In the face of accelerating environmental and socio-political changes, there is value in expanding the temporal scope of ethnobiology to more actively engage with the future. This perspective explores the potential of a forward-looking ethnobiology that incorporates methods from Futures Studies to co-envision and co-produce sustainable biocultural futures in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. We highlight different methods and tools that can be repurposed to create inclusive, transdisciplinary spaces for community-led imagination, experimentation, and learning. By embedding futures thinking into the fabric of ethnobiological practice, the discipline can further enrich its longstanding role in fostering biocultural resilience. We argue that the time has come not only to imagine the future of ethnobiology, but to actively co-create it through culturally grounded, future-oriented, and ethically engaged methodologies. This shift repositions ethnobiology as a central force in advancing just and sustainable pathways.
The increasing adoption of digital technologies has reshaped methodological practices in ethnobiology and ethnoecology. Mobile data collection platforms, participatory mapping tools, biodiversity databases, remote sensing technologies, and digital analytical environments have expanded researchers' capacity to document, integrate, and analyze biocultural knowledge across spatial and temporal scales. At the same time, digitalization raises critical methodological and ethical questions related to participation, data governance, and the representation of local knowledge systems. This article presents a critical narrative review of digital technologies used in ethnobiological and ethnoecological research, moving beyond an instrumental focus on tools to examine their methodological, ethical, and participatory implications. Digital technologies are organized into six functional categories-structured data collection, participatory mapping, biodiversity cataloging, audio recording and transcription, remote sensing, and data analysis and visualization-used as analytical devices to synthesize recurrent patterns across the literature. The review examines how these technologies shape knowledge production, integration, and communication, with particular attention to their mediating role in relationships between researchers and Indigenous peoples and local communities. Across categories, the analysis highlights trade-offs related to participation, consent, data sovereignty, standardization, and contextual depth. By synthesizing opportunities and limitations documented in empirical and methodological studies, this review argues that the value of digital technologies in ethnobiology lies less in technological novelty than in their capacity to support reflexive, transparent, and ethically grounded research practices when embedded within community-centered governance frameworks.
In recent years, ethnobiology has undergone significant transformation. A renewed research framework has emerged that prioritizes an ethics of care-one that emphasizes relationships, interdependence, and responsibility towards both human and non-human others throughout all stages of research. This paradigm shift, led largely by Indigenous scholars and researchers from the Global South, invites European ethnobiologists to critically reflect on how they can engage with, contribute to, and learn from these evolving approaches in light of pressing environmental and social challenges. In this Perspective, we explore the future of European ethnobiology in two main ways. First, we reflect on the specificities of a European lens within global ethnobiology, considering how European ethnobiologists might participate more meaningfully in transdisciplinary and intercultural dialogues. Second, drawing on core principles of the emerging global paradigm, we outline five key avenues for future development: (1) deepening commitments to an ethics of care; (2) responding more directly to contemporary challenges; (3) expanding research contexts; (4) reimagining methodological approaches; and (5) enhancing the societal relevance and applied impact of European ethnobiologists, both within and beyond Europe. We highlight current examples of European ethnobiologists already advancing these directions and underscore the field's dynamic evolution. We conclude by identifying critical challenges faced by European ethnobiologists, including the need to engage with rapidly evolving digital technologies and to navigate institutional and epistemic barriers that hinder the co-creation of knowledge across diverse worldviews.
Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine have progressively shifted from utilitarian inventories toward more decolonized and inclusive approaches. Beyond their recognized contributions to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, their role in global health remains insufficiently explored. This short opinion paper argues that ethnobiology and ethnomedicine offer key conceptual and methodological tools to improve health and well-being among Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant and Local Communities (IPADLC) by promoting a holistic understanding of health that integrates ecosystems, human and non-human beings, territories, and spiritual dimensions. Drawing on concepts such as One Health, global health, planetary health, and the ecology of health, we highlight how local medicinal systems articulate multiple scales of care, from individuals to multispecies communities and ecosystems. We discuss the complementarity and hybridization between biomedical and local medicinal systems, emphasizing the importance of cultural safety, women's empowerment, and methodological reflexivity in the study and integration of traditional remedies. Finally, we address the critical challenges surrounding the protection of local medicinal knowledge, intellectual property rights, and fair benefit-sharing in the context of growing industrial interest. We conclude that strengthening ethically grounded, community-centered ethnobiological research is essential for building more equitable, plural, and sustainable global health systems.
