Ethnobiology – serie

This book reviews the history, current state of knowledge, and different research approaches and techniques of studies on interactions between humans and plants in an important area of agriculture and ongoing plant domestication: Mesoamerica.

This book reviews the history, current state of knowledge, and different research approaches and techniques of studies on interactions between humans and plants in an important area of agriculture and ongoing plant domestication: Mesoamerica.

Contributions to this volume cover knowledge bases in both marine and terrestrial systems, and how specific local knowledge types contributed to a variety of strategies, including subsistence, social-ecological resilience, resource conservation, cultural heritage preservation, economic systems, and mitigating uncertainty.

Plants play a central role in human existence. Medicinal plants, in particular, have allowed for the continued survival of the human species. This book, based on over a decade of research in Southern Mexico with the Highland Maya, explores the relationship between medicinal plants, traditional ecological knowledge and the environment. The biodiversity of the region remains among the highest in the world, comprising more than 9000 plant species. Over 1600 employed for medicinal uses and knowledge for approximately 600 species is widespread. Medicinal plants play an overwhelmingly primary role in the daily health care of the Highland Maya. Three principal objectives are addressed: 1) identifying which medicinal plants are used; 2) determining the role of environmental variation on use and selection of medicinal plants; and 3) identifying which habitats are preferred for medicinal plant procurement. Findings demonstrate the overwhelming importance of human modified environments for medicinal plants. Explanations are presented from human ecology and biochemical ecology. Implications for conservation, health and the environment are discussed.

This work includes topics such as primates as prey and food, ethnozoology/ethnoecology, cosmology, narratives about monkeys, uses of primates, monkeys as pets, and ethnoclassification.

This work includes topics such as primates as prey and food, ethnozoology/ethnoecology, cosmology, narratives about monkeys, uses of primates, monkeys as pets, and ethnoclassification.

This book explores how individuals and communities perceive and understand climate change using their observations of change in the world around them.

This book explores how individuals and communities perceive and understand climate change using their observations of change in the world around them.

however, there is not oneinclusive document on the ethnobotany of mountains in Asia.This book provides a comprehensive overview on ethno-ecological knowledge and cross cultural variation in the application of plant species among various communities residing in the mountains of Asia;

however, there is not oneinclusive document on the ethnobotany of mountains in Asia.This book provides a comprehensive overview on ethno-ecological knowledge and cross cultural variation in the application of plant species among various communities residing in the mountains of Asia;

This book presents the current state of knowledge on local Brazilian food plants through a multidisciplinary approach, including an overview of food plants in Brazil, as well as comprehensive nutritional data.

This book presents the current state of knowledge on local Brazilian food plants through a multidisciplinary approach, including an overview of food plants in Brazil, as well as comprehensive nutritional data.

This is the first comprehensive listing of Amazon fruits from an ethnobotanical perspective. This book should be a foundational work for scholars working in the plant sciences, researchers in ethnobotanical studies, and general interest scholars seeking more detailed information on the latest research by a leading scientist in the Amazon.

This is the first comprehensive listing of Amazon fruits from an ethnobotanical perspective. This book should be a foundational work for scholars working in the plant sciences, researchers in ethnobotanical studies, and general interest scholars seeking more detailed information on the latest research by a leading scientist in the Amazon.

The key areas of focus include plant diversity in Uzbekistan, cross cultural variation in traditional uses of plant species, high-value medicinal and food plant species, and threats and conservation status of plant species and traditional knowledge

The key areas of focus include plant diversity in Uzbekistan, cross cultural variation in traditional uses of plant species, high-value medicinal and food plant species, and threats and conservation status of plant species and traditional knowledge

Ethnobiology and Development in Asia: The Belt and Road Initiative offers a groundbreaking perspective on the interplay between traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and biological resources along historical and contemporary trade routes across Asia. Against the backdrop of an interlinked climate, biodiversity, and land degradation crisis, generating robust knowledge that includes local and indigenous perspectives is crucial. This book explores how communities across diverse ecological zones interact with their environment, how species and cultures have moved along the Belt and Road, and how grassroots initiatives are driving sustainable development.Structured into three key sections - Common species and cultures along the Belt and Road, Flows of species and cultures, and Community-based initiatives - this volume presents a novel interpretation of the Belt and Road Initiative through an ethnobiological lens. From the Arctic tundra to tropical rainforests, from ancient silk routes to maritime trading paths, from rural places to urban settings, 49 in-depth chapters document how people have developed sophisticated relationships with local species and ecosystems, creating a rich traditional knowledge of biological and cultural diversity. The book also emphasizes how local communities together with various stakeholders explore vibrant and innovative ways of living in harmony with nature.Aimed at researchers, policymakers, and the wider public, this book underscores the value of traditional knowledge in global discussions on climate change and biodiversity conservation. It calls for urgent action to respect and protect indigenous knowledge systems and contributes to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)' integrated approach to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through its detailed ethnobiological analysis, this book offers a practical guide for integrating traditional knowledge into mainstream conservation and development strategies, thereby supporting sustainable community development along the Belt and Road.

