Estudio etnobotánico y agroecológico de la Sierra Norte de Madrid

Tesis doctoral inédita. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología. Fecha de lectura: 29-10-201

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

Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICUnidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MMost 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

Biodiversidad y Etnobotánica en España.

[EN]The relationships between vegetal biodiversity and uses of plants are analysed. The main use categories are described and some examples of edible and medicinal speciesor plants used in folk technology are given to show the importance of biodiversity in traditional cultures. The knowledge and use of plants are an important component of biocultural diversity, a heritage that must be preserved and documented. This wisdom is being lost due to socioeconomic changes, but it might be helpful for understanding how to harmonize the use and conservation of biodiversity. The state of the art in ethnobotanical research in Spain is analysed and a list of literature is given, including universitary research works, such as doctoral and master degree theses.[ES]Se analizan las relaciones entre la biodiversidad vegetal y los usos de plantas. Para mostrar la importancia de la biodiversidad en las culturas tradicionales se describe el uso de las plantas según las principales categorías, poniendo ejemplos de especies alimenticias, medicinales y de uso tecnológico. El conocimiento y uso de las plantas forma parte de la denominada diversidad biocultural, que merece ser documentada y conservada. Este saber está desapareciendo debido a los cambios socioeconómicos acaecidos en los últimos tiempos; sin embargo, puede ser útil para aprender a conciliar el uso y la conservación de la biodiversidad. En este trabajo se analiza el estado de la investigación etnobotánica en España y se aporta una lista de bibliografía sobre el tema,incluyendo trabajos de investigación universitarios, tanto tesis doctorales como trabajos de iniciación a la investigación.Peer reviewe

Governing landraces and associated knowledge as a commons. From theory to practice

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552We examine the governance of landraces and associated knowledge in Spain focusing on actions to maintain them in the public domain and to manage them as commons. We first examine the international mechanisms promoting conservation of landraces and associated knowledge in the public domain and the actions by the Spanish state to apply such regulations. We then explore the efforts of the Spanish seed network and a group of scientists to manage them as commons. The analysis of the interactions between the public and the commons regimes led us to conclude that landraces and associated knowledge would be better managed under a combination of governance regimes

Las reformas cubanas de los noventa ¿alternativa a la hegemonía neoliberal en América Latina? Promesas y realidad

16 p., tablas -- Post-print del artículo publicado en Society and Natural Resources. Versión revisada y corregida.Because of its potential role in providing ecosystem services and private benefits (food security), the concern about the loss of agrobiodiversity has grown. We explore the links between agrobiodiversity and farm financial benefits in small-scale agroecosystems. We measured crop diversity in a subsistence-oriented agricultural production system: home gardens (n = 250) in the Iberian Peninsula. We calculated the imputed market value of home gardens' edible crops and estimated the association between agrobiodiversity and home gardens' gross financial value. Temperate home gardens harbor levels of agrobiodiversity comparable to those of tropical home gardens. Data suggest that an increase in crop diversity is associated with an increase in the gross financial value generated by home gardens. Our findings suggest that in non-commercially oriented agricultural systems, there is a positive link between agrobiodiversity and financial benefits, highlighting the contribution of agrobiodiversity to the provision of private benefits.Peer Reviewe

"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

The contribution of traditional agroecological knowledge as a digital commons to agroecological transitions : The case of the CONECT-e platform

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Traditional agroecological knowledge (TAeK) refers to the cumulative and evolving body of knowledge, practices, beliefs, institutions, and worldviews about the relationships between a society or cultural group and their agroecosystems. These knowledge systems contribute to maintaining environmental and culturally sensitive food systems and have been considered very relevant for agroecological transitions, or the processes of scaling-up and -out agroecology. However, TAeK's erosion and enclosure threatens its use and reproduction, which in turn might affect TAeK's potential contribution to agroecological transitions. Here, we explore how transforming TAeK, and particularly TAeK on landraces, into a digital commons can contribute to its maintenance and protection, and thus to agroecological transitions. We do so by analyzing the CONECT-e platform, an initiative for digitally storing and sharing TAeK in a participatory way. One year after being launched, CONECT-e has documented 452 geographically distinct landraces from 81 different species. The information shared in this platform is well-structured, clear, and reliable; it thus allows for the replication of the knowledge reported. Moreover, because CONECT-e makes the documented information freely available and protects it with a copyleft license, placing information in this platform could help one face landrace misappropriation issues. CONECT-e, or similar initiatives, could contribute to agroecological transitions via maintaining TAeK under the digital commons framework, making it accessible to all society and avoiding enclosure processes

From famine foods to delicatessen: Interpreting trends in the use of wild edible plants through cultural ecosystem services

TheMillenniumEcosystemAssessment found a general decline in the consumption and gathering of wild edible plants, but some studies also observe a localized increase. Using information frominterviews (n=1133) in seven sites in the Iberian Peninsula and one in the Balearic Islands,we 1) identify current trends in the consumption and gathering ofwild edible plants (n=56 plant-uses) and 2) analyze howcultural ecosystemservices relate to such trends. Our data show a generalized decrease in the consumption and gathering of wild edible plants, although the trend changes significantly across plant-uses. Specifically, we found that –despite the overall decreasing trend– uses of wild edible plants that simultaneously relate to foods with high cultural appreciation and the recreational function of gathering remain popular. Our results signal that cultural services and values associated to the gathering and consumption of some wild edible plants are important factors explaining divergent trends across plant species. This finding reinforces the notion that cultural ecosystem services are deeply intertwined with other categories of services which can combine in complex, non-linear ways producing a variety of interdependent benefits

Bísaro Sensory evaluation of Bísaro pork meat products

O objectivo deste trabalho foi a caracterização sensorial da carne e produtos transformados de porco Bísaro. Esta caracterização foi feita por um painel de provadores treinado que avaliou através de uma análise descritiva quantitativa atributos objectivos dos produtos em análise, e por um painel de consumidores que avaliou o nível de agrado por cada um dos produtos. Os procedimentos foram feitos de acordo com as Normas Portuguesas. Os resultados da avaliação pelo painel de provadores indicaram que a carne de porco Bísaro tem excelentes qualidades organolépticas. É uma carne clara, com sabores e odores moderadamente intensos, bastante tenra e suculenta. Os consumidores consideraram os produtos avaliados agradáveis a bastante agradáveis. Destacaram o cachaço, considerando- o muito agradável. O cachaço, produto curado, foi pontuado pelo painel de provadores como tenro e suculento.Os resultados apresentados são relativos ao projecto PRODER SI I&DT Medida 4.1 Cooperação para a inovação – Projetos em Co -promoção, n.º21511; BISIPORC, realizado por Bísaro Salsicharia Tradicional e Laboratório de Tecnologia e Qualidade da Carne e da Carcaça, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio