Floristic composition, plant uses and management practices in homegardens of San Rafael Coxcatlán, Valley of Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, Mexico

Blanckaert, Isabelle; Swennen, Rony; Sánchez-Flores, Marcos; López, Ruth Pérez; Saade, Rafael Lira

doi:10.1016/s0140-1963(03)00100-9

Cited by 151 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, self-consumption is one of the most representative features of these agroecosystems. The same result has been obtained in diverse studies in Latin America (Blanckaert et al 2004, Pulido et al 2008, where the vast majority of species were produced for family consumption.…”

Section: Food Use and Commercialization Of The Speciessupporting

confidence: 76%

Food plants in home gardens of the Middle Magdalena basin of Colombia

Villa¹,

García²

2017

Caldasia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Home gardens are important reservoirs of agricultural diversity essential to support food security in rural communities. In this paper, we describe the richness and composition of species and varieties of plants used for food in home gardens of the municipality of San Pablo in the Middle Magdalena Basin of Colombia, and discuss its possible relations with a set of socio-economic and structural variables. A survey was conducted in 20 home gardens where semi structured questionnaires were administered to the head of each household, and all plants used as food were recorded. The physical characteristics of the home gardens varied widely. Farmers' ages varied between 28-90 years and the most frequent level of schooling was primary education. In total, 75 species represented by 162 varieties were found. Plantains (Musa x paradisiaca), mangos (Mangifera indica), guavas (Psidium guajava) and cassavas (Manihot esculenta) were the most diverse and frequent crops across gardens. The mean number of species per home garden was 17.5 (SD = 7.1), ranging from 6 to 33. On average 48% of the species recorded were fruits, followed by spices (17%), roots and tubers (12%) and vegetables (9%). Significant correlations were found between food plant richness and farmers' ages (r s = 0.461, p = 0.04) and food plant richness and number of family members (rs = -0.487, p = 0.03). Home gardens of San Pablo are important regional agrobiodiversity reservoirs that support families' nutrition.Key words. Agrobiodiversity, family farming, food security, ethnobotany. RESUMENLas huertas familiares son importantes reservorios de diversidad agrícola esenciales para sostener la seguridad alimentaria de las comunidades rurales. En este artículo se describe la riqueza y la composición de especies y variedades de plantas usadas para alimentación en huertas familiares del municipio de San Pablo, Magdalena Medio de Colombia; y se discuten sus posibles relaciones con un grupo de variables socioeconómicas y estructurales. El estudio se llevó a cabo en 20 huertas, donde se aplicaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a las personas cabeza de familia y se registraron todas las plantas alimenticias. Las características físicas de las huertas variaron ampliamente. La edad de los propietarios varió entre 28-90 años y el nivel de educación más frecuente fue la primaria. En total se encontraron 75 especies representadas en 162 variedades. Los cultivos más diversos y frecuentes en las huertas fueron plátanos (Musa x paradisiaca), mangos (Mangifera indica), guayabas (Psidium guajava) y yucas (Manihot esculenta). El número promedio de especies por huerta fue de 17,5 (DE = 7,1), con un intervalo entre 6 y 33. En promedio el 48% de las especies fueron frutas, seguidas por raíces y tubérculos (16%), verduras (11%) y especias (9%). Por otro lado, se encontró una correlación significativa entre la riqueza de plantas alimenticias y la edad del agricultor (r s = 0,461, p = 0,04) y el número de miembros de la familia (rs = -0,487, p = 0,03). Las huertas familiares de San...

