Ethnobiology of Mountain Communities in Asia

Natural resources and associated biological diversity provide the basis of livelihood for human population, particularly in the rural areas and mountain regions across the globe. Asia is home to the world's highest mountain regions including the Himalayas, Karakorum and Hindukush. These regions are renowned around the globe because of their unique beauty, climate, and biocultural diversity. Because of geoclimatic conditions, the mountains of Asia are medicinal and food plant diversity hot spots. The indigenous communities residing in the valleys of these mountains have their own culture and traditions, and have a long history of interaction with the surrounding plant diversity. Local inhabitants of these mountains areas possess significant traditional knowledge of plant species used as food, medicine, and for cultural purposes. So far, many workers have reported traditional uses of plant species from different regions of Asia including some mountain areas; however, there is not one inclusive document on the ethnobotany of mountains in Asia. This book provides a comprehensive overview on ethno-ecological knowledge and cross cultural variation in the application of plant species among various communities residing in the mountains of Asia; cross cultural variation in traditional uses of plant species by the mountain communities; high value medicinal and food plant species; and threats and conservation status of plant species and traditional knowledge. This book should be useful to researchers of biodiversity and conservation, ethnobiologists, ethnoecologists, naturalists, phytochemists, pharmacists, policy makers, and all who have a devotion to nature. Preface Contents About the Editors Medicinal, Nutritional, and Spiritual Significance of Plants in Bhutan: Their Biodiscovery Potential and Conservation Status 1 Introduction 1.1 Location 1.2 Terrain, Ecology, and Climate 1.3 Plant Diversity 2 Ethnobotanical Uses of Himalayan Plants in Bhutan 2.1 Medicinal Plants Used in Scholarly Bhutanese Traditional Medicine 2.2 Medicinal Plants Used in Folklore Medicines 2.3 Wild Plants Used as Nutrients 2.4 Wild Edible Mushrooms 2.5 Wild Plants Used for Their Essential Oils 2.6 Plants Used for Rituals and Other Spiritual Purposes 2.7 Plants Used for Incense-Making 3 Biodiscovery Potential of Himalayan Medicinal Plants 4 Impact of Climate Change and Conservation of Plants 4.1 Medicinal Plant Ecology 4.2 Conservation 5 Conclusion References Ethnobotany of the Himalayas—Kashmir, India 1 Introduction 2 Location 3 Geology 4 Terrain 5 Climate 6 Flora and Vegetation 7 Plant Use History 8 Threats to Plant Diversity References Food from Forest: Diversity of Wild Vegetables Used by Pwo People Thailand 1 Introduction 2 Pwo 3 Study Area 4 Data Collection 5 Wild Vegetables Diversity 6 Preferred Part and Favorite Way of Use 7 Medicinal Vegetables 8 Conclusion References Study of Medicinal Plants of the Chitral Gol National Park (CGNP) with Special Emphasis on Future Conservation and Sustainability 1 Introduction 2 Mountain Boundaries 3 Climate and Vegetation 4 Geology 5 Tourism Spots 6 Chitral Gol National Park 7 Flora and Fauna of the Chitral Gol National Park 8 Study of Medicinal Plants of the Chitral Gol National Park 9 Conservation Status of Medicinal Plants of CGNP 10 Conclusion and Recommendations References Ethnobotany of Western Himalayan Region, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan 1 Background 2 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 2.1 Geography 2.2 History 2.3 Demography 3 Endemic Medicinal Plants 3.1 Bupleurum longicaule Wall. ex DC 3.2 Hedera nepalensis Koch 3.3 Achillea millefolium L. 3.4 Senecio chrysanthemoides DC 3.5 Saussurea lappa (Falc.) Lipsch 3.6 Tagetes minuta L. 3.7 Tussilago farfara L. 3.8 Impatiens edgeworthii Hook 3.9 Impatiens glandulifera Royle 3.10 Berberis lycium Royle 3.11 Sarcococca saligna (D. Don) Muell 3.12 Gentiana decumbens Wall 3.13 Gentiana kurroo Royle 3.14 Swertia petiolata D. Don 3.15 Geranium wallichianum D. Don ex Sweet 3.16 Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudsun 3.17 Nepeta laevigata (D. Don) Hand.-Mazz 3.18 Prunella vulgaris L. 3.19 Thymus serpyllum L. 3.20 Plantago lanceolata L. 3.21 Plantago major L. 3.22 Aconogoum alpinum Schur 3.23 Bistorta amplexicaulis (D. Don) Greene 3.24 Cotoneaster microphyllus Wall 3.25 Fragaria nubicola Lindl. ex Lacaita 3.26 Potentilla nepalensis Hook 3.27 Rubus fruiticosus Hook 3.28 Berginia ciliata Haw 3.29 Urtica dioica L. 3.30 Rosa macrophylla Lindley 3.31 Viola odorata L. 4 Threats and Conservation References Floral Composition, Sustainable Utilization, and Conservation of Important Medicinal Plants in the Ayubia National Park, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Phyto-Diversity Reported from the Park 3.2 Medicinal Flora 3.3 Medicinal Plants of Ayubia National Park 3.4 Floristic Composition of Ayubia National Park 3.5 Medicinal Plants of Ayubia National Park 3.6 Sustainable Utilization and Conservation of Natural Flora 4 Conclusion and Recommendations References Ethnomedicinal Uses of Plant Species from the Himalayas 1 Introduction 2 In Vitro and In Vivo Investigations on Himalayan Plants 3 Conclusion References Plant Resources and Their Uses in Salt Range, Pakistan 1 Introduction 2 Geography and Geology 3 Climatic Conditions 4 Soil and Topography 5 Rainwater Reserves 6 Plant Resources of Salt Range 7 Phytosociological Investigations 8 Human Plant Use History 9 Threats to Phytodiversity References Ethno-Medicinal Uses of Wildlife in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan 1 Introduction 2 Some Important Animal Species of the Area 2.1 Laudakia agrorensis 2.2 Ptyas mucosus 2.3 Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis 2.4 Passer domesticus 2.5 Columba livia 2.6 Muntiacus muntjak 2.7 Papilio bianor References Ethnobotanical Study of Traditional Medicinal Plants of Tharu Community in Swathi Village, Nawalparasi District Nepal 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 2.1 Study Area 2.2 Data Collection 2.3 Data Analysis 2.3.1 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) 2.3.2 Fidelity Level (FL) 3 Result 3.1 Diversity of Ethnobotanically Medicinal Plants 3.2 Medicinal Plants in Multiple Use Categories to Treat Ailments 3.3 Plant Parts Used and Mode of Preparation 3.4 Different Ailments Treated 3.5 Knowledge Variations Among Informants 3.6 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) 3.7 Fidelity Level (FL) 4 Discussion 4.1 Diversity of Ethnobotanically Medicinal Plants 4.2 Multiple Uses of Medicinal Plants 4.3 Plant Parts Used 4.4 Mode of Preparation 4.5 Different Ailments Treated in the Study Area 4.6 Knowledge Variations Among Informants 4.7 Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Fidelity Level (FL) 5 Conclusion 6 Appendix: List of Ailments Categories, Biomedical Terms, Family, Local Names, Parts Use, Life-Form, and Mode of Use and Processing References Ethnomedicinal Uses of Animals in Vicinity of Ayubia National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan 1 Introduction 1.1 Geography and Geology 1.2 Fauna and Flora 2 Ethnocultural Uses of Animals 3 Ethnomedicinal Uses of Animals References Ethnobotany of Karakorum, Pakistan 1 Introduction 1.1 Location 1.2 Geology 1.3 Physiography 1.4 Climate 2 Demography and Ethnography 3 Land Use Pattern and Subsistence 4 Hydrology and Crops 5 Flora and