India's diverse culinary heritage includes a wide spectrum of traditional fermented foods that harbour complex microbial communities essential for flavour development, preservation, and nutritional enhancement. These microorganisms-primarily lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and molds-contribute functional properties that extend beyond food transformation to confer health benefits, including probiotic potential and metabolic regulation. This review integrates classical microbiological studies with modern molecular approaches such as metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics to elucidate the microbial diversity of Indian fermented foods. It highlights how geography, substrates, and ethnic traditions shape region-specific microbial consortia sustained through long-standing ethno-microbiological practices. Special focus is given to the glycemic modulation achieved through microbial fermentation, wherein organic acid production and resistant starch formation lower glycemic index and improve glucose metabolism. These processes, along with enhanced nutrient bioavailability, vitamin synthesis, and immunomodulation, illustrate the broader functional potential of fermentation. The review also examines interactions between food-borne microbes and the human gut microbiota, underscoring implications for personalized nutrition. Finally, it discusses modernization and commercialization strategies and outlines future directions involving multi-omics integration, indigenous starter cultures, and microbiome-based innovations to harness India's microbial heritage for improved health and sustainable food development.
This essay examines the priorities of marine ethnobiology amid the urgent, increasingly irreversible degradation of our oceans. A dilemma arises between choosing to safeguard the practices and resources most valued for their usefulness or economic worth and prioritizing the preservation and revitalization of traditional knowledge, regardless of its immediate practical applications. I argue that the solution, from the standpoint of sustainable marine management, transcends this dichotomy. The answer lies in reviving, understanding, and transforming all the diverse knowledge systems that emerge from the relationships between humans and marine ecosystems so that urgency does not obscure our historical and holistic understanding of our connection to the sea. Marine ethnobiology bridges this divide by integrating the holistic knowledge of communities and deepening our understanding of these relationships. Strengthening place-based knowledge systems can yield critical nature-based solutions to our global environmental crisis.
The accelerating erosion of traditional and local ecological and medical knowledge (LEK) systems is increasingly evident in the Global North and across many less marginalised regions of the Global South. This decline is primarily driven by overarching forces, i.e. globalisation, internalised coloniality created worldwide and over decades by non-rural leading classes, and, most remarkably, by a profound detachment from continuous, embodied interactions with nature. At the same time, sustainability-driven agendas and the expanding role of AI in science and daily life intertwine challenges, opportunities, and a few risks for ethnobiology and ethnomedicine in the coming decade. This editorial proposes four plausible scenarios for the evolution of these disciplines, navigating the intricate cobwebs of LEK loss, resilience, adaptation, and, most importantly, trying to open new horizons in the current problematic times. These scenarios are intended to inspire further theoretical and primarily further empirical engagement in the field, alongside a call to urgently foster commoning practices and innovative educational platforms for (re)experiencing LEK.
Ethnobiology explores the complex, evolving relationships between humans and the natural world, encompassing diverse subfields such as ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnopharmacology, and more. This scientific field of research has undergone several developmental phases since its inception in the late nineteenth century, evolving from colonial-era documentation of useful species to contemporary collaborative and decolonized approaches that emphasize community participation and interdisciplinary research addressing global crises. All ethnobiological studies are valuable especially if they ultimately help to foster science and conservation and improve the livelihoods of the populations whose plants and knowledge are studied. Hypothesis driven studies just serving scientific ego are borderline neocolonial, as is the transfer of values, opinions, beliefs, analysis methods that we personally regard as true onto societies we work with, without first obtaining prior informed consent. Great care must be taken when interpreting the results of molecular data and statistical analyses (indices), and much more care needs to be taken distinguishing between "knowledge" and actual "use". And we must remember that the basis of any Ethnobiological studies is a solid botanical, zoological, and ecological knowledge, i.e., especially the correct taxonomic identification of plants and animal species. Given the emergence of sharing knowledge as part of "online information", it is important to safeguard aspects such as data sovereignty, as data could be extracted from its original context to be misused or commercialized without proper consent or without sharing benefits. Contextualizing the development of research by considering the existence of digital tools that transform and influence the way knowledge is transmitted and learned and considering that community members have access to many of these tools and use them in their search for information is essential. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), offer possibilities for new modes of analysis. By transforming their set of methodological tools, ethnobiologists can improve the rigor, inclusiveness, and social relevance of their work. Methodological innovation creates opportunities to include a greater diversity of perspectives, particularly those of underrepresented communities, and to respond more effectively to contemporary socioecological challenges. The impact of research must begin to be measured beyond the pure impact of publications. The social relevance of research must begin to be considered and evaluated.
