Traditional ecological knowledge of vegetation in the community of Limpo Grande, Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil

This study was conducted in the community of Limpo Grande, located 23 km from the city of Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil. In order to investigate the way informants organize traditional ecological knowledge of vegetation according to its use, our research had the following objectives: i) to identify the species of each cultural domain indicated by the informants; ii) check for cultural consensus within each cultural domain; iii) to analyze the similarity of the species of the cultural domains. We used structured interviews to obtain socioeconomic data and data from the free list. The free list was analyzed by means of the Smith index, cultural consensus and multidimensional scaling. Informants defined three cultural domains based on the use of vegetation, whether the plants are those used for cultivation, are medicinal plants used to treat diseases, or are considered native vegetation with several different uses. The domain of cultural plants is represented by 107 species, weeds by 96 species and medicinal plants by 99 species. For the three domains, the existence of cultural consensus can be verified. There was little similarity between species from different domains. The criteria used by traditional communities for vegetation management and use may contribute to the development of public policies for the conservation of ecological and cultural biodiversity.

Cultural consensus; Cultural domain; Ethnobotany