Evaluating Two Quantitative Ethnobotanical Techniques

A critical evaluation of two quantitative techniques used in ethnobotanical studies was undertaken using data concerning plant use in a rural community in the semi-arid region of Pernambuco State, northeastern Brazil. The relative importance of 36 native woody species reported as being useful by 98 informants was calculated employing the Use-Value (UV) and Relative Importance (RI) techniques. Both techniques place value on a given taxon based on the number of uses attributed to it. Results obtained for both techniques are positively correlated, suggesting that they can be used interchangeably to evaluate local knowledge of a given resource. The implications and interpretation limitations of these two techniques are discussed in detail

Conservation priorities of useful plants from different techniques of collection and analysis of ethnobotanical data

This study analyzes three methods of data analysis to verify which one would be more appropriate to get information aiming the conservation, selecting the use value (VU) inventory in situ and conservation property index (IPC). It was developed in in Northeast Brazil, via interviewed householders (46 informants). The VU was calculated considering only the effective use of plants; the inventory in situ was made through the frequency of species occurrence in homes; and the IPC combining ethnobotanical and phytossociological data. It was observed a similar cast of the indicated species by VU and inventory in situ, being different from the IPC cast. As this study sought to analyze the best technique for species identification which were needing conservationist actions, and obtained different results among the chosen methods. It has been suggested the use of methods that unite in their analysis both ethnobotanical and ecological aspects, like in the plants list from the priority index of conservation, which demonstrated to be more efficient to identify rare species in the local vegetation. The VU and the inventory in situ are more efficient to identify the most known and used species in the communities, however without analyzing these plants in the local vegetation