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Ethnobiological and gastronomic knowledge of wild foods has long-shaped rural traditions in Italy. In Valdera, Central Tuscany, foraging has been especially important among older generations. This study explores shifts in wild food knowledge and practices over two decades, comparing data collected in 2024 with findings from a 2004 study. The study was conducted in Valdera, Central Tuscany, through structured interviews with local residents. Using the same methodological framework as a 2004 survey, participants were asked about wild food plants, mushrooms, and wild animals they recognized, used, and how they incorporated them into traditional dishes. This approach enabled a diachronic comparison of taxa diversity, plant families, and culinary applications. Special attention was given to how social and ecological dynamics, such as aging populations, urbanization, and changing educational backgrounds, influenced the retention or erosion of local traditional knowledge over the past two decades. A total of 86 folk taxa of wild plants were documented. The findings reveal a decline in the number of recorded taxa, from 59 folk taxa and 28 botanical families in 2004 to 57 folk taxa and 26 families in 2024. Despite the samples including a similar number of informants, the decrease in used folk taxa is significant, with several species absent in 2024, including notable wild greens taxa such as Capsella, Coleostephus, Clematis, Daucus, Epilobium, Helosciadium, Lactuca, Muscari, Rubus, Scabiosa, Potentilla, and Viola spp., as well as a few wild seasoning plants such as Allium roseum, Ammi, Juniperus, and Thymus spp. and wild snack species (Gladiolus, Sulla, Oxalis, Lamium spp.). Shifts in plant family diversity and culinary applications were observed, with a decline in the use of wild leafy plants, wild seasoning plants, and wild plant snacks, possibly associated with a reduced role of women in foraging wild greens and less exposure to nature, i.e., fewer activities done into natural environments such as shepherding and/or collection of wild snacks by children and teenagers. A similar trend was observed in mushroom and animal foraging and hunting, where the interviewees could recall details about 24 taxa of food mushrooms and 62 taxa of wild animals, as well as their culinary transformations, which were often related to the past and their younger lives. The analysis revealed that the age group affects knowledge about local wild plants, mushrooms, and animals. While higher education was linked to better systematization of botanical knowledge, individuals with an agricultural background showed significantly greater practical familiarity with plant uses. These findings emphasize how traditional plant knowledge is increasingly threatened by social and ecological changes, underscoring the importance of developing conservation strategies that combine both cultural heritage and environmental sustainability.
Ethnopharmacology and ethnobiology largely focus on the study of traditional knowledge related to medicinal and other uses of plants, animals or minerals. Despite decades of political advocacy, ethnopharmacological and ethnobiological information is still sometimes published without proper attribution of the cultural identities and affiliations of the communities that shared it. Identify key guidelines to ensure the proper attribution of ethnobiological and ethnopharmacological knowledge recorded in scientific publications to the communities who provided it. This article is based on extensive group discussions that started at a workshop entitled "A worldwide database of local uses of biodiversity: Why? For whom? And how?" (18th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology in Marrakech, Morocco, May 15-19, 2024), and was attended by around 50 participants. The guidelines were developed through an iterative revision process. We propose practical guidelines to improve the attribution and thus, visibility, of communities whose knowledge contributes to ethnobiological and ethnopharmacological publications. Recognising individual knowledge holders remains a critical topic on its own right. Transparent and consistent reporting of the provenance of place-based ancestral knowledge from communities is essential for advancing the objectives of the Nagoya Protocol, the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, and for strengthening academic inquiry.
