertura arbórea en el bosque montano de Chanchamayo (Andes, Perú).

Ecological surrogates are environmental or biotic proxies for biodiversity quantification. Their application circumvents logistic constraints and taxonomic voids to sample and identify species, and has become an important tool in conservation and management. In this study, we illustrate a surrogate method using multivariate ordinations, and we apply it to tree data from the Chanchamayo montane forest (Andes, Peru).

Mapas y clasificación de vegetación en ecosistemas estacionales: un análisis cuantitativo de los bosques secos de Piura / Vegetation maps and classification in seasonal ecosystems: a quantitative analysis of the Piura dry forests

Estudiamos datos de inventarios florísticos de 65 parcelas de 0,1 hectáreas de la vegetación estacional de las llanuras costeras de Piura usando métodos multivariados y análisis de composición florística. Identificamos seis grupos de vegetación, de los cuales cinco coinciden con tipos de vegetación descritos hace casi 100 años por Augusto Weberbauer. Por el contrario, de las ocho categorías de bosque seco definidas recientemente por el Proyecto Algarrobo para el área de estudio, ninguna pudo ser reconocida adecuadamente mediante métodos numéricos. Concluimos que los mapas y datos generados por Weberbauer resultan ser más exactos y revelan mejor las relaciones florísticas de la vegetación estacionalmente seca de Piura. Por lo tanto, sugerimos el uso más frecuente de las descripciones propuestas por Weberbauer para la región, paralelamente a los del Proyecto Algarrobo.

We studied data from 65 0.1-hectare floristic inventories from the seasonal lowland vegetation in coastal Piura by using multivariate methods and analyses of floristic composition. We identified six vegetation groups, five of which greatly coincide with vegetation types already described 100 years ago by August Weberbauer. In contrast, we were not able to accurately identify any of the eight dry forest categories recently defined by the Proyecto Algarrobo for the study area using numerical methods. We conclude that the maps and data generated by Weberbauer are more accurate and better reveal the floristic relationships of the seasonally dry vegetation in Piura. Therefore, we suggest a more widespread use of the descriptions made by Weberbauer in the region, parallel to those of the Proyecto Algarrobo.