Agrobiodiversity In Home Gardens Research Articles

Agrobiodiversidade em hortas domésticas e segurança alimentar e nutricional das famílias em Monteverde, Costa Rica

Agrobiodiversity is believed to be associated with a wider diversity of diets and a reduction in food and nutrition insecurity (FNI). Consequently, agrobiodiversity of home gardens and their potential impact on food and nutrition security (FNS) in households in San Luis, Monteverde, an area that previously experienced high levels of FNI, was researched. A total of 23 households with family gardens was assessed, and the persons responsible for the gardens were interviewed to gather information about their households and their gardens. Additionally, plant and animal species were identified and their uses in those spaces were reported. To measure household FNS, a scale focusing on the access component was applied. Results indicated that approximately 65.2% of households experienced some degree of FNI. Analyzing the possible correlation between agrobiodiversity and household FNS revealed a trend, households with more diverse home gardens tended to exhibit better FNS outcomes than home gardens with fewer species. These findings suggest that well-managed agrobiodiversity in family gardens can play a significant role in improving the FNS of rural families.

Rural urbanisation and home gardening in southern Mexico: agrobiodiversity loss and alternative pathways

ABSTRACT In southern Mexico, the home garden has played a key role in the livelihood security of rural families and in the conservation of agrobiodiversity. This article examines how, as a dominant trend, rural urbanisation has reduced the dependence on home gardening as a livelihood strategy, with a consequent decline in agrobiodiversity. Drawing upon a mixed methods approach involving household surveys and life stories, the article contributes to a better understanding of long-term dynamics in the relationship between agrobiodiversity management and people’s livelihoods, and provides novel evidence on alternative pathways that allow households to maintain greater home garden agrobiodiversity.

Plant-Based Agrobiodiversity in Home Gardens of Tubah Sub-Division, North-West Region, Cameroon

Home gardens are subsistent agricultural production systems consisting of diverse crop plants which are easily accessible and adjacent to homesteads. They sustainably contribute to livelihoods in developing countries. Regarding the modernization in tropical Africa, there are changes in plant composition of urbanizing areas like Tubah Sub-Division, North West Region, Cameroon while the useful plant diversity in home gardens are poorly or not documented. This study aims to assess the diversity of useful plant species and identify key factors that influence diversity. 120 selected home gardens from Tubah Sub-Division were surveyed using two complementary field sampling approaches: interaction with selected households head through the use of structured questionnaires on garden plants and direct field observation. To assess plant abundance, the entire home garden was considered as a sample plot for tree, shrub, climber and epiphytic plant species while for herbaceous species, five quadrats of 1 m2 were used to count each species. A total of 133 useful plant species belonging to 108 genera and 47 families were recorded, with the number of species varying among the villages. The dominating families were Solanaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae. Age of household head and age of home garden were the key factors which significantly influenced the plant diversity. As home gardens in Tubah Sub-Division consist of diverse garden plants which are of great importance, we suggest that home gardening should be promoted, through education and extension services. This study should also be extended to other parts of the North West Region.

Socioeconomic Determinants of Homegardening in the Southeast of Mexico: An Endowments-Based Livelihoods Framework

In the vast literature on homegardens, most of the studies have focused on describing their properties and functions, while there is scant knowledge about the socioeconomic determinants of homegardening patterns. This paper contributes to filling this gap by assessing the planned agrobiodiversity of homegardens in Yucatán, Mexico, and studying the association between homegardening patterns and contextual and household characteristics. In doing so, the paper draws on key elements of the Capability Approach and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Data was collected in four Yucatecan communities showing different urbanization levels, the heterogeneous presence of a Mayan Indigenous population, and diverse attachment to traditional agricultural livelihoods. A mixed-methods approach was followed, involving household surveys and interviews, and quantitative analysis informed by qualitative insights. Principal components analysis, cluster, and regression analyses were applied to develop a homegarden typology and identify associations among four homegardening patterns and five relevant household characteristics: (1) the household structure and family life cycle; (2) ethnicity; (3) rural-urban interactions; (4) wealth; and (5) participation in government-led development interventions. The paper contributes to broader debates on the nexus of agrobio-diversity and sociocultural and economic interactions and on how these influence alternative pathways to the dominant trend of agrobiodiversity loss.