Snakebite envenomation is a serious tropical public health problem, with a high incidence in the Amazon region. In floodplain areas, the seasonal flood pulse intensifies interactions between humans and snakes, making the riverine populations of the Lower Amazon particularly vulnerable. This study analyzed how the riverine population of a floodplain community in the Lower Amazon perceives, identifies, and manages snakebite accidents, investigating the influence of cultural practices on access to formal medical care. A mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative), cross-sectional, and descriptive-exploratory approach was adopted, based on ethnobiology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 residents of the Salvação community (Alenquer, Pará), followed by content analysis and descriptive statistics. Most participants (84.6%) had a personal or family history of snakebites. Local classification systems (ethnotaxonomy) revealed taxonomic divergences, such as the use of the term "surucucu" to describe Bothrops atrox. Although 33.3% sought hospital care, traditional treatments were prevalent, including the use of dolphin fat (banha de boto), traditional antidotes (contravenenos), and the ingestion of kerosene. Reported sequelae, such as persistent pain, were frequently associated with natural cycles such as the phases of the moon. Knowledge transmission on the subject is predominantly oral and centralized within the family network (66.7%). Informational gaps were identified, especially in domestic prevention and the use of harmful substances in first aid. The management of snakebite accidents in the floodplain is guided by complex ethnobiological knowledge, where traditional and formal medicine coexist as adaptation strategies. The findings reinforce the need for intercultural public health policies that integrate local knowledge with biomedical practices, aiming to reduce the time spent seeking hospital treatment and mitigating the risks associated with inadequate management behaviors.
This study aimed to assess the potential effect of climate change on habitat suitability for wild and cultivated food plants under future scenarios. Another aim was to determine whether food diversification can reduce the risk of food unavailability. Habitat suitability models were constructed for wild and cultivated species of economic and dietary importance and projected for future climate scenarios (2041-2060) using the Brazilian Semiarid as a case study. Variations in habitat suitability and species number were estimated for the species groups. The results showed that climate change can reduce habitat suitability for food plants, with a greater potential reduction for cultivated plants. The potential risk of species unavailability differed between groups. High-risk areas (species loss > 50%) were larger for cultivated species than for wild and cultivated species together. Thus, food diversification represents a sustainable solution to promote adaptation to climate change and maintain food security in the future.
Local flora have played a vital role in human survival and cultural expression. Tehsil Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan, possesses a rich plant diversity due to its favourable climatic conditions. However, traditional knowledge regarding these resources, particularly for ritual and cultural significance remains unexplored. This study aimed to document this traditional knowledge, providing evidence-based data utilized by the local community of Tehsil Gujrat. Ethnobotanical information was collected through structured and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires platform. Demographic information of the study area was recorded from 160 inhabitants. Quantitative indices were employed for the calculation of Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Informants Consensus Factor (ICF) and Fidelity Level (FL). To assess the uniqueness of the data, cultural similarities were compared with neighbouring regions using Novel Percentage (NP) and Jaccard Index (JI). A total of 99 plant species belonging to 39 families were documented, with herbs (58 species) dominating the life forms. Demographic analysis revealed a diverse informant pool, 62.5% Punjabi speakers, 92.5% Muslims and 7.5% Christians with housewives (26.88%) constituting the largest occupational group. Of the documented flora, 61 species were used for medicinal purposes, primarily for digestive, respiratory and skin disorders. Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and Ocimum sanctum L. were frequently cited for respiratory ailments. Significantly, the study highlighted distinct ritual applications for seven species. Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth leaves were ritually hung at home entrance to protect newborns from the Evil Eye, while Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Leaves were integral to Islamic funeral rites (Ghusl). Ficus religiosa Forssk was identified as a botanical marker of sanctity near shrines, where as Ocimum sanctum L. was exclusively regarded as sacred by the local Christians community. Cultural uses included 8 species for festival, 12 for fuel and 7 for fodder. Quantitative analysis indicated Nerium oleander L. had the highest Use Value (1.17), while Achyranthes aspera L. showed the highest RFC (0.017). The highest ICF (0.44) was recorded for cardiovascular disorders. Comparative analysis showed the highest similarity (JI = 0.506) with broader Gujrat District and highest NP (56.14%). Tehsil Gujrat harbors a dynamic reservoir of ethnobotanical knowledge where local flora serves as a bridge between healthcare, spiritual protection and material culture. This study confirmed that while medicinal uses are widespread, specific ritual and cultural applications are preserved through distinct intra-cultural variations in age, gender and religious identity.
