Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger

Knowledge pertaining to local plant species in West African Sahel has been poorly documented despite the central role local vegetation plays in the everyday lives of the rural people. An ethnobotanical study was conducted between April and November 2005 to document knowledge and uses of local herbac...

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Main Authors: Ayantunde, Augustine A., Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y., Briejer, M., Udo, H.M.J., Tabo, Ramadjita
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/16
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author Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Briejer, M.
Udo, H.M.J.
Tabo, Ramadjita
author_browse Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Briejer, M.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Tabo, Ramadjita
Udo, H.M.J.
author_facet Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Briejer, M.
Udo, H.M.J.
Tabo, Ramadjita
author_sort Ayantunde, Augustine A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Knowledge pertaining to local plant species in West African Sahel has been poorly documented despite the central role local vegetation plays in the everyday lives of the rural people. An ethnobotanical study was conducted between April and November 2005 to document knowledge and uses of local herbaceous and woody species by the agropastoralists in South-western Niger. One hundred and twenty three voucher reference samples were collected consisting of 87 and 36 herbaceous and woody species, respectively. The voucher specimens were used for individual interviews of the agropastoralists, guided by a semi-structured questionnaire. In each interview session, an interviewee was shown voucher reference samples and was asked to identify each of them. For each plant species identified, questions were asked about its utilization and the plant part(s) being used. Major uses of local plant species are for traditional medicine, human consumption, animal feed, household construction and firewood. Mean use value of woody species was significantly higher for all use categories (p < 0.001) than for the herbaceous species. These results confirm that “apparent” plants, perennial woody species, are used by the agropastoral communities more intensively than the “non-apparent” short life cycle herbaceous species.
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spelling CGSpace162023-06-08T19:59:20Z Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger Ayantunde, Augustine A. Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y. Briejer, M. Udo, H.M.J. Tabo, Ramadjita plants plant ecology agropastoral systems Knowledge pertaining to local plant species in West African Sahel has been poorly documented despite the central role local vegetation plays in the everyday lives of the rural people. An ethnobotanical study was conducted between April and November 2005 to document knowledge and uses of local herbaceous and woody species by the agropastoralists in South-western Niger. One hundred and twenty three voucher reference samples were collected consisting of 87 and 36 herbaceous and woody species, respectively. The voucher specimens were used for individual interviews of the agropastoralists, guided by a semi-structured questionnaire. In each interview session, an interviewee was shown voucher reference samples and was asked to identify each of them. For each plant species identified, questions were asked about its utilization and the plant part(s) being used. Major uses of local plant species are for traditional medicine, human consumption, animal feed, household construction and firewood. Mean use value of woody species was significantly higher for all use categories (p < 0.001) than for the herbaceous species. These results confirm that “apparent” plants, perennial woody species, are used by the agropastoral communities more intensively than the “non-apparent” short life cycle herbaceous species. 2009-04-10 2009-10-28T05:07:40Z 2009-10-28T05:07:40Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/16 en Ayantunde, A.A.; Hiernaux, P.; Briejer, M.; Udo, H.; Tabo, R. 2009. Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger. Ethnobotany Research & Applications. v. 7. p. 53-66.
spellingShingle plants
plant ecology
agropastoral systems
Ayantunde, Augustine A.
Hiernaux, Pierre H.Y.
Briejer, M.
Udo, H.M.J.
Tabo, Ramadjita
Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger
title Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger
title_full Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger
title_fullStr Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger
title_full_unstemmed Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger
title_short Uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south-western Niger
title_sort uses of local plant species by agropastoralists in south western niger
topic plants
plant ecology
agropastoral systems
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/16
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