Does Climatic Seasonality of the Caatinga Influence the Composition of the Free lists of Medicinal Plants? A Case Study

  • Ernani Machado de Freitas Lins Neto Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Campus Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Humana e Gestão Socioambiental (PPGEcoH), Departamento de Tecnologia e Ciências Sociais (DTCS) Campus III da Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Bahia, Brazil.
  • Silvana Vieira dos Santos Colegiado de Ciências da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Campus de Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia, Brazil.
  • Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior Laboratório de Investigações Bioculturais no Semiárido, Universidade de Pernambuco (UPE), Campus Petrolina, Brazil.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.12.1.2021.1678
Keywords: Salience index, Relative importance index, Dry forest, Ethnobotany

Abstract

The free list is a key data collection tool in ethnobotanical studies. For this reason, it is currently receiving a great deal of attention regarding possible methodological limitations. To this end, we aim to investigate the influence of climatic seasonality of the Caatinga ecosystem on the composition of free lists of medicinal plants provided by people from a rural community located in the northeast region of Brazil. People were asked the same trigger question (which medicinal plants do you know?), during the rainy and dry seasons. Comparing the plant lists described during both periods (68 plants), respondent salience in the rainy period was significantly higher than the dry period. However, similarities can be observed between the two lists, especially with respect to their composition and the continued importance of hortelã (Mentha sp.) and alecrim (Lippia sp.), which maintained prominent positions during the rainy and dry seasons. The general analysis of the free lists revealed that there were no significant differences due to temporality, especially in relation to plants with a higher salience value. Since these plants are found mainly in homegardens, it is possible to deduce that the daily conduct of activities in these environments is stimulating and keeping plants in homegardens active in people’s memory. However, much still needs to be investigated about the free list technique in ethnobotanical data collection, especially with regard to the influence of seasonality on stimulating seasonal diseases.

Author Biographies

Ernani Machado de Freitas Lins Neto, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Campus Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Humana e Gestão Socioambiental (PPGEcoH), Departamento de Tecnologia e Ciências Sociais (DTCS) Campus III da Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Bahia, Brazil.

Ernani Machado de Freitas Lins Neto is an ethnobiologist with an interest in the modulating processes of human behavior in relation to biodiversity.

Silvana Vieira dos Santos, Colegiado de Ciências da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Campus de Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia, Brazil.

Silvana Vieira dos Santos is a natural scientist interested in the relationship between people and plants.

Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior, Laboratório de Investigações Bioculturais no Semiárido, Universidade de Pernambuco (UPE), Campus Petrolina, Brazil.

Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior is an ethnobiologist with a research interest in understanding the structure, dynamics, and evolution of local medical systems with an emphasis on the use of medicinal plants.

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Map of the municipality of Campo Formoso-BA with emphasis on the district of Tuiutiba, where the study was conducted.
Published
2021-03-15
How to Cite
Lins Neto, E. M. de F., Vieira dos Santos, S., & Soares Ferreira Júnior, W. (2021). Does Climatic Seasonality of the Caatinga Influence the Composition of the Free lists of Medicinal Plants? A Case Study. Ethnobiology Letters, 12(1), 44-54. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.12.1.2021.1678
Issue
Vol 12 No 1 (2021)
Section
Data, Methods & Taxonomies

Copyright (c) 2021 Ernani Machado de Freitas Lins Neto, Silvana Vieira dos Santos, Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior

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