Traditional agricultural systems are rooted in the local management, selection, and conservation of agrobiodiversity. Understanding the socioecological dynamics that sustain these systems is essential for developing sustainable practices that ensure food security and sovereignty in the territories of traditional and Indigenous peoples. This study assessed the role of seed exchange networks in on-farm agrobiodiversity conservation in quilombola communities in Brazil that face environmental and political threats. We emphasize the role of socioecological networks and socio-agronomic variables in shaping how agrobiodiversity is maintained, shared, and regenerated across time and space. We conducted semi-structured interviews, free listing, participant observation, and guided tours with 48 agrobiodiversity management units (AMUs) from five communities, documenting socio-agronomic variables and ethnovariety richness with botanical identification in the field and literature. We recorded all ethnovarieties shared among internal AMUS - living in the quilombola communities, and external AMUs - outside the territory. We then sorted 15 ethnovarieties per internal AMUs to collect data on seed exchange interactions. Further, we registered data on socio-agronomic variables, ethnovarieties richness, and seed flows (donation and reception) to analyse the properties of AMUs (nodes in the network) and seed exchange patterns in the network, and assess their potential for conserving agrobiodiversity. We documented a total of 359 ethnovarieties. The complete and open network was formed by 185 AMUs - 48 internal and 137 external - which realized 424 events of seed exchanges. Agro-environmental diversity, cultivated area, and the period living in the community were positively associated with AMUs' richness and its centrality in the network, highlighting their role as agrobiodiversity guardians and network bridges. The seed exchange network displayed low nestedness, low connectance, and high modularity, indicating the formation of cohesive subgroups of AMUs with strong exchanges among specific partners and limited intergroup seed flows. These findings reflect social segregation and reveal vulnerabilities, as varieties unevenly distributed across modules may not circulate widely, reducing agrobiodiversity resilience. We argue that historical and material conditions are critical for sustaining on-farm agrobiodiversity conservation in quilombola territories. Land tenure security and territorial rights are essential for maintaining traditional agroecosystems that integrate ecological knowledge, cultural heritage, and biodiversity management. Strengthening seed exchange connectivity, fostering collaboration across groups - from inside and outside territories - are urgent actions to enhance resilience, safeguard traditional knowledge, and ensure long-term biocultural justice.
Edible flora is one of the most relevant groups for the survival and food security of socioeconomically vulnerable communities in Brazil. We aimed to provide an overview of research advances in the country, record the known edible biodiversity, national consumption patterns across different communities (rural, traditional, and urban), and the geographic and ethnic distribution of the articles, while identifying gaps and possibilities for future studies. To this end, a literature review was conducted in the SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases for the indexing of ethnobiological research. Following detailed analyses, 163 articles were included in our database. The research was concentrated in the Northeast and North regions, primarily in rural communities. A total of 1,079 botanical species were cited (754 native, 325 exotic), with the most diverse families being Myrtaceae Juss., Arecaceae Bercht. & J. Presl., and Fabaceae Lindl. The chosen predictors (urbanity gradient, phytogeographic domains, and types of traditional communities) could not distinguish the analyzed groups according to their similarity in food diversity, although some detectable statistical differences exist, especially when considering the type of traditional community and native edible species. Gaps in Brazilian local and traditional ecological knowledge regarding species diversity for food security and its cultural relationship, in addition to the low scientific representation of traditional groups, influenced these results. Studies on the internal variability of edible species composition are important as they allow for an understanding of whether the characteristics that differentiate communities, regarding the richness of utilized edible species, are related to ethnic, cultural, and geographical delimitations and which groups overlap these barriers.
