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Abstract Background In the present study we have investigated the cultural transmission of two types of traditional plant knowledge in two communities of North-western Patagonia, Argentina. In the Pilcaniyeu community, we studied the transmission of traditional knowledge related to horticultural practices in home-gardens, greenhouses and gardens; while in the community of Cuyin Manzano, we studied wild plant gathering customs. Methods Ethnobotanical fieldwork was conducted by means of semi-structured interviews, in which we investigated which plants are used, at what life history phase was learned, modes of transmission and who the principal transmitters were in childhood and adulthood. In both communities, each of this three aspects related to cultural transmission were categorized and the frequencies of each category were obtained. The total number of species recorded in each community was also calculated. Frequencies were analyzed with the Chi-square test of independence. Results and discussion In both communities, transmission of traditional plant knowledge begins at an early age, as a family custom, in which women play a predominant role. Wild plant use and horticultural knowledge continue to be learned during adulthood. This was particularly registered associated with horticultural learning, which receives greater influence from extension agents who are introducing new practices and technology. This outside influence, which implies novelty, could imply syncretism but also traditional knowledge loss. Conclusion Given the remarkable acculturation processes occurring at present in rural communities of Northwestern Patagonia, it might be of vital importance to document traditional knowledge of ancient practices. Moreover, it could be interesting to share our results with both populations in order to encourage participatory activities within the communities which could enhance traditional knowledge horizontal transmission, particularly among elder adults and youngsters.

In addressing the question, "Does local, national, and international governance have a primary role in shaping the resilience of local ecological knowledge (LEK)?", I first emphasize the importance of ethnobiology in highlighting effective local biodiversity governance practices employed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The sustainable management of these territories, showcases the deep connection between communities and their Local ecological knowledge (LEK), which has been vital in adapting to socio-environmental challenges and fostering sustainable practices. Case studies from Northern Patagonia, Argentina, illustrate how these communities have largely adapted to new circumstances on their own, despite ongoing challenges. However, despite its importance for multi-level governance, the integration of IPLCs into the decision-making processes of national and international institutions, especially those responsible for policy, remains inadequate. For example, national governments have often played a marginal or even counterproductive role in strengthening LEK resilience. This is partly due to a failure to foster social cohesion after a long history of societal whitening, which hinders empathy towards Indigenous Peoples. I propose a more inclusive approach to knowledge co-production, grounded in robust ethnobiological evidence. While this is not a complete solution, it can contribute to greater appreciation and empathy for IPLCs. This would foster collaborative efforts, uniting IPLCs, scientists and policymakers to achieve transformative governance where LEK is genuinely valued and integrated into decision-making processes at all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe de Errata Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. 57(3): 1-22. 2022. ttps://doi.org/10.31055/1851.2372.v57.n3.37329 Las etnoespecies comercializadas en la feria de agricultores de Bariloche (Rio Negro, Argentina) y su versatilidad en alimentos locales: Contribuciones hacia la soberanía alimentaria local. The ethnospecies traded in the Bariloche farmers’ fair (Rio Negro, Argentina) and their versatility in local foods: Contributions towards local food sovereignty Melisa S. Longo Blasón, Soledad Molares & Ana H. Ladio En la página 339, figura 2, los créditos de las fotos C y D, corresponden Luciana Laborda.

