Natalia Hanazaki

Medicinal plants in the Atlantic forest (Brazil): knowledge, use, and conservation.

This study focuses on knowledge of medicinal plants among the Caiçaras (rural inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil). In particular, we examine the use of medicinal plants according to sex and age to reveal general patterns of Caiçara knowledge and use of plant resources. Data collected through 449 interviews at 12 Caiçara communities (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coastal sites) include citations of 249 plants and identification of 227 species. We show the importance of introduced as opposed to native plants and of key individuals for the conservation of the Caiçaras-Atlantic Forest.

Diversity of plant uses in two Caiçara communities from the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil

Caiçaras are native inhabitants of the Atlantic coast on southeastern Brazil, whose subsistence is based especially on agriculture and artisanal fishing. Because of their knowledge about the environment acquired through generations, Caiçara people can play an important role in Atlantic Forest conservation. An ethnobotanical study was conducted within two Caiçara communities (Ponta do Almada and Camburí beach, São Paulo State, Brazil), focusing on plant uses. In 102 interviews, 227 plant ethnospecies were quoted, mainly for food, medicine, handicraft and construction of houses and canoes. People from studied communities depend on the native vegetation for more than a half of the species known and used. Using diversity indices, plant uses are compared between studied communities and between gender and age categories within each community. We found quantitative differences in the knowledge about plants between gender categories for each kind of use (medicinal, food and handicrafts). Older and younger informants also have different knowledge about plants for handicraft and medicine, but not for edible plants.

Current and lost diversity of cultivated varieties, especially cassava, under swidden cultivation systems in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Tropical agricultural systems characterized by swidden-fallow practices have been studied in many tropical areas of the world. One feature of these systems is the high diversity of cultivated species and varieties. The objective of this paper was to analyze the inter and intraspecific diversity of cultivated crops under swidden cultivation systems adopted by caicaras in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and the genetic erosion of this diversity in the last decades. To analyze the inter and intraspecific diversity of cultivated crops under swidden cultivation systems in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, interviews were performed in 33 swidden agriculturists’ households concerning the species and varieties under cultivation and others that have been lost. The plots were visited to check the crops cited in the interviews. The agriculturists cited 261 varieties from 53 crop species, with 30.6% of lost varieties. Each agriculturist cited an average of 25 varieties. The main crop was cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz), followed by yams (Dioscorea spp.), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Poir.), squash (Cucurbita pepo L.), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarumL.), and beans (Phaseolus vulgarisL.). Among the interviewed agriculturists, 87% of them have sons and/or daughters not involved in agricultural activity, reflecting a trend toward the loss of the local agricultural skills. A model was proposed to explain the dynamics of the system focusing on the crop diversity and considering the resource resilience. The exchange of crop varieties among agriculturists builds a network which buffers against the loss of the managed diversity in the regional scale. Features such as the itinerancy cycles of fallow/swidden, and the traditional ecological knowledge contribute to the increasing of the managed diversity. However, the agriculturists also pointed out several factors contributing to the depletion of the managed diversity, related to restrictive environmental laws, rural exodus, increasing tourism, and changing of livelihood activities. The loss of crop diversity indicates the urgency for strategies towards the maintenance of the diversity and knowledge tied to the agricultural systems of caicara communities, calling for specific strategies and policies to avoid the loss of their agricultural legacy.

FOOD CHAIN AND THE REASONS FOR FISH FOOD TABOOS AMONG AMAZONIAN AND ATLANTIC FOREST FISHERS (BRAZIL)

Food taboos or food prohibitions are still controversial in ecological anthropology and in human ecology. In the literature, the explanations for such taboos find their origin in the book of Leviticus in the Bible, or in the abundance of fat found in the tissue of different fish species, or on the consequences for conservation practices. In this comparative study, we show the various interpretations concerning the food taboos observed in tropical societies, including their association to the availability of resources, i.e., the protein coming from local fish resources. We show that, in the Amazon and on the Atlantic Forest coast, fish food taboos, or dietary prohibitions during illness, are associated with carnivorous fish, especially piscivorous fish, and the fish that are recommended for consumption during illness are usually herbivorous or invertebrate eaters. Explanation for this preference is based into the consideration that, at high trophic levels, animals may accumulate toxins by eating plants, in...

Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity in Brazilian Hot Spots

Hot spots in Brazil include a variety of ecosystems, such as mangroves, forests, and the Brazilian savannah, locally called cerrado. Some of the rural populations in these hot spots are the caiçaras in SE Atlantic Forest coast, and the caboclos in the Amazon. In this study, we are concerned especially with the knowledge of caiçaras and caboclos, associated with practices that might have implications for management. Data were gathered through interviews with adults at the various communities studied, and through systematic observations, including samples of fishing trips and the mapping of fishing spots used in the Atlantic Forest coast. The use of resources from the surrounding vegetation includes collection of plants, cultivated fruit gardens, the swidden system, and a careful and managed extraction of fibres. Among animal resources, food taboos seem to be useful practices that might contribute to the maintenance of local natural resources. Potential management practices should be locally developed, such as the informal division of fishing spots in Atlantic Forest sites, and the maintenance of the diversity of cassava varieties in both the Atlantic Forest and Amazonian areas.

Does fish still matter? Changes in the diet of two Brazilian fishing communities.

Coastal communities are experiencing rapid changes on their livelihood due to the degradation of coastal areas and growing tourism. We analyze the changes in the diet of two fishing communities from the southeastern Brazilian coast, in regard to their consumption of animal protein. Using multivariate methods, we followed the diet of 32 households through the 24-hour recall method (three days per month, September 1998 to August 1999) in order to compare the niche breadth of the communities, and to verify the relationships between fish consumption and socioeconomic characteristics. The nutritional quality of the diets is analyzed. Even with the partial abandonment of fishing activities, fishing activity still guides fish consumption. Nutritional adequacy is above the recommended levels for protein intake, but is below it for food energy. Non-local industrialized food items influence the increase of the niche breadth. The abandonment of livelihood activities that historically assured Caiçaras self-sufficiency are resulting in the food delocalization.

Evidence for a stress hypothesis: hemiparasitism effect on the colonization of Alchornea castaneaefolia A. Juss.uphorbiaceae) by Galling Insects

Stressed plants are generally more attacked by galling insects. In this study we investigated the relationship between population abundance and species richness of galling insects on the tree Alchornea castaneaefolia A. JUSS. (Euphorbiaceae), submited to stress induced by the hemiparasite Psittacanthus sp. (Loranthaceae) in the Amazon, Brazil. Branches of A. castaneaefolia attacked by the hemiparasite were more heavily infested by galling insects than non-attacked branches. The field observations partially corroborate the hypothesis that there would be an optimal level of host-plant stress for galling insect establishment.