Medicinal plants constitute a vital component of healthcare systems, cultural identity, and community resilience in many rural societies, particularly in northeastern Thailand. However, ethnomedicinal knowledge in borderland regions-where cultural exchange and environmental pressures intersect-remains insufficiently documented. This study presents the first systematic and quantitative ethnobotanical assessment of medicinal plant use in Dan Sub-district, Kap Choeng District, Surin Province, a Thai-Cambodian borderland, with an emphasis on locally distinctive practices and implications for biocultural conservation. Ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 40 local informants. Medicinal plant uses were categorized by therapeutic application, life form, plant parts used, sources (wild or cultivated), and routes of administration. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, including Fidelity Level (FL) and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), were applied to evaluate cultural importance and agreement among informants. Jaccard's similarity index was used to compare ethnomedicinal knowledge with surrounding regions. Community-based conservation practices and perceived threats were documented through local consultations. A total of 73 medicinal plant species belonging to 65 genera and 41 families were recorded, including 39 species newly documented for Surin Province. Herbs were the dominant life form (50.68%), and leaves were the most frequently used plant part (24.02%). Oral administration was the primary route of application (78.21%). High FL values were observed for Aquilaria crassna Pierre ex Lecomte (87.50%), Piper nigrum L. (82.50%), and Ficus hispida L.f. (80.00%). ICF analysis revealed strong agreement among informants for treatments related to gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and reproductive ailments. Comparative analysis indicated both shared regional knowledge and locally specific adaptations characteristic of the borderland context. While community-based conservation practices persist, wild plant populations remain vulnerable to habitat loss and overharvesting. By documenting new provincial records and elucidating how cross-border cultural interaction shapes ethnomedicinal knowledge, this study addresses a significant geographic and cultural gap in Thailand's ethnobotanical literature. The findings underscore the importance of integrating quantitative ethnobotanical approaches with community-based conservation strategies to sustain ethnomedicinal knowledge and plant resources within rapidly transforming borderland agroecosystems.
Wild herbal teas are a valuable source of antioxidants and play a significant role in the development of functional beverages. However, scientific validation of these teas remains limited in biodiversity-rich western Himalayas. This study documents the ethnomedicinal uses of 15 wild herbal tea plants from District Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and evaluates three culturally dominant species, such as Bergenia ciliata, Achillia millefolium, and Swertia alata, for total phenolics, total flavonoids, antioxidant, and antibacterial potential. The cultural significance of wild herbal teas was measured using indices such as use value (UV), relative frequency of citation (RFC), and relative importance (RI), indicating that B. ciliata, (A) millefolium, and S. alata are culturally significant species. Phytochemical analyses showed high phenolic and flavonoid contents, notably higher in (B) ciliata (TPC: 428.2 ± 3.33 µg GAE/mL; TFC: 327.7 ± 3.05 µg QE/mL). Antioxidant activity revealed potent radical scavenging, with B. ciliata exhibiting the lowest IC₅₀ value (48.0 µg/mL). Antibacterial assays confirmed significant activity of B. ciliata against Staphylococcus aureus (20.33 ± 0.33 mm), exceeding that of ampicillin (17.66 ± 0.88 mm). Correlation and multivariate analyses revealed substantial links between phenolic/flavonoid content and bioactivity. Overall, results scientifically validate local traditional knowledge, highlight the therapeutic potential of wild herbal teas, and emphasize their value as accessible, bioactive resources for community health and future natural product research.
