Catalan ethnoflora: a meta-analytic approach to life forms and geographic territories

Background Catalonia (in the north east of the Iberian Peninsula) is among the most prospected territories in Europe, from the ethnobotanical point of view. The aim of the present paper is to undertake a global analysis in the area considered, including plants, plant life forms, and ethnobotanical data within a physiographic and geographic framework. Methods Data from 21 ethnobotanical prospection areas in Catalonia were collected, analyzed, and compared, with the focus on plant life forms and geographic divisions. Results A total of 824 taxa constitute the Catalan ethnoflora, and 316 of them are shared by the six physiographic zones recognized in Catalonia. When three major geographic areas are considered (Pyrenean, inland, and littoral), 394 taxa have been reported in only one out of the three areas. Concerning life forms, phanerophytes and chamaephytes together, i.e., those taxa present all through the year, are the most cited (37.12%). Conclusions This first study constitutes a new approach to ethnobotanical data analysis. The results show the particular importance of plants with a large distribution area and plants with available biomass throughout the year. Apart from this, other kind of plants, e.g., those present in only one territory, are of interest for its originality and sometimes for the local significance

Catalan ethnoflora: a meta-analytic approach to life forms and geographic territories

Artículo de diez páginas que contiene mapas de distribución geográfica y conclusiones estadísticas, con material adicional en su versión on-line. Los autores desarrollan su trabajo de investigación en el Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB, CSIC-Ajuntament de Barcelona), Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio) y Institut d’Estudis Catalans.[Background]: Catalonia (in the north east of the Iberian Peninsula) is among the most prospected territories in Europe, from the ethnobotanical point of view. The aim of the present paper is to undertake a global analysis in the area considered, including plants, plant life forms, and ethnobotanical data within a physiographic and geographic framework.[Methods]: Data from 21 ethnobotanical prospection areas in Catalonia were collected, analyzed, and compared, with the focus on plant life forms and geographic divisions.[Results]: A total of 824 taxa constitute the Catalan ethnoflora, and 316 of them are shared by the six physiographic zones recognized in Catalonia. When three major geographic areas are considered (Pyrenean, inland, and littoral), 394 taxa have been reported in only one out of the three areas. Concerning life forms, phanerophytes and chamaephytes together, i.e., those taxa present all through the year, are the most cited (37.12%).[Conclusions]: This first study constitutes a new approach to ethnobotanical data analysis. The results show the particular importance of plants with a large distribution area and plants with available biomass throughout the year. Apart from this, other kind of plants, e.g., those present in only one territory, are of interest for its originality and sometimes for the local significance.This work was subsidized by projects 2017SGR001116 from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government), PRO2017-S02VALLES and PRO2020-S02VALLES from the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC, Catalan Academy of Sciences and Humanities), and CGL2017-84297-R from the Spanish Government.Introduction Material and methods - Databasing - Data analysis and biases Results and discussion - Physiographic distribution of the ethnoflora - Distribution of the ethnoflora in the three major geographic areas - Ethnoflora and life forms - Quantitative ethnobotany Conclusions Appendix Supplementary Informatio