Ernani Machado de Freitas Lins Neto

Traditional Knowledge and Management of Umbu (Spondias tuberosa, Anacardiaceae): An Endemic Species from the Semi–Arid Region of Northeastern Brazil

Traditional Knowledge and Management of Umbu (Spondias tuberosa, Anacardiaceae): An Endemic Species from the Semi–Arid Region of Northeastern Brazil.Spondias tuberosa, or umbu, is an arboreal species that is important both as an alternative economic and subsistence resource for rural communities in the semi–arid, northeastern regions of Brazil. The aim of this work was to study the knowledge, uses, local gathering practices, and management systems of S. tuberosa that are part of the traditions of the communities in this region. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted in two stages in a rural community in the state of Pernambuco. In the first stage, all of the dwellings were visited and both the men and the women who were responsible for their house were interviewed. In the second stage, people who were identified as having a direct relationship with the resource were questioned more thoroughly about the species. Knowledge of S. tuberosa is equally distributed in the community; there are no significant differences in knowledge between men and women, or across age groups. The food category is the most important for both human and animal nourishment. The main forms of local management are tolerance and gathering of fruit. Fruit gathering is directly affected by, in order of importance, taste (sweet–sour), size, and quantity of fruit pulp. The usefulness of S. tuberosa contributes considerably to the tolerance of this species in both managed areas and as part of the native vegetation.ResumoConhecimento tradicional e manejo do Umbu (Spondias tuberosa, Anacardiaceae): uma espécie endêmica do semi–árido do Nordeste do Brasil.Spondias tuberosa, ou Umbu, é uma espécie arbórea que é uma importante alternativa econômica e recurso de subsistência para comunidades rurais no semi–árido do nordeste brasileiro. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o conhecimento, o uso, as práticas locais de coleta, e os sistemas de manejo de S. tuberosa. Foi conduzido um levantamento etnobotânico, em duas etapas, em uma comunidade rural no estado de Pernambuco. Na primeira etapa, todas as pessoas residentes na comunidade foram visitadas entrevistando–se os responsáveis pela casa, homens ou mulheres. Na segunda etapa, identificaram–se as pessoas que têm um contato mais direto com o recurso estudado, que foram questionadas com perguntas mais detalhadas sobre a espécie. O conhecimento de S. tuberosa é igualmente distribuído na comunidade; não há diferenças significativas entre o conhecimento de homens e mulheres. A categoria alimento foi considerada a mais importante neste estudo. As principais formais de manejo local são a tolerância e a coleta de frutos. A coleta dos frutos é diretamente afetada, por ordem de importância, pelo sabor, tamanho, e quantidade da polpa do fruto. A utilização da espécie contribui consideravelmente para a sua tolerância em áreas manejadas e como parte da vegetação nativa.

The effects of seasonal climate changes in the caatinga on tannin levels in Myracrodruon urundeuva (Engl.) Fr. All. and Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan

Examinou-se a influencia da sazonalidade climatica sobre as concentracoes de taninos em duas especies da Caatinga: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Engl.) Fr. All. e Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan. Empregou-se o metodo Folin-Ciocalteau para quantificar os fenois totais e o metodo de precipitacao da caseina para taninos. De maneira geral, existe uma forte relacao entre os teores de taninos e a pluviosidade, apesar das especies parecerem adotar diferentes estrategias de producao de compostos tânicos em resposta aos periodos de seca e chuva na caatinga.

Teor de taninos em três espécies medicinais arbóreas simpátricas da caatinga

A comparative study of tannin concentration in three medicinal plants from caatinga vegetation (Northeast Brazil) was carried out through colorimetric assays. Bark and leaf samples of 10 individuals of each species were extracted with 80% methanol. Tannin was determined by Folin-Ciocalteau analysis for total phenolic materials, followed by precipitation with casein. Additionally, it was tested the hypothesis that the tannin concentration is directly related with the height and diameter of the plants. The results show that the studied species contain an expressive amount of tannins.

Analysis of umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae)) in different landscape management regimes

Plant domestication is an evolutionary process guided by human groups who modify the landscape for their needs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic variations between populations of Spondias tuberosa Arruda (umbuzeiro) when subjected to different local landscape management strategies. The influence of the landscape management system on these populations was evaluated in five identified regional units (mountains, base of mountains, pastures, cultivated areas and home gardens). Ten individuals were randomly selected from each region and subjected to morphological and chemical fruit analysis. The diversity index, based on Simpson’s index, was determined for the different populations. We then evaluated the morphological differences between the individual fruits from the distinct landscape areas. We observed no significant differences in morphological diversity between the areas studied. Our data suggest that the umbuzeiro specimens in this region may be in the process of incipient domestication.

