Diversity of Useful Plants in Cabo Verde Islands: A Biogeographic and Conservation Perspective

Abstract

Cabo Verde’s biodiversity is threatened by activities that meet human needs. To counteract this, an integration of scientific and indigenous knowledge is required, but no comprehensive list of the useful local plants is available. Thus, in this work, we assess (1) their diversity and phytogeography; (2) the role of geophysical, historical, and socio-economic factors on species distribution and uses; and (3) potentially relevant species for sustainable development. Data were obtained from flora, scientific publications, historical documents, herbarium specimens and field work. Many species were introduced since the 15th century to support settlement and commercial interests. We identified 518 useful taxa, of which 145 are native, 38 endemic and 44 endangered. The number of useful taxa is correlated with altitude and agricultural area, as well as with rural population indicators, but not with total population or socio-economic indicators such as gross domestic product. Native taxa are mostly used for fuelwood, forage and utilitarian purposes. Agrobiodiversity and traditional practices seem crucial to cope with recurrent droughts and ensure food security. Most of the introduced species do not present conservation problems, contrasting with the overuse of some native taxa. The safeguarding of native populations will ensure the sustainable exploitation of these resources and benefit the local economy.

Shifts in grasses diversity patterns between two contrasting 40‐year climate periods in tropical dry islands

“…These climatic factors and the particular orography (mainly altitude and exposure to prevailing winds) of each island enable a variety of mesoclimates that are reflected in the high diversity of habitats and ecological conditions and, consequently, in the distribution of the approximately 750 spontaneous vascular plant taxa (native or introduced) that occur in this archipelago (Duarte et al, 2022) and, also, in the wide diversity of plant communities found in these islands, including the predominant grasslands, which range from the xeric in the arid lowlands to the more mesic in high-altitude areas (Figure 1B-D), woodlands, and shrublands in the more humid mountainous zones (Romeiras et al, 2015). The growing human population on the islands, which increased threefold in the last decades-184,999 in 1950decades-184,999 in to 598,682 in 2023decades-184,999 in (Macrotrends, 2023-exerts strong anthropogenic pressure on plant communities, posing major challenges for the conservation of natural resources (Romeiras, Catarino, Gomes, et al, 2016).…”

Present and future distribution of Faidherbia albida in Cabo Verde as revealed by climatic modelling and LULC analysis

“…The climatic conditions of Cabo Verde were shown to be adequate for Faidherbia albida, but, the present distribution of this tree is restricted to fairly small patches, which does not reflect its potential climatic niche. The land use of Cabo Verde underwent significant changes during human settlement (Duarte et al, 2022). Mainly intensive agricultural practices, and many introduced species have cleared a large portion of native tree populations (Monteiro et al, 2020;Varela et al, 2022).…”

Antimalarial and Cytotoxic Activity of Native Plants Used in Cabo Verde Traditional Medicine

“… * Bibliographic sources and online databases on medicinal applications of Cabo Verde’s studied species [ 12 , 19 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. ** Plant parts used in the present study.…”

“…Several medicinal plants were introduced in Cabo Verde, mainly by immigrants of different ethnic groups from the West African regions [ 11 ]. The use of these plants to treat various diseases still constitutes an important health resource with significant potential for research and development of new medicines [ 12 ].…”