William Milliken

THE USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS BY THE YANOMAMI INDIANS OF BRAZIL

The results of ethnobotanical fieldwork among two Yanomami communities are presented, and the knowledge of medicinal plants and fungi among those communities is discussed in the light of recent evidence that the Yanomami possess, contrary to previous assumptions, an extensive pharmacopoeia. In addition to the 113 species already known to be used by the group, a further 85 species are documented. Twenty-three species are named and discussed in detail. Considerable overlap is found between the uses of medicinal species by the upland Yanomami and those of the lowland Yanomami, but considerable differences are also apparent. The new data raise the currently recorded total to a level comparable with or greater than that recorded among other Amazonian indigenous peoples. Many of these plants are used in the same way by other indigenous and non-indigenous groups, supporting the hypothesis that their use is based on pharmacological activity. The origins and significance of this knowledge are discussed, with particular reference to the use of plants in the treatment of malaria.ResumenApresentam-se os resultados da pesquisa de campo sobre etnobotdnica entre duas comunidades yanomami. Descreve-se o conhecimento de plantas e fungos medicinais dessas comunidades á luz de dados recentes segundo os quais os Yanomami, ao contrário do que se supunha, possuem uma vastafarma-copeia. Além das 113 espécies quejá se sabia serem utilizadas pelo grupo, foram documentadas metis 85. Vinte e trés espêcies são identificadas pelo nome e discutidas em detalhe. Há uma grande sobreposiÇão na maneira como as espécies medicinais são usadas pelos Yanomami da serra e pelos da planície, mas também existem diferenÇas significativas. Os novos dados elevam o total registrado a urn nível comparável ou maior do que o documentado para outros povos indígenas da Amazônia. Muitas dessas plantas são usadas do mesmo modo que outros grupos indi’genas e não indígenas, o que vem dar suporte á hipotese de que sua utilizaÇão se baseia numa atividade farmacológica. Discutem-se as origens e o significado desse conhecimento, com especial atenÇão para o uso de plantas no tratamento de malária.

Traditional anti-malarial medicine in Roraima, Brazil

Malaria is probably the most serious health problem facing northern Amazonia, and isolated populations can benefit greatly from the knowledge of local resources which may effectively be used to control it. The results of an ethnobotanical survey of the plant species used in the treatment of malaria in the Brazilian State of Roraima are presented. Fieldwork was carried out amongst seven savanna-and forest-dwelling indigenous groups, and among the Luso-Brazilian population. Ninety-nine species, of 82 genera and 41 families, were identified as having been used for this purpose in the region. The results are discussed in the context of previously published information on anti-malarial plants of northern Latin America, which was analysed by a broad literature survey whose overall results are also presented here. Of the species collected in Roraima, only 24 appear previously to have been reported as anti-malarials, although 49% of the represented genera are known to be used in this way elsewhere. The plants are currently undergoing laboratory screening for anti-malarial activity and toxicity.ResumenA malaria é, provavelmente, o problema de saúde mais grave que afeta o norte da Amazônia, e as populaÇões isoladas podem se beneficiar muito com o conhecimento dos recursos naturals que servem para combatěla. Os resultados de um levantamento etnobotănico das espécies de plantas utilizadas no tratamento de malária no estado de Roraima (Brasil) são aqui apresentados. Trabalho de campo foi realizado com sete grupos indígenas da savana e da floresta, e com a populaÇão Luso-brasi-leira. Noventa e nove espécies, de 82 gěneros e 41 famílias, foram identificadas como sendo utilizadas para esta finalidade na região. Os resultados são discutidos no contexto das infor-maÇões já existentes sobre plantas anti-maláricas do norte da América Latina, as quais foram analizadas através de um amplo levantamento bibliográfico cujos resultados principals também são aqui apresentados. Entre as espécies coletadas em Roraima, somente 24 parecem ter sido previamente documentadas como anti-maláricas, porém 49% dos gěneros representados säo conhecidos como anti-máldricos em outras regiões. As plantas estão sendo atualmente testadas em laboratório para verificar a presenca de atividade anti-malárica e de toxicidade.