Introducción y objetivos: Las ferias hortícolas urbanas constituyen emplazamientos importantes para la soberanía alimentaria (SA) de una ciudad. La riqueza de etnoespecies y alimentos locales comercializados reflejan su dinamismo. La versatilidad utilitaria (VU) representada por las diferentes preparaciones culinarias, constituye un aspecto importante de la SA. Se relevó y caracterizó la riqueza de las etnoespecies, alimentos locales y partes vegetales comercializados en la Feria Franca de Agricultores de Bariloche. Las predicciones proponen que la mayor riqueza de etnoespecies son de origen exótico, y que a mayor VU (en alimentos locales) mayor es la importancia cultural de las etnoespecies. M&M: Se realizó un seguimiento etnobotánico tipo checklist de todas las etnoespecies y los alimentos locales vendidos en la temporada 2019. Se complementó con registros fotográficos y enlistados libres. Se estimó la VU de cada cultivo, y se analizó la relación entre el consenso de uso (CU) y la VU de las etnoespecies ofrecidas mediante MLG. Resultados: Se registró un total de 186 etnoespecies y 315 alimentos locales. Las etnoespecies más consensuadas fueron Petroselinum crispum (65%), Beta vulgaris var. cicla (55%), Rubus idaeus (50%) y el hongo exótico Suillus sp. Encontramos que las etnoespecies con mayor CU poseen mayor VU. Conclusiones: Las alternativas de uso alimentario que ofrecen las etnoespecies es un elemento clave para los agricultores como reaseguro de venta, pero principalmente como un elemento que da visibilidad a las plantas locales a través de preparaciones caseras. Los alimentos locales son legados bioculturales que reflejan tradiciones, pero también innovaciones.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are recalcitrant chemicals with stable carbon–fluorine (C–F) bonds. These complex substances are difficult to degrade; therefore, they persist in the environment, causing potential health effects on humans. This study focused on the photocatalytic degradation and defluorination of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in aqueous water using TiO2 nanoparticles under UV–visible light. The biosynthesized TiO2 catalysts at pH 8, 10, and 12 were characterized using XRD, HRTEM, and HRSEM. The XRD patterns of the respective TiO2 nanoparticles at different synthesized pHs exhibited similar anatase phases, and it was observed that the crystallite sizes decreased with increasing pH. The HRSEM and HRTEM confirmed the spherical shapes of the produced nanoparticles with particle size distributions of 12.17 nm, 10.65 nm, and 8.81 nm for the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles at pH 8, 10, and 12, respectively. The photodegradation and defluorination of PFOS were performed at various initial solution pH values of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 under UV irradiation for 150 min. The study showed 95.62 and 56.13% degradation and defluorination efficiency at pH 2. The degradation and defluorination efficiencies significantly decreased as the pH of the solution increased; hence, the degradation increases at lower solution pHs. Without UV–visible light, the photocatalysis achieved a lower degradation and defluorination efficiency. The photocatalysis showed that the pH of the solution and UV irradiation greatly influence the degradation and defluorination. Therefore, TiO2 nanoparticles were effective for the degradation and defluorination of PFOS under UV–visible light, which could also have an influence on the treatment of other PFASs in wastewater.

The Patagonian steppe is a refuge for several indigenous peoples who live in relatively isolated communities, depending heavily on natural resources for their activities, health, and food security. The local ecological knowledge is a reservoir that generates full wellbeing and for which it must be the object of protection and local development. In this study, we aimed to find which factors can influence local ecological knowledge from a metacommunity on the Patagonian steppe. We analyzed variation in knowledge about cultivated and gathered plants used as medicinal, edible, and firewood according to multiple factors widely discussed in the ethnobiological literature: age, gender, formal education, occupation, indigenous identity, contact with urban centers, use of biomedicine, hunting, and handcrafted textile production. We conducted semi-structured interviews with local experts, accessed by the snowball technique. We found that formal education is a key factor in the variation of local ecological knowledge among people. In addition, we found that knowledge varies between people who practice activities inside and outside the home, concentrating knowledge between cultivated and gathered plants, respectively. Our urbanization proxies did not point to an influence of this factor on local knowledge, but specialists living in a larger community with signs of internal urbanization processes had much less knowledge. Our results allowed us to visualize the importance of studying metacommunities as a whole, to verify complexities and intersections of overlapping factors. Studies in metacommunities open up a range of possibilities for ethnobiological analysis.

Progress toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is insufficient at a global scale. A thorough and interdisciplinary understanding of barriers and levers to sustainability, including synergies and trade-offs between SDGs, is utterly important but still limited. Ethnobiology is often advocated as a key discipline to address this research gap. We conducted a systematic literature review to explore (i) the visibility of ethnobiology within sustainability science, (ii) how ethnobiology understands the notion of sustainability, (iii) if ethnobiology literature on sustainability issues engages differently with nonacademic knowledge and people compared to other types of ethnobiology research, and (iv) which SDGs are addressed (explicitly or implicitly) by ethnobiology. Our study reveals a minimal overlap between sustainability science and ethnobiology literature. The articles reviewed never mention the SDGs explicitly, but often address them implicitly. Reviewed ethnobiological articles addressed themes of relevance to almost all SDGs, especially the linkages between SDGs 1–3 and 15, but always implicitly. Biodiversity's understanding (SDG 15) provides the basis for culture and Indigenous and local knowledge and ensures communities' food security (SDG 2), health and well-being (SDG 3), and prosperity (SDG 1). We found that ethnobiology does not examine sustainability through the lens of the global sustainability agenda, and that knowledge coproduction processes are rarely reported. While ethnobiology demonstrates its relevance to address SDGs and contribute to transformative change, this potential is not fully realized because of a persisting decoupling between place-based research and global sustainability frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Austral de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Facultad de Filosofia y Humanidades, Intituto de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Austral de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the local botanical knowledge of native food plants in three rural communities, located in the semiarid region of Paraíba State, Brazil, verifying possibilities of differences of knowledge among communities and between men and women. Methods Semi-structured interviews about native plant knowledge and use were conducted with all householders in each community, totaling 117 informants. The species similarity among the communities of Pau D’Arco, Várzea Alegre, and Barroquinha was compared with Jaccard index, and the use value index (UVgeneral, UVcurrent, UVpotential) was used to determine the most important species. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the use values among communities and genders. The consensus factor among the informants was calculated according to the uses cited, and the Wilcoxon test was used to compare the use values between men and women. Results We recorded 9 species belonging to 8 genera and 8 families in Várzea Alegre; 10 species, 9 genera, and 9 families in Barroquinha; and 7 species, 7 genera and 7 families in Pau D’Arco. Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae) in Várzea Alegre, Spondias sp. (Anacardiaceae) in Barroquinha, and Ximenia americana L. (Olacaceae) in Pau D’Arco were the most prominent species. Preparation methods are slightly different in the three communities, and there is low similarity about species use among the communities. Regarding gender, the analysis of use value among the communities evidenced significant differences only for UVgeneral among women, specifically between Barroquinha and Pau D’Arco. For men and women within each community, there is a difference only for UVpotential in Barroquinha. Conclusion This study showed that the residents of the three rural communities have limited knowledge of native food plants found in their communities, but they know where to find them, which parts they may use and how to consume them. The fact is that men know plants that are more distant from the residences and women know those that are next to them.