Home gardens\u2019 agrobiodiversity and owners\u2019 knowledge of their ecological, economic and socio-cultural multifunctionality: a case study in the lowlands of Tabasco, M\xe9xico

BackgroundHome gardens (HGs) are hotspots of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. We conducted a case study in Tabasco, México, on HG owners’ knowledge of HG ecological, economical and socio-cultural multifunctionality and how it relates to agrobiodiversity as measured by species richness and diversity. The term multifunctionality knowledge refers to owners’ knowledge on how HGs contribute to ecological processes, family economy, as well as human relations and local culture. We hypothesized a positive correlation between owners’ multifunctionality knowledge and their HGs’ agrobiodiversity.MethodsWe inventoried all perennial species in 20 HGs, determined observed species richness, calculated Shannon diversity indexes and analysed species composition using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Based on literature, semi-structured interviews and a dialogue of knowledge with HG owners, we catalogued the locally recognized functions in the ecological, economic and socio-cultural dimensions. We determined the score of knowledge on each function in the three dimensions on explicit scales based on the interviews and observed management. We determined Spearman rs correlations of HGs’ observed species richness, Shannon diversity index (H) and of HGs’ scores on NMDS-axis and multifunctionality knowledge scores. We dialogued on the results and implications for agrobiodiversity conservation at workshops of HG owners, researchers and local organizations.ResultsHG agrobiodiversity and owners’ multifunctionality knowledge in the study area showed large variation. Average richness was 59.6 perennial species, varying from 21 to 107 species, and total observed richness was 280 species. A total of 38 functions was distinguished, with 14, 12 and 12 functions in the ecological, economic and socio-cultural dimensions. Total multifunctionality knowledge scores varied from 64.1 to 106.6, with an average of 87.2. Socio-cultural functionality knowledge scores were the highest, followed by scores in the ecological and economic dimensions. Species richness and Shannon H were significantly correlated with ecological functionality knowledge (rs = 0.68 and P < 0.001 in both cases), and species richness was also correlated with economic functionality knowledge (rs = 0.47, P = 0.03). Species composition scores on the first and second axes of NMDS was significantly correlated with knowledge of ecological multifunctionality, with rs = 0.49 resp-0.49 and P = 0.03 in both cases. Other functionality knowledge scores showed no correlation with NMDS scores. Dialogue in workshops confirmed the interwovenness of multifunctionality knowledge and agrobiodiversity.ConclusionThe rich agrobiodiversity of home gardens cherished by rural families in Tabasco relates with the knowledge about HG functionality in the ecological and economic dimensions. Also, species composition relates with ecological functionality knowledge. The socio-cultural functionality knowledge, which includes many elements beyond the individual HG, is not correlated with agrobiodiversity, but had the highest scores. Our results show that multifunctionality knowledge provides many opportunities for the participative conception and planning of policies and actions necessary to conserve agrobiodiversity.

Traditional ecological knowledge and medicinal plant diversity in Ecuadorian Amazon home gardens

Medicinal plants are an ecosystem service directly implicated in human well-being. In many rural communities, they constitute a main treatment for disease or a source of disease prevention. Here, we review traditional knowledge of medicinal plants, the benefits they provide when cultivated in home gardens, and the determinants of knowledge about their uses in a rural parish in Amazonian Ecuador, where two ethnic groups prevail: indigenous Shuar and settled mestizos. Among 138 garden owners interviewed in 11 communities, a broad knowledge of 104 pharmacological properties across 145 medicinal plant species is retained. Several species play a specific role for a particular culture; therefore, the importance ranking of medicinal plants is different between the two main cultures. Traditional knowledge of medicinal uses is also influenced by ethnicity as well as generational age of the gardeners. Knowledge seems to have been lost in people of younger generations, who cultivated fewer species and knew less about properties of medicinal plants. Although men cultivate more diverse gardens, the role for women in the conservation of agrobiodiversity in home gardens appears crucial, as they are identified as the main source for transmission of traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. Our study highlights the importance of integrated land use management that respects different social aspects (i.e., culture, gender, health and well-being) related to conservation of biodiversity and traditional knowledge in agroecosystems.