The ethnobotany of the Waimiri Atroari Indians of Brazil

The Waimiri Atroari are a Carib-speaking tribe of Amazonian Indians, whose population has declined since intensive contact with the outside world commenced in the 1970s. This is a study of their ethnobotany, with quantitative data for their use of the 214 tree and liana species in one hectare of terra firme forest. Seven principal plant use categories are discussed: food, technology, medicine, construction, fuel, ritual and commerce; and plant-use data are presented for over 300 species, together with information regarding their distribution and ecology.

Using learning networks to understand complex systems: a case study of biological, geophysical and social research in the Amazon

Developing high‐quality scientific research will be most effective if research communities with diverse skills and interests are able to share information and knowledge, are aware of the major challenges across disciplines, and can exploit economies of scale to provide robust answers and better inform policy. We evaluate opportunities and challenges facing the development of a more interactive research environment by developing an interdisciplinary synthesis of research on a single geographic region. We focus on the Amazon as it is of enormous regional and global environmental importance and faces a highly uncertain future. To take stock of existing knowledge and provide a framework for analysis we present a set of mini‐reviews from fourteen different areas of research, encompassing taxonomy, biodiversity, biogeography, vegetation dynamics, landscape ecology, earth‐atmosphere interactions, ecosystem processes, fire, deforestation dynamics, hydrology, hunting, conservation planning, livelihoods, and payments for ecosystem services. Each review highlights the current state of knowledge and identifies research priorities, including major challenges and opportunities. We show that while substantial progress is being made across many areas of scientific research, our understanding of specific issues is often dependent on knowledge from other disciplines. Accelerating the acquisition of reliable and contextualized knowledge about the fate of complex pristine and modified ecosystems is partly dependent on our ability to exploit economies of scale in shared resources and technical expertise, recognise and make explicit interconnections and feedbacks among sub‐disciplines, increase the temporal and spatial scale of existing studies, and improve the dissemination of scientific findings to policy makers and society at large. Enhancing interaction among research efforts is vital if we are to make the most of limited funds and overcome the challenges posed by addressing large‐scale interdisciplinary questions. Bringing together a diverse scientific community with a single geographic focus can help increase awareness of research questions both within and among disciplines, and reveal the opportunities that may exist for advancing acquisition of reliable knowledge. This approach could be useful for a variety of globally important scientific questions.

The Role of Botanic Gardens in the Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration

Many of the skills and resources associated with botanic gardens and arboreta, including plant taxonomy, horticulture, and seed bank management, are fundamental to ecological restoration efforts, yet few of the worlds botanic gardens are involved in the science or practice of restoration. Thus, we examined the potential role of botanic gardens in these emerging fields. We believe a reorientation of certain existing institutional strengths, such as plant-based research and knowledge transfer, would enable many more botanic gardens worldwide to provide effective science-based support to restoration efforts. We recommend botanic gardens widen research to include ecosystems as well as species, increase involvement in practical restoration projects and training practitioners, and serve as information hubs for data archiving and exchange.

Plantas vasculares da região do Parque Estadual Cristalino, norte de Mato Grosso, Brasil

The results of the first detailed botanical inventory in the region of the Cristalino State Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil, are presented, including an annotated checklist. A total of 1366 species of vascular plants, representing 626 genera and 151 families, were recorded. The most species-diverse families included Leguminosae, Rubiaceae, Melastomataceae, Malvaceae (sens. lat.) and Moraceae. The flora includes at least seven new species and several endemics from the Serra do Cachimbo, as well as many new records for the State of Mato Grosso and several for Brazil. Further studies are likely to increase the number of species significantly. The region does not show high alpha-diversity by Amazonian standards but is ecologically diverse, resulting in high levels of beta-diversity. Considering this biological richness, its situation within the important yet relatively poorly studied ecotone of the Amazonian margin, and its strategic position at the advancing frontier of deforestation pushing northwards into the basin, Cristalino is a high priority for conservation.

Amazon vegetation: how much don’t we know and how much does it matter?

