"Mushrooms (and a cow) are A Means of Survival for Us": Dissimilar Ethnomycological Perspectives among Hutsuls and Romanians Living Across The Ukrainian-Romanian Border

Sustainable forest management highlights the multipurpose use of all forest resources, including the use of wild mushrooms, by a variety of forest users and especially for rural livelihoods. To achieve sustainable forest management, among others, decision-makers and forest managers need to identify the important elements for the livelihoods of local communities dependent on forests. Therefore, our aim is to analyse the importance of contemporary use of wild mushrooms for daily livelihoods in rural areas of the Carpathian Mountains by comparing two ethnic groups, Hutsuls and Romanians, living in a similar ecological environment and formerly belonging to the historical region of Bukovina, but currently split by the border between Ukraine and Romania which have different governments and economic situations. One hundred and twenty-one face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in the summers of 2018 and 2019. We compared the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of Romanians and Hutsuls living, respectively, in lowlands and mountain areas on both sides of the border. Our results demonstrated the homogenous use of mushroom species for cultural purposes (e.g. ritual foods). Yet, we detected a remarkable difference in the role mushrooms play in providing income: Hutsuls in Ukraine use forest products as a main (rarely additional) source of income, while Romanian Hutsuls use them solely as additional income. Romanians on both sides considered mushrooms mainly as food and did not sell them (probably due in part to less abundance in the area). We also documented the fear of local residents that forest management and protected areas could suppress the right to collect wild mushrooms. The use of mushrooms is an important aspect of local TEK and needs to be considered as a part of sustainable forest management and as a means of poverty reduction in the region

Food Behavior in Emergency Time: Wild Plant Use for Human Nutrition during the Conflict in Syria

Wild food plants (WFPs) have been an important source of human nutrition since ancient times, and it particularly revives when conventional food is not available due to emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. The war in Syria has entered 10 years since it started in 2011, and it has caused the largest war-related crises since World War II. Nearly 60% of the Syrian population (12.4 million people) are food-insecure. WFPs are already culturally important in the region, and may be supplementing local diets during this conflict. Our study aimed to uncover the conflict’s effect on the use of WFPs and to know what species are consumed by local people during the current crisis. The fieldwork was carried out between March 2020 and March 2021 in the Tartus governorate located in the coastal region of Syria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 participants (26 women and 24 men) distributed in 26 villages along the study area. We recorded the vernacular names, uses, plant parts used, modes of preparation and consumption, change in WFP use before and during the conflict, and informants’ perceptions towards WFPs. We documented 75 wild food plant species used for food and drink. Almost two-thirds (64%) of informants reported an increase in their reliance on wild plants as a food source during the conflict. The species of Origanum syriacum, Rhus coriaria, Eryngium creticum, and Cichorium intybus were among the most quoted species by informants. Sleeq (steamed leafy vegetables), Zaatar (breakfast/dinner food), and Louf (soup) were the most popular wild plant-based dishes

Resilience in the mountains: biocultural refugia of wild food in the Greater Caucasus Range, Azerbaijan

Diversity of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) created on the edges of culture is the key to the sustainability and resilience of humankind. We recorded wild food TEK among seven autochthonous linguistic communities living on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Range, documenting the use of 72 wild taxa as well as remarkable diversity of both taxa and uses among the communities. The most isolated communities form distinct biocultural refugia for wild food plants and their uses, but the sustainability of such communities is under threat due to depopulation, and their TEK has already entered into decline. While isolation may have been responsible for the preservation of food biocultural refugia, it may no longer be enough for the passive preservation of the food refugia in the study area in the future. More proactive steps have to be taken in order to ensure the sustainability of TEK of the study communities and beyond

One more way to support Ukraine: Celebrating its endangered biocultural diversity

Background: Ukraine holds a rich reservoir of cultural and biological diversity due to its complex history and variegated landscapes. However, the current aggression poses threats to it, attacking its identity expressed through local ecological practices. Therefore, in this photo essay, we aim to celebrate the great reservoir of biocultural diversity that we observed during several field investigations in different areas of Ukraine. Methods: We selected photos taken during fieldworks conducted by the authors between 2015 and 2021 in ten oblasts (counties) of Ukraine. The pictures were selected based on their efficacy in conveying a story about a local (food) practice or landscape. Results: Two main aspects of food culture are relevant in Ukraine. First the foraging of wild plants and mushrooms for food and medicinal purposes in forestlands. Second, “babushka markets” where elderly sellers bring a few things they want to sell on the fringes of the official market. They often included preserved as pickles and jams, but also fresh products. In addition, the several traditional Ukrainian landscapes serve as reservoir of biocultural diversity expressed by small-scale farmers and livestock keepers. Conclusions: We illustrated several examples of the richness of the biological and cultural diversity of Ukraine. Nevertheless, freedom is essential for expressing identity through food practices and landscape management. We hope that such a reservoir can serve as a foundation stone for rebuilding destroyed areas and devastated communities

High temperature fatigue testing of gas turbine blades

Abstract With the increasing use of renewable energy sources, Gas Turbines (GTs) are currently required to accomplish more flexible operations for supplying the back-up energy. As a result, thermo-mechanical fatigue issues in the GTs components are emphasized. In this paper, the design of a novel rig for assessing the fatigue behavior in the trailing edge of full scale GTs blades is presented. Based on a detailed Finite Element (FE) analysis of the blade response under thermo-mechanical loads, it is demonstrated that the stress and strain cycles arising in this area during a start-up/shut-down transient can be accurately reproduced by clamping the blade in the shank zone and applying a transversal load to the trailing edge. It is also shown that the stress/strain states can be obtained using a Test Article (TA) extracted from the actual blade. In this configuration, the load magnitude and direction, and the distance of the application point from the blade platform are the test control parameters. A FE model simulating the TA test is developed to determine the test parameters. A tooling for clamping and loading the TA is finally proposed along with a rig apparatus consisting of standard equipment used in material testing

Alpine ethnobotany in Italy: traditional knowledge of gastronomic and medicinal plants among the Occitans of the upper Varaita valley, Piedmont

A gastronomic and medical ethnobotanical study was conducted among the Occitan communities living in Blins/Bellino and Chianale, in the upper Val Varaita, in the Piedmontese Alps, North-Western Italy, and the traditional uses of 88 botanical taxa were recorded. Comparisons with and analysis of other ethnobotanical studies previously carried out in other Piemontese and surrounding areas, show that approximately one fourth of the botanical taxa quoted in this survey are also known in other surrounding Occitan valleys. It is also evident that traditional knowledge in the Varaita valley has been heavily eroded. This study also examined the local legal framework for the gathering of botanical taxa, and the potential utilization of the most quoted medicinal and food wild herbs in the local market, and suggests that the continuing widespread local collection from the wild of the aerial parts of Alpine wormwood for preparing liqueurs (Artemisia genipi, A. glacialis, and A. umbelliformis) should be seriously reconsidered in terms of sustainability, given the limited availability of these species, even though their collection is culturally salient in the entire study area