EL USO DE LOS RECURSOS VEGETALES DE LA CAATINGA EN UNA COMUNIDAD RURAL EN CURIMATAÚ PARAÍBA (NORDESTE DE BRASIL)

Resumen

This study sought to identify the potential
utility of native speciesin the Caatinga area
in the municipality of Soledade (Northeastern Brazil). The survey was conducted
in two stages, first a phytosociological
inventory was carried out in fragments
of vegetation next to the community to
identify the species, then an ethnobotanical
survey was conducted using structured interviews with 33 informants of both sexes
in order to investigate their knowledge
about the attributed uses to plants. A total
of 101 species were identified, and 84
of those were considered useful by the
community. Reported species were divided into nine categories of use (forage,
medicine, technology, construction, food,
fuel, veterinary, poison-arbotive, others),
among which the most relevant in terms
of number of species were the categories
of fodder, medicine and technology, with
over 20 species each. The leaf is the plant
part most used, followed by wood and
bark, reinforcing the importance of timber
resources to the community. Knowledge
about the potential utility of native vegetation appears to be evenly distributed
among the informers. Few species are
highly valued, while most have marginal
use values. Although there is no real distinction between use and cognitive use of
plant resources, it is indispensable to report
knowledge on plant-use. These traditional
knowledge and practices are essential to
establish techniques and for sustainable
use and management of these resources,
in order to minimize the human action on
the biodiversity of the Caatinga, for the
potential of this biome can be enjoyed by
future generations.