Planting Fruits and Vegetables in Homegarden as a Way to Improve Livelihoods and Conserve Plant Biodiversity

Multi-story cropping systems are used to grow fruits and vegetables in rural homegardens, and it has been argued that they are crucial for the food and nutrition safety of rural populations. They also are considered as refuges for a number of plant species, and as one way to reduce pressure on the surrounding ecosystem by providing resources such as food, fiber, and firewood to farmers on their own farmland. This study was conducted to assess the contribution of fruits and vegetables in homegardens to household livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the Yayo biosphere reserve in southwestern Ethiopia. The role of fruits and vegetables was evaluated for 96 households that were selected randomly from both fruit and vegetable users and only vegetable-user strata. To collect socioeconomic data, semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and focus group discussions were employed. A complete enumeration of plant species was done for diversity assessment in 48 homegardens from four kebeles (the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia) in the Yayo and Hurumu districts and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, independent t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The results indicated the highest plant diversity, with a total of 76 species identified from 38 families. Fruit and vegetable users were found to harbor more diversity in their homegardens compared to only vegetable-user homegardens. Homegarden size correlated significantly with species richness. Fruits and vegetables in homegardens were found to considerably contribute to household food consumption and total annual income independent of wealth categories. We also found a significant negative relationship between fruit and vegetable use and forest product harvesting, indicating the reduction of pressures on nearby forest ecosystems. This study supports the idea that fruits and vegetables contribute to biodiversity conservation directly as the entity of homegarden agrobiodiversity and indirectly through minimizing households’ demand for forest harvesting by providing food and generating income. Nevertheless, fruits and vegetables were not contributing at their full potential, which was mainly due to disease problems, pests, and a lack of better market access. Therefore, further research and interventions are needed to help farmers confront these challenges affecting fruit and vegetable production and productivity.

The Role of Homegardens for Food and Nutrition Security in Uganda

The contribution of homegardens to the food and nutrition security of rural farmers has rarely been explored empirically. Our study assesses the influence of homegarden agrobiodiversity, production system parameters, and socioeconomic factors on household dietary diversity and anthropometric conditions in southwest Uganda. Plant inventories of 102 homegardens were followed by two 24-h recalls (n = 589) and anthropometric measurements (n = 325) of household members, as well as household food insecurity questionnaires (n = 95). Regression models explained between 16 and 50% of variance in dietary diversity and between 21 and 75% in anthropometric measurements. Results indicate that supporting diverse homegarden systems can in part reduce food insecurity in Uganda. We conclude with recommendations for further strengthening the role of homegardens in improving dietary and anthropometric outcomes.

Agrobiodiversidad y cultura: un análisis desde el lugar y los agroecosistemas en la cuenca alta del río Tunjuelo en Bogotá

En la ruralidad de Bogotá existen paisajes de alta montaña en los que habitan miles de pequeños agricultores junto con ecosistemas ricos en agua y biodiversidad. La demanda por recursos naturales y alimentos por parte de una ciudad creciente ha generado presión sobre estos socioecosistemas. Los monocultivos uniformes transforman los paisajes y reducen el espacio para la agrobiodiversidad, afectando las prácticas socioculturales asociadas. En los paisajes existen iniciativas, desde la reciprocidad entre los ecosistemas y las formas de vida locales, para una mayor resiliencia socioecológica. Este estudio de caso en la microcuenca del río Curubital en la localidad de Usme, identifica lugares en los que la agrobiodiversidad persiste en relación con prácticas socioculturales y agroecológicas. Se les define en este artículo como “nichos de agrobiodiversidad”. A partir de entrevistas semi-estructuradas, recorridos participativos e identificaciones botánicas, se analizaron las prácticas asociadas a la agrobiodiversidad en huertas campesinas. Los resultados muestran la riqueza en especies y funcionalidades, así como en conocimientos y significados que dan muestra de una cierta reciprocidad en la interacción con el ecosistema. El artículo concluye con una reflexión sobre los nichos de agrobiodiversidad como conectores socioecológicos y motivadores del diálogo ciencia y conocimiento local para la construcción conjunta de políticas ambientales.

The Study of Homegarden Agrobiodiversity, Practices of Homegardening and Its Role for &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;In-Situ&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Conservation of Plant Biodiversity in Eastern Hararghe, Kombolcha Town Oromia Regional State Ethiopia

Homegarden plays a vital role for the livelihood of the people living in town. Homegarden agrobiodiversity was studied to highlight homegarden frequency, types, plant species, growth form and associated indigenous knowledge. The research was conducted during January to April 2017. A total of 180 randomly selected households were included in the survey. Ethnobotanical data were collected from purposively selected 60 homegardens using observations and semi-structured interviews while markets survey was conducted through structured questionnaire for homegarden products. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and similarity and Shannon wiener diversity index. The results indicated that 128 (71%) of the households were practicing home gardening. The homegarden plant composition gave 78 species belonging to 35 families. The representative families and number of species under each family were founded that the family Solonaceae, and Rutaceae rank top of the list (6 species) each followed by Fabaceae and Lamiaceae (5 species each) and Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae and Brassicaceae (4 species) each. Catha edulis, Lantana camara and Ruta chalepensis had the highest frequency of species followed by the families Asteraceae, Rutaceae and Poaceae. Catha edulis, Rhammus prinoides and Ruta chalepensis were among the families found in homegardens. It can be concluded that homegrdens of Kombolcha are rich in biodiversity. The present study showed the existing status of homegardens and local knowledge contribution to the farming systems in conservation of the biological diversity. In addition, plant species providing substantial benefits and factors combined to determining homegarden diversity are documented.

Agrodiversidad de los huertos caseros de la región andina del sur de Colombia

Los huertos caseros son una fuente de recursos genéticos, de conocimientos ancestrales y de seguridad alimentaria para la humanidad. El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizada la agrodiversidad de los huertos caseros en una zona de la región Andina del sur de Colombia (Ancuya, Nariño), localizado en las coordenadas 1°15`59,52”LN, 77°31`63”LO. Se muestrearon 120 predios en 13 veredas, donde se aplicaron encuestas semiestructuradas con 31 variables. La información se procesó mediante el análisis de Correspondencias Múltiples (ACM), y análisis de agrupamiento. Para el el estudio de la composición florística del huerto tipo, se utilizó la metodología del área mínima. A las especies leñosas se les determinó el diámetro a la altura del pecho (DAP) tomando especies con DAP ≥ a 10cm. Se estimaron variables ecológicas como frecuencia, dominancia, abundancia e índice de valor de importancia (IVI). Se obtuvieron cinco factores que explican el 30,39% de la variabilidad. Predomina el factor uno cuyas variables están relacionadas con la diversidad de especies presentes en los huertos caseros. Se concluye que en la composición florística del huerto tipo, se encontraron 142 especies, entre árboles, arbustos, cultivos alimenticios y medicinales pertenecientes a 126 géneros y 66 familias. La familia predominante es Lamiaceae con 10 especies.

Home garden agrobiodiversity in cultural landscapes in the tropical lowlands of Tabasco, México

We studied whether agrobiodiversity in home gardens reflects the cultural landscapes that embed them. We compared floristic composition, biomass and cover of trees in home gardens between the cultural landscapes on mountain slopes (MSL), small hills (SHL), and floodplains (FPL) in a segment of the Grijalva–Usumacinta watershed in the tropical lowlands of Tabasco, Mexico. We characterized the cultural landscapes based on information obtained through questionnaires, identified species and measured tree height and diameter at breast height in random samples of home gardens from two localities in each case. The cultural landscapes showed distinct land use combinations: MSL comprised subsistence agriculture, pasturelands and forests; SHL pasturelands, some secondary vegetation and industrial agriculture fields; and FPL mainly industrial agriculture fields and pasturelands. Total species richness was greater in MSL than in SHL and FPL. Mean species richness was greater in MSL and SHL (22.4 and 15.8 respectively) than in FPL (7.2), as was the mean number of individuals per home garden (98.2, 94.1 and 20.4. Dominant species in home gardens in FPL and SHL included particular secondary species for each landscape, whereas single or double occurrences of mature forest species were distinctive of home gardens in MSL. Mean biomass was greater in MSL than in SHL and FPL (37.1, 28.2 and 23.7 Mg C ha−1), as was tree cover (1.06, 0.95 and 0.76 m2/m2). We conclude that agrobiodiversity varies considerably among cultural landscapes and recommend the design of specific policies to enhance its conservation in each of them.

Agrobiodiversity and in situ conservation in quilombola home gardens with different intensities of urbanization

ABSTRACT Among the agricultural environments of traditional communities, home gardens are frequently cited as high agrobiodiversity sites. However, the agrobiodiversity of home gardens along a rural-urban gradient demands study in order to identify possible influences of urbanization and to support mitigation of impacts. The present work investigated the role home gardens play in the in situ agrobiodiversity conservation of plants in quilombola communities with different degrees of urbanization. The study found that more urbanized communities have larger home gardens, but the average richness of plant species in these areas was not statistically different among the communities. Furthermore, the abundance of plant species was similar. Medicinal and food plants were mainly found in home gardens of the communities with high to intermediate levels of urbanization, while ornamental plants were more common in rural community home gardens. It is believed that crop exclusivity in home gardens of the more urbanized communities highly influenced the results, increasing the role home gardens play in maintaining traditional practices. The elevated and statistically equal species richness in home gardens suggests that, despite the factors generated by urbanization, all of the communities are very important for in situ conservation of native and introduced species.

