INIBIOMA   20415
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN BIODIVERSIDAD Y MEDIOAMBIENTE
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
A biocultural approach to firewood scarcity in rural communities inhabiting arid environments in Patagonia (Argentina)
Autor/es:
MORALES, DANIELA VANESA; MOLARES SOLEDAD; ANA LADIO
Revista:
Ethnobiology and Conservation
Editorial:
Ethnobiology and Conservation
Referencias:
Lugar: Recife; Año: 2017 vol. 6 p. 1 - 17
ISSN:
2238-4782
Resumen:
From an ecological perspective the use of firewood species implies chronic pressure on woodvegetation, but from a biocultural point of view the implications are more systemic and complex.The objective of this work was to make a comprehensive analysis of the bioculturalcharacteristics of firewood plants used by two rural communities in arid Patagonia, consideringtheir cultural attributes, value as fuel and ecological persistence traits against continuousextraction. The study was carried out with 33 participants, and ethnobotanical information wascollected on the use, preferences and attributes of species used, together with ecologicalinformation obtained from a bibliographical review. Of the 28 firewood species registered, 12stood out as being preferred for firewood use. Native plants (66.6%) were generally preferredto exotic species (33.3%). Several ecological features of the preferred plants were noted, suchas vegetative regeneration (43%), high geographical distribution (36%) and nitrogen fixation(18%). Most of these species also present a high level of utilitarian versatility, and are thereforemultipurpose resources. These characteristics, of both ecological and cultural importance,should be key criteria for the selection of species for forestry programmes related to thedevelopment of firewood plantations.