Multifunctional Plants: Ecosystem Services and Undervalued Knowledge of Biocultural Diversity in Rural Communities—Local Initiatives for Agroecological Transition in Chile

Santiago Peredo Parada () and Claudia Barrera Salas
Additional contact information
Santiago Peredo Parada: Group of Agroecology and Environment (GAMA), University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago 7501015, Chile
Claudia Barrera Salas: Group of Agroecology and Environment (GAMA), University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago 7501015, Chile

Land, 2023, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: With the aim of contributing to the understanding of plants’ multifunctionality for sustainable agroecosystem management, the first part of this paper addresses the importance of functional biodiversity in the design of agroecological systems, including the local context in the generation of situated knowledge. The second part describes three participatory research experiences with local farmers across three locations in Chile. The first experience reports on the use of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides (endemic tree) as fodder. A second experience focuses on the establishment of Rosa spp. (invasive species) as an agroforestry system integrated into the landscape. Both experiences were collaborative efforts with farmer communities of the Andean Mountains in southern Chile. The final experience describes the use of different spontaneous aromatic and medicinal plants through biological corridors to encourage beneficial insects as natural controllers. All three research experiences reveal a lack of knowledge, decontextualization, and undervaluation of the biocultural diversity present in some traditional Chilean agroecosystems.

Keywords: participatory research; local ecological knowledge; endogenous potential; socioecological transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/39/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/39/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:39-:d:1309722

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().