Abstract
BackgroundTraditional knowledge is key for sustainability, but it is rapidly disappearing. Pig keeping in forests and marshes is an ancient, once widespread, now vanishing practice, with a major economic and ecological potential. The knowledge of pig keepers and the foraging activity of pigs are hardly documented.MethodsWe studied the knowledge of traditional pig keepers (svinjars) on wild plants and pig foraging on the Sava-Bosut forest-marsh complex in Serbia. We conducted picture-based interviews about 234 locally common and/or salient plant species, and participatory fieldwork (11 days) and visual observation (21 days) on pig foraging.Results181 wild plant species were known by svinjars and 106 taxa were consumed by pigs. Svinjars knew well and could name most regularly foraged species. 98 species were reported by svinjars as foraged and 56 as not eaten. 28 species were observed by the authors as eaten regularly, while 21 were nibbled and 17 avoided. Contradictory information on foraging was rare both among svinjars (8 species) and between svinjars and researchers (7 species); several of these species were rare. Leaves of 92, fruits or seeds of 21 and ‘roots’ of 20 species were reported or observed as eaten, usually with high seasonality. Svinjars were overall observant, but knew little about some less salient species (e.g. Veronica, Circaea). The most common forages (reported and/or observed) were fruits (Quercus, fleshy fruits), grasses (Agrostis, Glyceria), herbs (Ranunculus ficaria, Circaea), nutritious ‘roots’ (Carex spp., Iris), young shrub leaves (Crataegus, Carpinus) and ‘tame’ plants growing in the sun (Persicaria dubia, Erigeron annuus). Traditional, now extinct pig breeds were reported as less selective and more ‘knowledgeable’ about plants, as they received less additional fodder. Svinjars learnt their knowledge since childhood, from community members, but long-term personal observations and everyday encounters with pigs were also important sources of knowledge.ConclusionsA deeper understanding of pig foraging could contribute to using pigs in nature conservation management, resource management and organic farming, and to a better understanding of wild boar foraging. The knowledge of svinjars is a disappearing intangible cultural heritage of European importance. Knowledge holders deserve recognition, and legal and financial support to continue this tradition.
Highlights
Traditional knowledge is key for sustainability, but it is rapidly disappearing
Svinjars knew 181 of the 192 species. 102 plant species were well known by them (Table 1), 27 species were moderately known, 52 little known, and 11 species that occurred in the forests and marshes were probably not known by them (Tables 2 and 3)
There were 38 species for which svinjars could not give information about pig foraging. 28 species were observed by the authors as eaten regularly and 21 as nibbled by pigs, while 17 species were seen as deliberately avoided
Summary
Pig keeping in forests and marshes is an ancient, once widespread, vanishing practice, with a major economic and ecological potential. Extensive traditional livestock husbandry systems often produce high-quality food, create and maintain new species-rich habitats (e.g. hay meadows, wood-pastures), and manage ecosystems for biodiversity conservation [1, 2]. These traditional land-use practices and the related traditional ecological knowledge, are vital for sustainability but they are rapidly disappearing [3]. Keeping pigs in marshes and forests using extensive breeds has been a widespread practice in Europe for millennia [7,8,9]. There is a huge knowledge gap regarding how free-ranging domestic pigs forage in semi-natural areas (forests, grasslands, marshes) and what ecological knowledge pig keepers possess (need) in such areas
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