Diachronic changes in local food heritage: the ethnobiology of wild foods in central Tuscany.

IF 3.7 2区 医学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Mousaab Alrhmoun, Valter Guiggi, Syed Waseem Gillani, Muhammad Manzoor, Naji Sulaiman, Andrea Pieroni
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Ethnobiological and gastronomic knowledge of wild foods has long-shaped rural traditions in Italy. In Valdera, Central Tuscany, foraging has been especially important among older generations. This study explores shifts in wild food knowledge and practices over two decades, comparing data collected in 2024 with findings from a 2004 study.

Methods: The study was conducted in Valdera, Central Tuscany, through structured interviews with local residents. Using the same methodological framework as a 2004 survey, participants were asked about wild food plants, mushrooms, and wild animals they recognized, used, and how they incorporated them into traditional dishes. This approach enabled a diachronic comparison of taxa diversity, plant families, and culinary applications. Special attention was given to how social and ecological dynamics, such as aging populations, urbanization, and changing educational backgrounds, influenced the retention or erosion of local traditional knowledge over the past two decades.

Results: A total of 86 folk taxa of wild plants were documented. The findings reveal a decline in the number of recorded taxa, from 59 folk taxa and 28 botanical families in 2004 to 57 folk taxa and 26 families in 2024. Despite the samples including a similar number of informants, the decrease in used folk taxa is significant, with several species absent in 2024, including notable wild greens taxa such as Capsella, Coleostephus, Clematis, Daucus, Epilobium, Helosciadium, Lactuca, Muscari, Rubus, Scabiosa, Potentilla, and Viola spp., as well as a few wild seasoning plants such as Allium roseum, Ammi, Juniperus, and Thymus spp. and wild snack species (Gladiolus, Sulla, Oxalis, Lamium spp.). Shifts in plant family diversity and culinary applications were observed, with a decline in the use of wild leafy plants, wild seasoning plants, and wild plant snacks, possibly associated with a reduced role of women in foraging wild greens and less exposure to nature, i.e., fewer activities done into natural environments such as shepherding and/or collection of wild snacks by children and teenagers. A similar trend was observed in mushroom and animal foraging and hunting, where the interviewees could recall details about 24 taxa of food mushrooms and 62 taxa of wild animals, as well as their culinary transformations, which were often related to the past and their younger lives. The analysis revealed that the age group affects knowledge about local wild plants, mushrooms, and animals. While higher education was linked to better systematization of botanical knowledge, individuals with an agricultural background showed significantly greater practical familiarity with plant uses.

Conclusions: These findings emphasize how traditional plant knowledge is increasingly threatened by social and ecological changes, underscoring the importance of developing conservation strategies that combine both cultural heritage and environmental sustainability.

当地食物遗产的历时变化:托斯卡纳中部野生食物的民族生物学。
背景:野生食物的民族生物学和美食知识在意大利农村有着悠久的传统。在托斯卡纳中部的瓦尔德拉,觅食对老一辈人来说尤为重要。这项研究探讨了二十年来野生食物知识和实践的变化,将2024年收集的数据与2004年的研究结果进行了比较。方法:研究在托斯卡纳中部的瓦尔德拉进行,通过对当地居民进行结构化访谈。使用与2004年调查相同的方法框架,参与者被问及他们认识、使用的野生食用植物、蘑菇和野生动物,以及他们如何将它们融入传统菜肴中。这种方法使分类群多样性、植物科和烹饪应用的历时性比较成为可能。特别关注了在过去二十年中,诸如人口老龄化、城市化和教育背景变化等社会和生态动态如何影响当地传统知识的保留或侵蚀。结果:共记录到86个野生植物民间分类群。结果表明,记录的分类群数量从2004年的59个民间分类群和28个植物科减少到2024年的57个民间分类群和26个科。尽管供体数量相近,但利用的民间分类群数量明显减少,2024年有几个物种消失,包括著名的野生绿色分类群如Capsella、Coleostephus、Clematis、Daucus、Epilobium、Helosciadium、Lactuca、Muscari、Rubus、Scabiosa、Potentilla和Viola等,以及少量野生调料植物如Allium roseum、Ammi、Juniperus和Thymus等和野生休闲植物(Gladiolus、Sulla、Oxalis、Lamium spp)。观察到植物家族多样性和烹饪应用的变化,野生叶植物、野生调味植物和野生植物零食的使用减少,可能与妇女在觅食野生蔬菜中的作用减少和与自然的接触减少有关,即儿童和青少年在自然环境中从事的活动减少,如放牧和/或收集野生零食。在蘑菇和动物的觅食和狩猎中也观察到类似的趋势,受访者可以回忆起24个食用蘑菇分类群和62个野生动物分类群的细节,以及它们的烹饪转变,这通常与过去和他们的年轻生活有关。分析显示,这个年龄组影响着人们对当地野生植物、蘑菇和动物的认识。虽然高等教育与更好的植物学知识系统化有关,但具有农业背景的个人对植物用途的实际熟悉程度明显更高。结论:这些发现强调了传统植物知识正日益受到社会和生态变化的威胁,强调了制定文化遗产和环境可持续性相结合的保护策略的重要性。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
7.30
自引率
16.70%
发文量
66
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine publishes original research focusing on cultural perceptions of nature and of human and animal health. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine invites research articles, reviews and commentaries concerning the investigations of the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Specifically, the journal covers the following topics: ethnobotany, ethnomycology, ethnozoology, ethnoecology (including ethnopedology), ethnogastronomy, ethnomedicine, ethnoveterinary, as well as all related areas in environmental, nutritional, and medical anthropology. Research focusing on the implications that the inclusion of humanistic, cultural, and social dimensions have in understanding the biological word is also welcome, as well as its potential projections in public health-centred, nutritional, and environmental policies.
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