Brazilian and Mexican experiences in the study of incipient domestication

BackgroundStudies of domestication enables a better understanding of human cultures, landscape changes according to peoples’ purposes, and evolutionary consequences of human actions on biodiversity. This review aimed at discussing concepts, hypotheses, and current trends in studies of domestication of plants, using examples of cases studied in regions of Mesoamerica and Brazil. We analyzed trends of ethnobiological studies contributing to document processes of domestication and to establish criteria for biodiversity conservation based on traditional ecological knowledge.MethodsBased on reviewing our own and other authors’ studies we analyzed management patterns and evolutionary trends associated to domestication occurring at plant populations and landscape levels. Particularly, we systematized information documenting: ethnobotanical aspects about plant management and artificial selection mechanisms, morphological consequences of plant management, population genetics of wild and managed plant populations, trends of change in reproduction systems of plants associated to management, and other ecological and physiological aspects influenced by management and domestication.ResultsBased on the analysis of study cases of 20 native species of herbs, shrubs and trees we identified similar criteria of artificial selection in different cultural contexts of Mexico and Brazil. Similar evolutionary trends were also identified in morphology (selection in favor of gigantism of useful and correlated parts); organoleptic characteristics such as taste, toxicity, color, texture; reproductive biology, mainly breeding system, phenological changes, and population genetics aspects, maintenance or increasing of genetic diversity in managed populations, high gene flow with wild relatives and low structure maintained by artificial selection. Our review is a first attempt to unify research methods for analyzing a high diversity of processes. Further research should emphasize deeper analyses of contrasting and diverse cultural and ecological contexts for a better understanding of evolution under incipient processes of domestication.ConclusionHigher research effort is particularly required in Brazil, where studies on this topic are scarcer than in Mexico but where diversity of human cultures managing their also high plant resources diversity offer high potential for documenting the diversity of mechanisms of artificial selection and evolutionary trends. Comparisons and evaluations of incipient domestication in the regions studied as well as the Andean area would significantly contribute to understanding origins and diffusion of the experience of managing and domesticating plants.

Traditional knowledge, genetic and morphological diversity in populations of Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae)

Plant domestication is an evolutionary process whose artificial selection and management change the landscape, modeling plants to satisfy the human needs, affecting the phenotype component(s) of the species under manipulation. This study aimed at examining and comparing two rural communities: Malhada de Areia e Carão, municipally of Altinho, Pernambuco regarding the knowledge, perception of morphological variations (size fruit, flavor fruit, shape fruit, yield pulp and fruit color), morphological characteristics of preference at the time of collection; evaluation on the inter- and intrapopulation morphological differences of species and assessment of diversity, variability and local genetic structure of Spondias tuberosa populations under different management regimes based on the ISSR analysis. The results pointed to the maintenance of local genetic and morphological diversity, being it strongly related to the management practices of the species, especially the S. tuberosa tolerance in open areas for farming and pasture. Thus, it is emphasized the importance of this study in Brazil by being the first time that aspects related to management and perceived diversity, morphology and genetics of a highlighted perennial species from the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil are evaluated from the perspective of domestication studies on its incipient status. Moreover, it provides interesting data that will contribute to the conservation strategies and breeding programs.

Traditional management affects the phenotypic diversity of fruits with economic and cultural importance in the Brazilian Savanna

The management of plant populations may cause phenotypic changes in the characteristics of a plant that is targeted by human selection over time, which can therefore lead to the domestication process. Studies about this approach have shown that managed plant populations have the most interesting features for use by human populations because they have more productive plants and larger fruits. To evaluate this effect, the traditional management of Caryocar coriaceum Wittm (pequi) in the Chapada do Araripe region of Northeast Brazil was studied by using a morphometric and ethnobotanical approach. A morphometric analysis of the fruits was conducted, during which the plants were recorded to the following three different management regimes: cultivation, in situ management (collection) and incipient management (the tolerance and protection of individuals). To test the hypothesis that people perceive natural morphological variations in the fruits, local people perception was assessed through different methods. To assess the possible influence of management regimes on fruit morphology, 40 reproductive individuals cultivated, 40 managed in situ and 36 individuals under incipient management were randomly selected, and 20 fruits of each were collected for the morphometric analyses. The fruits from individuals grown under the cultivation system were significantly different from the individuals who were managed in situ and from those under incipient management. The perception study showed that local people perceive great morphological diversity among the study populations, which was consistent with the findings of the morphometric analyses. Based on these results, it could be said that C. coriaceum is in the early stage of the domestication process.