Ethnobiology and Development in Asia: The Belt and Road Initiative offers a groundbreaking perspective on the interplay between traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and biological resources along historical and contemporary trade routes across Asia. Against the backdrop of an interlinked climate, biodiversity, and land degradation crisis, generating robust knowledge that includes local and indigenous perspectives is crucial. This book explores how communities across diverse ecological zones interact with their environment, how species and cultures have moved along the Belt and Road, and how grassroots initiatives are driving sustainable development.Structured into three key sections - Common species and cultures along the Belt and Road, Flows of species and cultures, and Community-based initiatives - this volume presents a novel interpretation of the Belt and Road Initiative through an ethnobiological lens. From the Arctic tundra to tropical rainforests, from ancient silk routes to maritime trading paths, from rural places to urban settings, 49 in-depth chapters document how people have developed sophisticated relationships with local species and ecosystems, creating a rich traditional knowledge of biological and cultural diversity. The book also emphasizes how local communities together with various stakeholders explore vibrant and innovative ways of living in harmony with nature.Aimed at researchers, policymakers, and the wider public, this book underscores the value of traditional knowledge in global discussions on climate change and biodiversity conservation. It calls for urgent action to respect and protect indigenous knowledge systems and contributes to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)' integrated approach to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through its detailed ethnobiological analysis, this book offers a practical guide for integrating traditional knowledge into mainstream conservation and development strategies, thereby supporting sustainable community development along the Belt and Road.

This book explores the ethnobiology of corals by examining the various ways in which humans, past and present, have exploited and taken care of coral and coralline habitats. Ethnobiology of Corals and Coral Reefs establishes an intimate bond between the audience and the wonder of corals and theirimportance to humankind.

This book covers the ethnobiology and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the Solega people of southern India. Solega TEK is shown to be a complex, inter-related network of detailed observations of natural phenomena, well-reasoned and often highly accurate theorizing, as well as a belief system, derived from cultural norms, regarding the relationships between humans and other species on the one hand, and between non-human species on the other. As language-based studies are strongly biased toward investigations of ethno-taxonomy and nomenclature, the importance of studying TEK in its proper context is discussed as making context and encyclopedic knowledge the objects of study are essential for a proper understanding of TEK.

This volume showcases current ethnobiological accounts of the ways that people use plants to promote human health and well-being. The goal in this volume is to highlight some contemporary examples of how plants are central to various aspects of healthy environments and healthy minds and bodies. Authors employ diverse analytic frameworks, including: interpretive and constructivist, cognitive, political-ecological, systems theory, phenomenological, and critical studies of the relationship between humans, plants and the environment. The case studies represent a wide geographical range and explore the diversity in the health appeals of plants and herbs. The volume begins by considering how plants may intrinsically be ‘healthful’ and the notion that ecosystem health may be a literal concept used in contemporary efforts to increase awareness of environmental degradation. The book continues with the exploration of the ways in which medically-pluralistic societies demonstrate the entanglements between the environment, the state and its citizens. Profit driven models for the extraction and production of medicinal plant products are explored in terms of health equity and sovereignty. Some of the chapters in this volume work to explore medicinal plant knowledge and the globalization of medicinal plant knowledge. The translocal and global networks of medicinal plant knowledge are pivotal to productions of medicinal and herbal plant remedies that are used by people in all variety of societies and cultural groups. Humans produce health through various means and interact with our environments, especially plants, in order to promote health.The ethnographic accounts of people, plants, and health in this volume will be of interest to the fields of anthropology, biology and ethnobiology, as well as allied disciplines.

Plants play a central role in human existence. Medicinal plants, in particular, have allowed for the continued survival of the human species. This book, based on over a decade of research in Southern Mexico with the Highland Maya, explores the relationship between medicinal plants, traditional ecological knowledge and the environment.

This book explores the ethnobiology of corals by examining the various ways in which humans, past and present, have exploited and taken care of coral and coralline habitats. Ethnobiology of Corals and Coral Reefs establishes an intimate bond between the audience and the wonder of corals and theirimportance to humankind.

As language-based studies are strongly biased toward investigations of ethno-taxonomy and nomenclature, the importance of studying TEK in its proper context is discussed as making context and encyclopedic knowledge the objects of study are essential for a proper understanding of TEK.

This volume showcases current ethnobiological accounts of the ways that people use plants to promote human health and well-being.

This volume focuses on the ethnobiology of southern Chile’s Archipelago of Chiloé. Chiloé presents a unique perspective on the intersection of society and biology owing to its vast natural resources, historic culture of cooperation, geographic isolation, and external resource exploitation. Contributions to this volume cover knowledge bases in both marine and terrestrial systems, and how specific local knowledge types contributed to a variety of strategies, including subsistence, social-ecological resilience, resource conservation, cultural heritage preservation, economic systems, and mitigating uncertainty. This book addresses the specificities of human-environment interaction on a resource-rich island, and how historic knowledge and practices can help configure adaptation to a changing social-ecological landscape.

This book explores the knowledge, work and life of Pacific coastal populations from the Pacific Northwest to Panama. Center stage in this volume is the knowledge people acquire on coastal and marine ecosystems. Material and aesthetic benefits from interacting with the environment contribute to the ongoing building of coastal cultures. The contributors are particularly interested in how local knowledge -either recently generated or transmitted along generations- interfaces with science, conservation, policy and artistic expression. Their observations exhibit a wide array of outcomes ranging from resource and human exploitation to the magnification of cultural resilience and coastal heritage. The interdisciplinary nature of ethnobiology allows the chapter authors to have a broad range of freedom when examining their subject matter. They build a multifaceted understanding of coastal heritage  through the different lenses offered by the humanities, social sciences, oceanography, fisheries and conservation science and, not surprisingly, the arts. Coastal Heritage and Cultural Resilience establishes an intimate bond between coastal communities and the audience in a time when resilience of coastal life needs to be celebrated and fortified.

This book presents a detailed case study of ecological and cultural interactions between the people and their natural environment at Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands, a land of rich biodiversity.