Dataset Information

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand¹.

ABSTRACT: Wild food plants (WFPs) are major components of tropical home gardens, constituting an important resource for poor farmers. The spatial and seasonal diversity of WFPs was analyzed across multi-species spatial configurations occurring within home gardens in a rice farming village in northeast Thailand. Data were collected in 77 sampling sites corresponding to five different home garden spatial configurations, namely fenced plot, fenced plot margin, yard, home garden boundary, and pot. Absolute abundance and frequency of occurrence were quantified per individual WFP species in both dry and rainy seasons, and data on additional uses (besides food) were collected through focus group discussions for each WFP species. A total of 20 species corresponding to 13 botanical families were reported. Results show that species abundance and frequency of occurrence varied seasonally and spatially within home gardens. Diversity, as observed in the analysis of Shannon and Simpson diversity indexes, also differed seasonally and across different spatial configurations. Home gardens showed higher diversity in the dry season because of the presence of human management. Ninety-five percent of the WFP species presented additional uses, with nine different types of uses in total. Finally, as this study demonstrates, the results on both the spatial and seasonal diversity of WFPs over different spatial configurations comprise a new perspective in home garden research by providing new understandings about their composition and management.

SUBMITTER: Cruz-Garcia GS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4490187 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand<sup>1</sup>.

Cruz-Garcia Gisella S GS Struik Paul C PC

Economic botany 20150620 2

Wild food plants (WFPs) are major components of tropical home gardens, constituting an important resource for poor farmers. The spatial and seasonal diversity of WFPs was analyzed across multi-species spatial configurations occurring within home gardens in a rice farming village in northeast Thailand. Data were collected in 77 sampling sites corresponding to five different home garden spatial configurations, namely fenced plot, fenced plot margin, yard, home garden boundary, and pot. Absolute ab ...[more]

PMID: 26160981

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Project description:Consuming wild foods is part of the food ways of people in many societies, including farming populations throughout the world. Knowledge of non-domesticated food resources is part of traditional and tacit ecological knowledge, and is largely transmitted through socialization within cultural and household contexts. The context of this study, a small village in Northeast Thailand, is one where the community has experienced changes due to the migration of the parental generation, with the children being left behind in the village to be raised by their grandparents. A case study approach was used in order to gain holistic in-depth insight into children's traditional ecological knowledge as well as patterns of how children acquire their knowledge regarding wild food resources. Techniques used during field data collection are free-listing conducted with 30 village children and the use of a sub-sample of children for more in-depth research. For the sub-sample part of the study, wild food items consisted of a selection of 20 wild food species consisting of 10 species of plants and 10 species of animals. Semi-structured interviews with photo identification, informal interviews and participatory observation were utilized, and both theoretical and practical knowledge scored. The sub-sample covers eight households with boys and girls aged between 10-12 years old from both migrant families and non-migrant families. The knowledge of children was compared and the transmission process was observed. The result of our study shows that there is no observable difference among children who are being raised by grandparents and those being raised by their parents, as there are different channels of knowledge transmission to be taken into consideration, particularly grandparents and peers. The basic ability (knowledge) for naming wild food species remains among village children. However, the practical in-depth knowledge, especially about wild food plants, shows some potential eroding.

Dataset Information

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand¹.

Publications

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand<sup>1</sup>.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

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Dataset Information

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand1.

Publications

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand<sup>1</sup>.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets

Spatial and Seasonal Diversity of Wild Food Plants in Home Gardens of Northeast Thailand¹.