show abstract

Section: Food Use and Commercialization Of The Speciessupporting

confidence: 76%

Food plants in home gardens of the Middle Magdalena basin of Colombia

Villa¹,

García²

2017

Caldasia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Linear bivariate relations between variables were analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficients for metric variables and Spearman's correlation coefficients r S for ordinal variables. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors determining plant species richness and diversity using the stepwise method (Backhaus et al 2006). For these analyses, dependent variables were overall plant species richness, richness of local species, overall diversity expressed by the Shannon index and Shannon evenness index.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For cluster analysis, squared Euclidean distances and the 'minimum variance' method in MVSP were applied (Backhaus et al 2006). To define the correct number of different clusters, the 'elbow' criterion was used (Backhaus et al 2006). Stepwise discriminant analysis was carried out to analyse whether the clusters differed significantly from each other and to determine the species mainly responsible for the separation (McCune et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All species were recorded with their local and scientific names. Species were identified according to Peyre de Fabregues (1979) and Arbonnier (2000) following the nomenclature of Hanelt and the Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (2001) and of Zander et al (2002) or, if not available there, of the Missouri Botanical Garden (2007). According to the mentioned literature, species originating from subSaharan Africa were regarded as 'local', and those from other regions as 'exotic'.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Plant species richness and diversity in urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food and nutritional security of urban dwellers in many African countries. Economic and demographic pressures often lead to transformation of subsistence-oriented traditional homegardens into commercial production units. Such transformation is claimed to result in decreasing plant diversity, particularly of local species. A study was therefore undertaken in 51 gardens of Niamey, Niger, to assess the factors determining plant diversity and the suitability of UPA for in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. In each garden, the number and abundance of all human-used plant species were determined, and species density, Shannon index and Shannon evenness were calculated. In the 51 surveyed gardens, a total of 116 plant species were cultivated, most of them for the production of fruits or vegetables. Annual vegetables dominated, particularly exotic species grown for sale. In the cold season, an average of 14 species were cultivated per garden, the Shannon index was 0.96 and evenness was 0.39. Commercial gardens had a species richness similar to that of subsistence gardens, but a lower evenness (P \ 0.005), caused by the dominance of a few vegetable species. Gardens of immigrants had a lower Shannon index than those of members of the local Djerma ethnic group.Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed significant influence of various variables on plant species richness and diversity parameters: garden size (richness and Shannon index), ethnicity of the gardener (richness and evenness), gender of the gardener and cash-oriented production (evenness), household size (richness) and garden possession status (Shannon index). Cluster analysis revealed the existence of five garden types. The highest species richness and diversity, particularly of perennial and local species, was found in large, peri-urban, commercial gardens managed by relatively wealthy, elderly gardeners with large families and a regular non-agricultural income.

show abstract

Gender and social dynamics in swidden and homegardens in Latin America

Howard

2006

Advances in Agroforestry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Structure, composition, and functions of homegardens are said to be closely related to the social structure of households, but this issue is not often researched. An analysis of the literature on swidden and homegardens in Latin America shows that such interrelationships become transparent when examining the gender division of labor, gendered access to garden resources including land, trees, and other plants, and gendered control over subsistence and cash crops and income derived from them. Social status related to gardening, gendered knowledge distribution and transmission, and social dynamics leading to change in gardening and gardens are also important parameters in this matrix. A review of 39 Latin American case studies dealing with swidden or homegardens revealed that women are by far the prominent garden managers across its sub-regions. Aside from the multiple material benefits provided by gardens, other drivers that tend to ensure that women will strive to maintain them include their emotional and spiritual values and the positive social status that productive and beautiful gardens confer. Homegardening is a 'respectable' way for women to contribute to subsistence production and manifest specialized knowledge and skills without competing with men. However, commercialization may be undermining both women's control and the benefits they derive from homegardening as well as the complex structure and function of homegardens.

show abstract

Floristic composition, plant uses and management practices in homegardens of San Rafael Coxcatlán, Valley of Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, Mexico

Cited by 151 publications

References 19 publications

Food plants in home gardens of the Middle Magdalena basin of Colombia

Food plants in home gardens of the Middle Magdalena basin of Colombia

Plant species richness and diversity in urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger

Gender and social dynamics in swidden and homegardens in Latin America

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About