SummaryIn spite of the existence of a vast body of information on the plant diversity of the Amazon, there remain significant obstacles to informed decision-making and management for conservation. Species distributions are poorly understood and the relationships between diversity and composition of vegetation, ecosystem services and resilience to climatic fluctuations are insufficiently clear. The geographic distribution of phylogenetic diversity in relation to current protected areas is unexplored and very little is known about intraspecific genetic variability and its practical significance. Interpretation of vegetation differentiation and distribution remains relatively simplistic; there are still large parts of the basin for which few or no botanical data exist, and many rare and sparsely distributed species remain undiscovered. Improved understanding of the ecological roles, dynamics and associations of the species of greatest importance for the maintenance of sustainable livelihoods and ecosystem services, habitat restoration and adaptation to climate change is a high priority. In many cases these are common and widespread species. Some of these issues are explored by looking at the Cristalino region in northern Mato Grosso as a case-study. Effective integration, quality assessment, synthesis and application of existing data on the plant diversity of the Amazon will help to address these issues. However, more targeted information is needed from the ground. Future prioritisation of research effort will require a careful and pragmatic balance between the ‘traditional’ focus on rare and endemic species and species-rich communities, and the growing need to understand the key ‘framework’ elements that will determine the future of the Amazon environment. Similar situations are faced elsewhere in the tropics: for botanical research institutes in the 21st century this demands an urgent re-evaluation of core activities and concerted engagement with the issues and challenges facing conservation in a context of rampant population growth, climate change and environmental destruction.ResumoApesar da existência de um grande volume de informação a respeito da diversidade vegetal da Amazônia, uma série de obstáculos ainda dificulta a tomada de decisões devidamente informadas sobre conservação e manejo sustentável da região. Falta conhecimento com relação à distribuição das espécies, e às interações entre diversidade e composição da vegetação, aos serviços do ecossistema e sua adaptabilidade e resistência às flutuações climáticas. A distribuição da diversidade filogenética das espécies em relação às áreas atualmente protegidas ainda é desconhecida, e muito pouco é sabido sobre o significado prático da variabilidade intraespecífica. A interpretação dos diferentes tipos de vegetação permanece extremamente simplificada, com grandes áreas da bacia para as quais não há dados botânicos disponíveis ou os mesmos são insuficientes, e muitas espécies raras ou esparsamente distribuídas ainda aguardam descobrimento. Uma melhor compreensão dos papéis ecológicos, da dinâmica e das associações das espécies mais importantes para a manutenção de estilos de vida sustentáveis e dos serviços do ecossistema, recuperação de áreas degradadas e adaptabilidade às mudanças climáticas, são as grandes prioridades. Em muitos casos essas espécies são comuns e amplamente distribuídas. Alguns desses temas são explorados utilizando a região do Cristalino, no norte do Mato Grosso, como um estudo de caso. A integração efetiva, o controle da qualidade, a síntese e a aplicação dos dados existentes da diversidade vegetal da Amazônia serão fundamentais para a solução dessas questões. No entanto, ainda é necessário gerar a informação relevante a partir do estudo da área. A priorização das pesquisas futuras requer um equilíbrio cuidadoso e prático entre o foco ‘tradicional’, interessado em espécies raras e endêmicas e nas comunidades ricas em termos de espécies e a necessidade crescente de compreender os elementos da ‘estrutura’ que irá determinar o futuro do bioma amazônico. Situações semelhantes estão sendo enfrentadas nos trópicos como um todo: os institutos botânicos do século 21 precisam reavaliar urgentemente as suas principais atividades e engajar-se de modo coordenado para incluir os tópicos e desafios causados pelo crescimento populacional desordenado, mudanças climáticas e destruição ambiental.

Useful Brazilian plants listed in the manuscripts and publications of the Scottish medic and naturalist George Gardner (1812-1849).