Many of the species used in family farming systems (FFS) in Patagonia belong to the group known as neglected and underutilized species (NUS), which promote biocultural diversity and contribute to food sovereignty. Due to the scarce attention paid to NUS by agronomic sciences, little is known about their biotic pollination, although it is a well-studied aspect for commercially important plants. We evaluate the contribution of animal pollination to NUS managed by Patagonian FFS. We present a literature review of the NUS used and aspects related to their pollination and floral visitors, for which 725 papers were reviewed. FFS use 426 NUS (414 angiosperms, 10 gymnosperms and 2 ferns). Most NUS (86.7%) depend to some extent on animal pollination, either for the production of fruits or seeds that are harvested for consumption (direct dependence, 35%) or for obtaining seeds (indirect dependence, 65%), which in many cases are necessary for reseeding. Gathering and cultivation are the most common management practices for these species. Hymenoptera and Diptera are the animals that contribute most to NUS biotic pollination. Our results show that animal pollination is a key contribution of nature to sustain cultural aspects and food sovereignty of FFS in Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Austral Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The utilitarian redundancy model has been used to indirectly verify the resilience of useful plant knowledge systems used by local populations. From the bases of this model and the hypothesis of diversification, we can think that exotic species can enter socio‐ecological systems to fill gaps and reduce the use pressure on native species. In this study, we want to draw a picture of the redundancy of plant species used by three traditional populations of the Patagonian steppe for medicinal, fuel, and edible purposes. We also compare the use of pressure and the degree of uniqueness of native and exotic species, using redundancy and versatility as proxies. Our results show that, according to utilitarian redundancy, the plant knowledge systems of the three communities seem to have similar adaptive capacity to provide options for responding to change; for example, by allowing certain elements to compensate/substitute for the loss of others. We found that native species are the most unique and may be under greater use pressure than exotic ones. Thus, our results point to the importance of conserving the steppe Patagonian native environment for the survival of traditional populations. Our study can be used to establish priority botanical species for conservation in the Patagonian steppe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family farming systems face the challenge of carrying out their activities alongside Harmful Arthropods (HA), which cause damage to edible, wild, and cultivated plants that are fundamental for farmers. This case study, with farmers from the Nahuel Huapi Family Farmers Free Fair (FFAFNH, Spanish acronym), shows some distinctive elements of Local Ecological Knowledge about HA (LEKHA). We investigated LEKHA about seven HA among farmers regarding nomenclature, characterization, ecological aspects, cultivated species affected, ways of acquiring and transmitting knowledge, management practices, and HA's importance. We discussed how these aspects allow us to infer the hybrid character of LEKHA, which articulates traditional knowledge of peasant agriculture and Scientific Technical Knowledge (STK). A participatory workshop was carried out, which emerged as a request and demand from the members of the FFAFNH. Fifteen local names were registered, two of which were Mapuche. Most of the HA are recognized as harmful to more than one plant, and the majority (60%) have been with farmers for a long time. Regarding management, preventive practices predominated (57%) over curative practices (14%). We postulated a new HA management practice, "tolerance" (29%), which implies that HA coexist with people in their productive spaces and are deliberately allowed to follow their natural cycles. The predominant ways of acquiring and transmitting knowledge are idiosyncratic and oblique (35% each). The workshop was an instance of reinforcement and self-validation of LEKHA, where a dialogue of knowledge was established back and forth with the STK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]