Seed Sharing in Amazonian Indigenous Rain Forest Communities: a Social Network Analysis in three Achuar Villages, Peru

Farmer-to-farmer seed transfers are important for plant domestication, the dissemination of improved crops and in building and maintaining agricultural diversity. Seed sharing may be conceptualized as networks through which planting material flows and landraces are disseminated and conserved. To date, research on seed sharing networks has focused on sociograms and network measures to describe their structure and key actors within them; their bivariate or multivariate correlates have been studied using conventional statistics. We conducted a study of home garden agrobiodiversity and seed networks in three Achuar communities along the upper Corrientes River in Peru. We examine the distribution of home garden crop species within and across communities and apply multivariate techniques within Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyse the formation and structure of seed networks and to identify key actors in seed sharing. Of particular interest is the relationship among crop diversity, farmer expertise, kinship, and seed sharing behavior. Our results point to the importance of kinship relations, community size, and the ‘knowledge-plant transfer’ nexus in shaping seed networks.

Agrobiodiversity of homegardens in a commercial sugarcane cultivation land matrix in Uganda

ABSTRACTUnderstanding biodiversity in homegardens embedded in landscapes dominated by commercial monoculture agriculture is critical for sustainable management of agrobiodiversity and meeting rural households’ needs in the face of global changes. We assessed agrobiodiversity in the 120 homegardens and its contribution to rural household livelihood strategies within a commercial monoculture sugarcane cultivation land matrix in eastern Uganda. We recorded a total of 68 plant species from 46 genera representing 27 families. Species richness spanned 6 to 19 species, and α-diversity (H’) ranged from 0.6 to 2.3; with 86.67% of the homegardens having H’ >1. Species composition differed significantly (global RANOSIM = 0.153, p < 0.001) among the villages. The most important and commonly maintained plants were those that provided food, fuelwood and money income and included Zea mays L., Manihot esculenta, Phaesolus spp., Coffea sp., Musa spp., Ipomea batatus and Artocarpus heterophyllus. Most of the crops cited as useful by households were also frequent and visible in many of the homegardens. Although homegardens still hold some valuable plants, there is also loss of important plants from the agricultural system including cowpeas, soya beans, bambara groundnuts, finger millet, cotton, aerial yams and oysternut essential for sustaining household livelihoods. This loss, precipitated by increased land-use/cover change to commercial sugarcane plantations threatens agrobiodiversity conservation and the benefits households derive from homegardens. Our findings underline the importance of homegardens in the conservation of indigenous agrobiodiversity, and indicate that with the continued expansion of commercial sugarcane cultivation this opportunity may be lost.

Home Garden Agrobiodiversity Differentiates Along a Rural—Peri–Urban Gradient in Campeche, México

Home Garden Agrobiodiversity Differentiates Along a Rural—Peri–Urban Gradient in Campeche, Mexico. Agrobiodiversity in tropical home gardens is thought to decline with increasing urbanization, but information in this regard is scarce. We characterized livelihoods and compared attributes of home gardens of rural, semi–rural, and peri–urban families in Campeche, Mexico. We hypothesized a decline of agrobiodiversity of cultivated trees and shrubs, its native component, and the diversity of uses from rural to peri–urban livelihoods, and increases for cultivated herbs. We registered all cultivated species in 12 randomly selected home gardens in each condition, and determined species’ origin and use. Total and average observed species richness of trees and shrubs in rural and semi–rural home gardens was similar and higher than in peri–urban home gardens, but equally sized samples all had similar richness. Tree density and basal area were largest in semi–rural home gardens. Total observed and average species richness of herbs increased along the rural—peri–urban gradient, and richness of equally sized samples of herbs was higher in peri–urban than in rural and semi–rural home gardens. Peri–urban home gardens had the highest richness of equally sized samples of all plants. Differences in richness were associated with a shift in livelihoods, influencing plant uses, and hence species composition along the gradient: peri–urban families combined some fruit trees with a large diversity of ornamental herbs. Rural and semi–rural families maintained tree and shrub species of distinct uses, cultivated less ornamental species and a larger native component than peri–urban home gardens. We conclude that agrobiodiversity does not decline along the rural—peri–urban gradient, but differentiates.

