Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Albertus Magnus Platz, D-50923, Cologne, Germany; Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscherallee 3, D-53113, Bonn, Germany.
J Environ Manage. 2020 Feb 1;255:109917. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109917. Epub 2019 Dec 3.
Use of wild tree species by smallholder farmers for various purposes is crucially important for their daily livelihoods. However, the growing demand for these natural resources could lead to their overexploitation and environmental change. The aims of this ethnobotanical research in the Wechiau Community-based Hippopotamus Sanctuary (WCHS) were to i) document wild tree species, uses and analyze their cultural importance, ii) investigate socio-demographic variables of smallholder farmers influencing their traditional knowledge on wild tree species and uses, and iii) examine smallholder farmers ' perceptions about the establishment of the WCHS. To attain the above-stated aims, 135 smallholder farmers were interviewed in nine villages belonging to the Waala and Birfor ethnic groups. The primary data were subjected to rigorous statistical analysis (using Cognitive Salience index reflecting cultural importance, univariate and use value analysis). Given the results of this study, the WCHS is enriched with 43 ethnoecologically important wild tree species belonging to 22 families and 41 genera. This study showed that eight topmost wild tree species in descending order of cultural importance included Vitellaria paradoxa, Burkea Africana, Diospyrous mespiliformis, Bombax costatum, Parkia biglobosa, Pterocarpus erinaceus, Terminalia avicennioides and Acacia gourmaensis. It is also established in this paper that the family cultural importance for Fabaceae and Sapotaceae is predominantly high as reflected in the frequency and ranking of citations of wild tree species under these families by local informants. The 43 wild tree species cited by local informants were categorized into nine different uses including food (9 species), forage (30), firewood (40), medicine (6), construction (9), soil improvement (3), social use (2), gardening (5) and fiber/ropes (2). Among these use categories, firewood, forage, food and construction topped the list as the most culturally important to the smallholder farmers. It is also revealed that the traditional knowledge on varied wild tree species and their uses was significantly affected by age of smallholder farmers (ps < 0.05), but not ethnicity and other factors. This study thus suggests the need for community-based conservation measures for sustainable management of natural resources for rural livelihood improvement in the tropics and sub-tropics.
小规模农户出于各种目的而使用野生树种，这对他们的日常生活至关重要。然而，对这些自然资源的需求不断增长可能导致过度开发和环境变化。本项在威查乌基于社区的河马保护区（WCHS）的民族植物学研究旨在：i）记录野生树种、用途并分析其文化重要性，ii）调查影响小规模农户对野生树种及其用途的传统知识的社会人口统计学变量，以及 iii）研究小规模农户对 WCHS 建立的看法。为了实现上述目标，在属于瓦拉族和比尔弗族的 9 个村庄中对 135 名小规模农户进行了访谈。主要数据经过了严格的统计分析（使用反映文化重要性的认知显着性指数、单变量和使用价值分析）。根据这项研究的结果，WCHS 拥有属于 22 科 41 属的 43 种具有民族生态重要性的野生树种。本研究表明，文化重要性依次递减的 8 种最重要的野生树种包括 Vitellaria paradoxa、Burkea Africana、Diospyrous mespiliformis、Bombax costatum、Parkia biglobosa、Pterocarpus erinaceus、Terminalia avicennioides 和 Acacia gourmaensis。本文还确定，豆科和金缕梅科的家族文化重要性很高，这反映在当地知情人引用这些科下的野生树种的频率和排名上。当地知情人提到的 43 种野生树种分为 9 种不同用途，包括食物（9 种）、饲料（30 种）、薪材（40 种）、药材（6 种）、建筑（9 种）、土壤改良（3 种）、社会用途（2 种）、园艺（5 种）和纤维/绳索（2 种）。在这些用途类别中，薪材、饲料、食物和建筑位居榜首，对小规模农户来说最重要的是文化上最有价值的。研究还表明，各种野生树种及其用途的传统知识受到小规模农户年龄的显著影响（p < 0.05），但不受种族和其他因素的影响。因此，本研究建议在热带和亚热带地区需要采取基于社区的保护措施，以实现自然资源的可持续管理，改善农村生计。
