Plant Resources Utilization among Different Ethnic Groups of Ladakh in Trans-Himalayan Region

Abstract

The nomadic pastoral indigenous communities of the Ladakhi people share roots with Tibetan culture in terms of food, clothing, religion, festivals, and habits, and rely widely on plant resources for survival and livelihood. This survey was conducted during 2019–2021 to document the indigenous knowledge about plant resources of the Balti, Beda, and Brokpa communities of the Ladakh region, trans-Himalayas. Open- and close-ended semi-structured interviews (N = 184) and group discussions (N = 17) were used to collect the data. Quantitative data was further analyzed using various statistical tools. A total of 105 plant species belonging to 82 genera and 39 families were used as medicine, fuel wood, fragrance, oil, food, flavor, fodder, decoration, and dye. Among these, medicinal use was most prevalent, with 70% of use reports, followed by fodder and fuel wood. Leaves (27%) were the most preferred plant part used, followed by roots and flowers. The principal component analysis revealed five clusters of ethnobotanical usage, i.e., food, medicine, fuel wood, fodder, and fragrance, oil, dye, and flavor. The maximum number of plant species used was reported by the Brokpa, while the Beda reported the minimum number of plant species uses. Delphinium brunonianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, and Juniperus indica played a significant role in the cultural and religious ritual aspects, whereas Allium przewalskianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, Juniperus indica, and Hippophae rhamnoides were commonly used as a livelihood source among Ladakhi communities. The local people collected most plants (65%) for self-consumption, while the rest (35%) were sold in markets as a source of income. The sustainable utilization and management of plant resources by local people is a strategy to boost livelihoods and food security and alleviate poverty.

Quantitative ethnoveterinary study on plant resource utilization by indigenous communities in high-altitude regions

“…Various ethno-veterinary studies produce similar findings ( 28 , 34 , 36 ). Many researchers have also identified the Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Lamiaceae families as the most representative of the Himalayan regions ( 16 , 26 – 29 , 32 , 33 , 37 ), demonstrating the family's great adaptability in many climates and geographies ( 38 ). This study found unequal family distribution patterns with 44 monotypic families, which is consistent with prior ethno-veterinary studies from various Himalayan locations ( 17 , 34 , 39 ).…”

“…Principal component analysis (PCA) ( 16 ) was used to determine hypothetical variables (components) that explain as much of the variance in our multidimensional data as possible in associational analyses between different ethnic groups and plant compositions. We calculated the singular value decomposition of the (centered and possibly scaled) data matrix using a matrix of plant species presence/absence in each of the three regions analyzed.…”

“…The Sorensen's (Bray-Curtis) distance ( 22 ) was used with the Past program ver. 3.14 to detect significant differences among various supplying services and plant resemblances ( 16 ). Finally, we used the Pearson method to calculate the correlation coefficient between ethnic groups (Pahari, Gujjar, Kashmiri, Dogra, Bakharwal, Brokpa, and Balti) and regions.…”

“…The interaction between humans, plants, and animals has existed since the beginning of time when humans discovered natural resources to meet their requirements, including respite from personal maladies for themselves as well as those of their domestic animals ( 13 , 14 ). The researchers have worked extensively on ethno-medicinal plant applications for human health ( 15 , 16 ); however, there have been very few investigations into ethno-veterinary applications of native herbs in the region, indicating a large knowledge gap.…”

Traditional Use of Wild and Domestic Fauna among Different Ethnic Groups in the Western Himalayas—A Cross Cultural Analysis

“…Taxonomic identification was carried out by using the online database “Integrated Taxonomic Information System” ( ) (accessed on 17 August 2021) and using the regional literature [ 26 , 31 ]. We have also compared the recorded data with the previous ethnobiological literature carried out in the nearby regions, particularly surrounding the Himalayan regions [ 10 , 26 , 32 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. The conservation assessment of documented fauna species was done as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2019) Red List ( ) (accessed on 17 August 2021) and used the regional literature [ 31 ].…”