Farmers’ Valuation of Agro-Biodiversity in Home Gardens: Case Study in the Kurunegala District

Agro-biodiversity acts as a key environment resource that enhances the sustainability in any given eco-system. Much of the agro-biodiversity remaining in situ today is found on the semi-subsistence farms, small scale farms or home gardens. Labeled “home gardens” as a reflection of their institutional identity during the collectivization period, they are micro-agro ecosystems that provide important environmental functions and food security. This study applies the choice experiment method to estimate the private benefits farmers derive from four components of agro-biodiversity in the home gardens; richness of crop varieties and fruit trees, crop landraces, integrated crop and livestock production and soil microorganism diversity. Primary data collected from a sample of 189 households in the Kurunegala was used in this study. A conditional logit model was used to elicit willingness to accept by home garden owners for preserving above mentioned facets of agro-biodiversity. Results highlighted that the households’ highest willingness to accept attribute was livestock integration. In addition other attributes such as organic production, landraces, pollination, fauna and flora diversity were significant components of a home garden. Findings demonstrate variation in the private values of home gardens and their attributes across households contributing to understand the potential role of home gardens in the area. This study has implications for sustaining agro-biodiversity in home gardens and in the country. Journal of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka: 2015 Vol. 4 No. 1: 72-83

Importance of life strategies and their relationship of cooperation in homegarden agrobiodiversity

La diversidad en los huertos familiares o solares y su aprovechamiento estan influenciados por las relaciones de cooperacion hacia el interior de estos espacios productivos. La informacion del presente estudio se obtuvo por medio de una encuesta por muestreo estadistico a las familias de la comunidad maya de Chican, municipio de Tixmehuac, Yucatan. Se identifico y analizo la participacion de los integrantes de las unidades domesticas campesinas en la seleccion de materiales geneticos in situ, manejo de los cultivos, definicion de estrategias de vida, cooperacion y la forma de aprovechamiento de la produccion obtenida en los huertos. El trabajo realizado por las mujeres representa el 38.7 % del total de jornadas ejecutadas en el solar, a traves del intercambio se obtiene el 40.1 % de los materiales geneticos cultivados en este espacio, la venta de una parte de la produccion aporta el 6 % del ingreso familiar y el autoconsumo representa el 3.2 % del gasto en alimentos. Se concluye que la importancia del huerto familiar radica en su contribucion al consumo, a la economia domestica y favorece los vinculos familiares de cooperacion

Agrobiodiversity of Home Gardens in Selected Marginal Upland Villages of Inopacan, Leyte, Philippines

Home gardens are subsistence crop production systems that significantly contribute to the socio-ecological resilience of peasant communities reducing vulnerability and ensuring food security. Because of their small size, they are neglected repositories of biological diversity. This paper describes the agrobiodiversity and management of home gardens in about 79 households in three marginal upland villages of Inopacan, Leyte. Semi-structured interviews and actual home garden visits were done to collect data. Results show that home gardens studied had high species diversity and exhibited a multilayered structure. A total of 171 species in 74 families and 146 genera were documented. The composites (Asteraceae) had the most number of genera and species followed by the orchids (Orchidaceae), legumes (Fabaceae) and aroids (Araceae). More than 70% of the species were exotics which were mostly ornamental plants. Erect herbs were the most common, followed by trees, shrubs, herbaceous vines and epiphytes. Majority of the species were ornamentals followed by fruit trees, medicinal plants, vegetables and spice plants, grown primarily for home use (62%) rather than as source of income. Established and managed by family members who provide free labor, the gardens mostly utilized cost-free planting materials and with no fertilizer or pesticide application.

Seed Exchange as an Agrobiodiversity Conservation Mechanism. A Case Study in Vall Fosca, Catalan Pyrenees, Iberian Peninsula

Calvet-Mir, L., M. Calvet-Mir, J. Luis Molina, and V. Reyes-García. 2012. Seed exchange as an agrobiodiversity conservation mechanism. A case study in Vall Fosca, Catalan Pyrenees, Iberian Peninsula. Ecology and Society 17(1): 29. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04682-170129