Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gather ethnopharmacological information on plants used by the pastorals of southeastern Iran. The relationships between ecological value of the plant species and ethnobotanical indices were investigated. The loss of medicinal plants and its effective factors were also determined under nomadism and sedentary pastoralism. Ethnopharmacological information of plants was collected through interviews with 85 local people including nomads (43%) and sedentary pastorals (57%). Ethnobotanical indices including relative frequency of citation (RFC), relative importance (RI), cultural value (CV), and use value (UV) were estimated. Canopy cover and density of plant species were measured at 60 sampling plots in the exclosure, nomadic rangelands and sedentary pastorals rangelands. The Importance Value Index (IVI) and Relative Loss Index (RL) were estimated for both nomadic and sedentary pastoral rangelands. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between ethnobotanical indices and IVI of plant species. The Bayesian networks was used to investigate the relationship between ethnobotanical indices and plant species loss. In total, 156 medicinal plant species of 50 families were identified in the region by locals. Positive correlation was observed between ethnobotanical indices (RFC and RI) and ecological index (IVI). The mean decline of the ecological importance of medicinal species in sedentary pastoral rangelands was approximately three times higher than in nomadic rangelands. Bayesian networks showed that cultural value, seed exploitation and aerial parts exploitation had direct relationships with species loss in both nomadic and sedentary pastoral rangelands. Bunium persicum, an ecologically and socially important species, had been extensively harvested (more than 60%) in the both nomadic and sedentary pastoral rangelands, making it a priority species in future conservation programs. Medicinal plants had high ecological value and were severely exploited, threatening sustainability of arid and semiarid ecosystems. Local pastorals not only use medicinal plants as herbal remedies but also consider them as a source of income. Popular plants with multiple medicinal uses were more susceptible to loss. Higher medicinal knowledge of pastorals did not help to mitigate medicinal plant loss, requesting new plans to aware them to the circumstances that often leads to species removal from community. Given the importance, abundance and widespread use of medicinal plants, further studies can provide a basis for their conservation and for identifying new therapeutic effects of plants in the region.
Highlights
Plants provide many uses for humans, the medicinal usage is one of their most important benefits t raditionally[1,2]
The participants were belonged to two pastoralism types i.e. nomadism (43%) and sedentary pastoralism (57%)
The results showed that the probability of relative loss was increased to 97.86 and 88.45 for sedentary pastoralism and nomadism respectively, indicating a direct relationship between the relative loss and cultural value (CV) indices
Summary
Plants provide many uses for humans, the medicinal usage is one of their most important benefits t raditionally[1,2]. The history of pastoralism in Iran (Zagros Mountains) is traced back to 10,000 years a go[8] During this long time, local pastorals gained a lot of information on medicinal plants and their relation to nature, especially in rangelands. Local pastorals gained a lot of information on medicinal plants and their relation to nature, especially in rangelands They transferred their experiences to later generations. Ethnobotanical information is of high cultural importance and of great socio-economic value to researchers, politicians, and the local populations[13] This knowledge is being eroded due to the decline of custodians of indigenous knowledge and the lack of interest of the younger generation to this k nowledge[14]. Researchers should look for approaches for applying and institutionalizing the indigenous knowledge of different pastorals in the plans and adopted policies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