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Information regarding the beneficial use of native Brazilian plants was compiled by a number of European naturalists in the 19th century. The Scottish surgeon botanist George Gardner (1812-1849) was one such naturalist; however, the useful plants recorded in his manuscripts have not yet been studied in depth. AIM OF THE STUDY To present data recorded by Gardner in his manuscript Catalogue of Brazilian Plants regarding the use of native plants by Brazilian people and evaluate the extent to which they have been explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data on useful plants were obtained from Gardner׳s manuscript Catalogue of Brazilian Plants deposited in the Archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. The identification of each plant was determined and/or updated by consulting the preserved botanical collections of Gardner deposited in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (hereafter K), and expert determinations in other herbaria where duplicates are held. Correlated pharmacological studies for each plant were obtained from the PubMed database. Information recorded in Gardner׳s diary and previously published elsewhere complemented these data. RESULTS A total of 63 useful plants was recorded from the Catalogue and a further 30 from Gardner׳s book Travels in the Interior of Brazil (Gardner, 1846). Of the recorded names in the Catalogue, 46 (73%) could be identified to species by consulting specimens collected by Gardner and held at Kew. Thirty-six different traditional uses were registered for the identified plants, the most common being as febrifuges, to treat venereal complaints and as purgatives. Fewer than 50% of these species have been the focus of published pharmacological studies, yet for those which have been thus investigated, the efficacies reported by Gardner were confirmed. CONCLUSION The data recorded by Gardner represent a rich, relatively unexplored source of information regarding the traditional uses of Brazilian plants which merits further investigation.

An ecosystem approach to restoration and sustainable management of dry forest in southern Peru

SummaryThe dry forest of the Peruvian south coast has undergone an almost total process of deforestation. Populations here have increased exponentially through immigration supplying labour to urban coastal development, and demonstrably unsustainable agro-industrial expansion for export markets. Society has become dislocated from local traditions of environmental and resource management whilst still retaining a wealth of Andean agricultural expertise. Indigenous communities still hold on to vestiges of traditional knowledge. Relicts of natural vegetation, traditional agriculture and agrobiodiversity continue to sustain ecosystem services. Moreover, offer livelihood options and resources for restoration. These aspects reflect a long cultural trajectory, including famous extinct cultures such as Nasca, that evolved within an ever-changing riparian and agricultural landscape influenced by external forces and which incorporated important processes of plant domestication and adaptation to climatic oscillation.Here, we present an ecosystem approach to vegetation restoration and sustainable resource management in Ica, Peru, based on wide interdisciplinary biodiversity inventory and study, where school, community and agro-industry engagement is seen as a prerequisite for success. The approach demonstrated significant plant establishment in this hyperarid region using appropriate low-technology techniques of planting and irrigation with minimum watering. Restoration of a highly degraded environment built upon vegetation relicts followed a strategy of cultural capacity building and environmental engagement, including the development of sustainable forest products, festivals, schools programmes, didactic publications for local use, and collaboration with local communities, landowners, agribusiness and governmental authorities. Plant conservation must re-engage people with their natural heritage by dissemination of information for vegetation restoration and management integrated to dynamics of ecosystem function within its wide local cultural and historical context.

Important Plant Areas: revised selection criteria for a global approach to plant conservation

Despite the severe threats to plant habitats and high levels of extinction risk for plant species in many parts of the world, plant conservation priorities are often poorly represented in national and global frameworks because of a lack of data in an accessible and consistent format to inform conservation decision making. The Important Plant Areas (IPAs) criteria system offers a pragmatic yet scientifically rigorous means of delivering these datasets, enabling informed national- or regional-scale conservation prioritisation, and contributing significantly towards global prioritisation systems including the International Union for Conservation of Nature Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) Standard. In this paper, we review the IPA rationale and progress on IPA identification to date, including the perceived limitations of the process and how these may be overcome. We then present a revised set of criteria for use globally, developed through the combined experiences of IPA identification over the past decade and a half and through a recent global consultation process. An overview of how the revised IPA criteria can work alongside the newly published KBA Standard is also provided. IPA criteria are based around a sound, scientific, global framework which acknowledges the practical problems of gathering plant and habitat data in many regions of the world, and recognises the role of peer reviewed expert opinion in the selection process. National and sub-national engagement in IPA identification is essential, providing a primary route towards long term conservation of key sites for plant diversity. The IPA criteria can be applied to the conservation of all organism groups within the plant and fungal kingdoms.