Networks and observatories of agrobiodiversity, how and for whom? A survey in the Cruzeiro do Sul area, Acre

Abstract

The diversity of cultivated plants that are selected and preserved by traditional farmers attracts local and national interest, and constitutes an important biological and cultural heritage. In the case of the Amazon, besides the existence of a great set of data on agrobiodiversity, the wide range of methods hampers a synthetic view of its dynamics. To understand this, it is essential to have a monitoring system in the long term in specific sites, or to build observatories and indicators to be shared among local populations, researchers and public policy makers. As an example, we propose an exploratory approach to the agrobiodiversity managed by 52 farmers in two communities of the Cruzeiro do Sul region (Acre), from a qualitative (based on the local names of plants) and quantitative approach (based on the measure of richness). The amplitude of the richness is of 338 cultivated plants, mainly landraces, with a high frequency of species or varieties present in only one or two farmers plots. The structure of this diversity is characterized by the presence of a nested pattern, with a core of plants with greater cohesion.

Keywords
Amazonia; Survey; Agrobiodiversity; Local knowledge; Methods; Conservation