In the context of human displacement, it is essential to study how local knowledge is reshaped, eroded, or transformed. This study sheds light on how wild plant reports are articulated after migration, retained, and kept; the research explores specifically the ethnobotanical knowledge linked to wild food plants of five ethnic communities, namely the Bettani, Ormur, Mehsud, and Miani populations living in the Gomal area of NW Pakistan, of which three are displaced communities. The study aims to record the knowledge of wild food plants and their use among generations in these communities. To better determine the impact of displacement, we have analysed the data along two trajectories: (a) cross-geographically comparing the recorded wild food plant reports with the available published literature in NW Pakistan and (b) conducting a cross-cultural comparison of the local plant knowledge among the considered groups (displaced ones: Mehsud, Ormur, and Powanda; autochthonous: Bettani and Miani) residing in the Gomal area. Via semi-structured interviews with a hundred study participants (twenty for each ethic group), the study revealed the use of 69 wild food taxa, showing a remarkable diversity of food uses, with Ormur and Powanda exhibiting several idiosyncratic reports. The research highlights that displacement may have disrupted potential pathways of knowledge transmission among the Mehsud, Ormur, and Powanda; however, local plant knowledge about their past environment remains part of the collective memory of these communities. Moreover, post-migration exposure to a new ecological system has become a challenge for the newcomers, necessitating adaptation to rearticulate their relationship with nature and plants. The broken paths have a profound impact on plant knowledge transmission to youngsters, as social structures and gatherings have been significantly altered or disrupted; these were the primary means of interaction between youngsters and their elders. The exposure to urbanisation compounds the issue of displacement, and the erosion of knowledge systems has come at the expense of hands-on experiences among the selected groups. Notably, the local plant nomenclature of Ormur is also highly threatened. We advocate incorporating local plant knowledge into local educational curricula, which may be crucial for the sustainability of natural knowledge and have profound impacts on mitigating the effects of socioecological change.
The present study is the first quantitative ethnobotanical report on the traditional and new uses of medicinal plants by the inhabitants of a remote and unexplored area in Tehsil Abbaspur, District Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. The area is disputed territory on the edge of the Line of Control between India and Pakistan and is rich in plant diversity and socio-economic culture. During the field studies, data was collected from 62 informants using structured and semi-structured questionnaires. It was found that women knew more about the therapeutic uses of plants and herbal recipes (average 5.20 known species; 8.39 mentioned uses) than men (average 3.95 known species; 7.31 mentioned uses). A total of 125 medicinal plants from 70 genera and 61 families were documented, with Asteraceae being the most commonly used family in the area. The leaves were the most commonly used plant parts, and the extract was the most common method of preparing herbal recipes. The highest informant consensus factor (0.83) was found for indigestion and liver disorders. Mentha longifolia had the highest use value (0.96) and the highest relative frequency of citations (0.88). High relative importance values (100) were found for Berberis lycium and Mentha longifolia. Four species, namely Fragaria vesca, Berberis lycium, Mentha arvensis and Malus domestica had a fidelity value of 100. The highest similarity in the use of plants was found in studies conducted in related areas of Kotli and Toli Peer districts, indicating similar flora and strong cross-cultural exchange of ethnomedicinal knowledge between the communities. Seven plant species, namely Asplenium dalhousiae (snake bite), Cynoglossum lanceolatum (kidney disease), Sunhangia elegans(hypertension), Glycine max (liver inflammation), Impatiens edgeworthii (urinary tract infection). Plumbago zeylanica (appetite) and Swertia cordata (diabetes) were reported for the first time with new uses. The new claims about the therapeutic use of these species show that medicinal flora research still has much to offer. Mentha longifolia, Mentha. arvensis, Berberis lycium, Fragaria vesca, and Malus domestica received the most citations for their use. These highly cited plant species indicate the presence of valuable phytochemical compounds and are suggested for further pharmacological investigations to introduce new drugs. In the younger generations, botanical customs and resources are rapidly declining due to the pursuit of modernization, cultural homogeneity and overexploitation. Strict conservation measures must be taken immediately to protect traditional knowledge and ensure sustainable utilisation of plant resources. The highly important medicnal plants species including Ajuga bracteosa, Achillea millefolium, Angelica glauca, Myrsine Africana, Elsholtzia ciliate, Melia azedarach and Rhododendron arboretum, Viola odorata and Zanthoxylum armatum become endangered in the area due to overexplotition by local people, therefore need immediate conservation strategies to optimize their sustainable utilization and long term survival.