Conservation priorities for woody medicinal plants in an indigenous community in a savanna area of the northern Brazilian Amazon

Authors

  • Rodrigo Leonardo Costa de Oliveira Roraima State University/UERR , Universidad Estatal de Roraima/UERR , Universidade Estadual de Roraima/UERR https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4429-5296 (unauthenticated)
  • Luis Felipe Paes de Almeida Federal University of Roraima / Insikiran Institute , Universidad Federal de Roraima / Instituto Insikiran , Universidade Federal de Roraima/ Instituto Insikiran
  • Veridiana Vizoni Scudeller Federal University of Amazonas/UFAM , Universidad Federal de Amazonas/UFAM , Universidade Federal do Amazonas/UFAM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7649-5818
  • Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa National Institute for Research in the Amazon, Research Center of Roraima , Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones en la Amazonia, Centro de Investigaciones de Roraima , Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Núcleo de Pesquisas de Roraima https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7482-346X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24979/ambiente.v14i3.953

Keywords:

Conservation priority index, Makuxi ethnicity, Ethnobotany, Local knowledge

Abstract

The pressure for native wood use is a point of great interest for ethnobotanical studies, since these species are indispensable for local communities’ survival in different environmental conditions of the world. In this context, this study aimed to indicate the conservation priorities for useful woody medicinal plants in Darora indigenous community, part of the Makuxi people, which live in the savanna of Roraima State, Northern Brazilian Amazon. Ethnobotanical indexes associated with species ecological data were used, and semi structured interviews conducted among 60 inhabitants (36 men and 24 women) ranging from 18 to 84 years of age. The results indicated that from 33 woody medicinal plants, 24 were also associated with timber use. The conservation priority index indicated that Palicourea rigida, Anadenanthera peregrina, Copaifera pubiflora and Leptolobium nitens are highly prioritized species for local conservation. Our results indicated the need for actions on conservation, beyond ex-situ conservation techniques, such as germplasm bank and cultivation. These actions are necessary to protect the most threatened woody medicinal species which are also used as different timber artifacts by the indigenous population living in the Darora Community.

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Author Biographies

  • Rodrigo Leonardo Costa de Oliveira, Roraima State University/UERR, Universidad Estatal de Roraima/UERR, Universidade Estadual de Roraima/UERR

    Professor of the Biological Sciences Course and the Graduate Program in Science Teaching at the State University of Roraima. He holds a Masters in Botany (UFRPE) and a Ph.D. in Botany (INPA). I work mainly with phytosociology, floristics, non-formal spaces, didactic resources and string Literature for the construction of a Scientific Culture

  • Luis Felipe Paes de Almeida, Federal University of Roraima / Insikiran Institute, Universidad Federal de Roraima / Instituto Insikiran, Universidade Federal de Roraima/ Instituto Insikiran

    Graduated in 2007 in the Agronomic Engineering Course at the "Luiz de Queiroz" Higher School of Agriculture (USP). He holds a master's degree in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Brasília (UnB) with an area of expertise in vegetable production and fruit propagation (2009). In 2012, he began working as a professor at the Insikiran Institute for Higher Indigenous Education, at the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR). Doctor in Botany from the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA) in 2014 with an area of expertise in economic botany, plant growth and plant ecophysiology. Currently, he is dedicated to the study of topics related to Agroecology, Ethnobotany and Food Security.

  • Veridiana Vizoni Scudeller, Federal University of Amazonas/UFAM, Universidad Federal de Amazonas/UFAM, Universidade Federal do Amazonas/UFAM

    Concluded the course in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Estadual Paulista UNESP Rio Claro, the master's degree in Botany at the Federal University of Viçosa and the doctorate in Plant Biology at the state university of Campinas UNICAMP in 2002. Since 2009 she has been a professor at the Federal University of Amazonas - UFAM, currently being Associate III. She works in the disciplines of Morphology and Taxonomy of Spermatophytes and Floristic Inventory in undergraduate courses in Biology, Forestry Engineering and Agronomy. She has worked in the Tupé Sustainable Development Reserve, in floristic inventories, use of forest and non-forest resources and knowledge and appreciation of traditional knowledge; improving the learning and dissemination of everyday botany; in the knowledge and signaling of the flora of the UFAM campus and of Amazonian species and, more recently, he has focused his research on the distribution of tree species from the igapó and campinarana. She is also accredited in the postgraduate programs in Forestry and Environmental Sciences (PPGCIFA) and Environmental Sciences and Sustainability of the Amazon (PPG CASA) both UFAM.

  • Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa , National Institute for Research in the Amazon, Research Center of Roraima, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones en la Amazonia, Centro de Investigaciones de Roraima, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Núcleo de Pesquisas de Roraima

    Forest Engineer from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) and PhD in Tropical Biology (Ecology) from the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA). He has a special interest in studies related to climate change, land use and occupation, ecosystem dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities in the Amazon. He is a Researcher at INPA, Professor at the Postgraduate Program in Natural Resources at UFRR (Doctorate / Master's degree) and Collaborating Professor at the Postgraduate courses in Ecology and Forest Sciences at INPA (Doctorate / Master's). CNPq Productivity Scholarship between 2009-2019. His publications and metrics can be found at https://publons.com/researcher/1520061/reinaldo-imbrozio-barbosa/, http://agroeco.inpa.gov.br/reinaldo and http://orcid.org/0000 -0002-7482-346X.

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Published

2022-03-12

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 3 (2021): Ambiente: Gestão e Desenvolvimento

Section

Biological and Health Sciences

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Copyright (c) 2021 Rodrigo Leonardo Costa de Oliveira, Luís Felipe Paes de Almeida, Veridiana Vizoni Scudeller, Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa.

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How to Cite

Conservation priorities for woody medicinal plants in an indigenous community in a savanna area of the northern Brazilian Amazon. Ambiente: Gestão e Desenvolvimento, [S. l.], v. 14, n. 3, p. 38–44, 2022. DOI: 10.24979/ambiente.v14i3.953. Disponível em: https://periodicos.uerr.edu.br/index.php/ambiente/article/view/953. Acesso em: 5 mar. 2026.

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