Vegetation 6 Plant Species Uses 7 Threats and Conservation of Diversity References Ethnobotany of Mountain Region of Himalaya, District Poonch, Azad Kashmir 1 Introduction 1.1 Location of the Study Area 1.2 Geology 1.3 Topography 1.4 Terrain 1.5 Climate 2 Plant Use History 3 Threats to Diversity References Diversity and Uses of Wild Animals in Bagh, AJ&K, Pakistan 1 Introduction 1.1 Study Area 1.2 Flora and Fauna 2 Cultural Uses of Animals 3 Ethnomedicinal Uses of Animals References Ethnobotanical Appraisal of Medicinal Plants from Bajaur; A Remote Area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan 1 Background 2 Study Area 2.1 Historical Perspectives 2.2 Physiography and Hydrology 2.3 Climate and Agriculture 2.4 Ethnography 2.5 Vegetation 2.6 Data Collection 3 Medicinal Plant Diversity and Uses References Folk Formulations of Asteraceae Species as Remedy for Different Ailments in Lesser Himalayas, Pakistan 1 Introduction 2 Study Area 2.1 Field Surveys and Data Collection 2.2 Statistical Analysis 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Demographic Features 3.2 Floristic Diversity 3.3 Treated Diseases 3.4 Medicinal Plant Parts Used 3.5 Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) 3.6 Principle Component Analysis (PCA) 3.7 Species Response Curve (SRC) 3.8 Species Disease Curve (SDC) 3.9 Two-Way Cluster Analysis (TWCA) 3.10 Neighbor Joining Clusters (NJC) 3.11 Phytochemistry and Biological Activities of Asteraceae 4 Conclusion, Novelty, and Future Impacts References Medicinal Flora and Cultural Values of Arkot-Biakand Valley Hindu Kush Region Swat, Pakistan 1 Introduction 2 Methods 2.1 Study Area 2.2 Plant Collection 2.3 Data Collection and Analysis 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Sociodemographic Information 3.2 Medicinal Use Categories 3.3 Ethnobotanically Important Flora References Healthcare Choices and Use of Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Study in Kanda Area of Bajhang District, Kailash Sacred Landscape, Nepal 1 Introduction 2 Methods 2.1 Study Area 2.2 Study Approaches 2.3 Field Surveys and Data Collection 2.4 Data Analysis 3 Results and Discussion 3.1 Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Informants 3.2 Plant Diversity and Ethnomedicinal Uses 3.3 Treatment Choices 3.4 Plants Used in Shamanic Rituals 3.5 Plants Used in Religious Ceremonies 3.6 Plants Used to Treat Domesticated Animals 3.7 Plants Used to Treat Human Beings with Various Ailment Categories 3.8 Factor of Informant Consensus 3.9 Frequency of Citation 3.10 Tradable Medicinal Plants 3.11 Conservation Status 4 Conclusions Appendix 1: Popularity and Use Value of Traditionally Used Medicinal Plants Appendix 2: Diseases Categories, Medicinal Plants and Procedure References Exploration, Conservation, and Utilization of Ethnobotanical Knowledge: Sri Lankan Perspective 1 Introduction 2 What We Have Done?: The Historical Perspective 3 Ethnobotanical Knowledge Associated with Botanical Studies 4 Ethnopharmacological History of Sri Lanka 5 What We Know Today? The Current Knowledge 5.1 Edible Plants 5.2 Medicinal Plants 5.3 Other Uses 6 From Here Where We Have to Go? The Future Perspective 6.1 Collection of Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Farming Community 6.2 Collection of Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Community Around the Natural Vegetation 6.3 Documentation and Conservation of Ethnobotanical Knowledge 6.4 Use of Ethnobotanical Knowledge for Biodiversity Conservation 6.5 Use of Ethnobotanical Knowledge for Future Botanical Expeditions and Researches 7 Annex: The List of Angiosperm Species with Various Local Uses Other than Food, Medicine, Ornamentals, Timber, and Fibers References Index