Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes

This article describes the diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in three municipalities of the department of Boyacá in the Colombian Andes, and tests the relations between spe-cies richness, use, and a set of socio-economic and structural variables. We conducted ethno...

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Main Authors: Néstor García, Juanita Peñaranda, Natalia Sarmiento
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2020-11-01
Series:Caldasia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/cal/article/view/84230/77275
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author Néstor García
Juanita Peñaranda
Natalia Sarmiento
author_facet Néstor García
Juanita Peñaranda
Natalia Sarmiento
author_sort Néstor García
collection DOAJ
description This article describes the diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in three municipalities of the department of Boyacá in the Colombian Andes, and tests the relations between spe-cies richness, use, and a set of socio-economic and structural variables. We conducted ethnobotanical walks and semi-structured interviews on 24 farms to characterize all tree and shrub species. In total, we recorded 142 species with a predominance of natives (88) versus exotics (54). Species richness ranged between four and 40 (X = 25.17; SD = 10.13) per farm and was homogeneous among the municipalities (P > 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test). We recorded 52 wild species, eight of them endemic, all representative of the surrounding native flora, of which 23 % had some type of use. Cultivated species were mostly represented by exotics that had been planted primarily as live fences, ornamentals, or edibles. Species richness was positively correlated with the size of the farms (rs = 0.664, P<< 0.001) and negatively with their proximity to areas with natural vegetation (rs = -0.515, P = 0.010). Smallholder agriculture favors the establishment of trees and shrubs; we, therefore, stress the important role of these productive systems for the conservation of biodiversity in the Colombian Andes.
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spelling doaj.art-cbac14a544394e13b7ed821f1d0478d92024-04-18T22:33:46ZengUniversidad Nacional de ColombiaCaldasia0366-52322357-37592020-11-014314964https://dx.doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v43n1.84230Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian AndesNéstor García0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9384-0495Juanita Peñaranda1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1703-4920Natalia Sarmiento2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2065-1797Pontificia Universidad JaverianaPontificia Universidad JaverianaPontificia Universidad JaverianaThis article describes the diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in three municipalities of the department of Boyacá in the Colombian Andes, and tests the relations between spe-cies richness, use, and a set of socio-economic and structural variables. We conducted ethnobotanical walks and semi-structured interviews on 24 farms to characterize all tree and shrub species. In total, we recorded 142 species with a predominance of natives (88) versus exotics (54). Species richness ranged between four and 40 (X = 25.17; SD = 10.13) per farm and was homogeneous among the municipalities (P > 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test). We recorded 52 wild species, eight of them endemic, all representative of the surrounding native flora, of which 23 % had some type of use. Cultivated species were mostly represented by exotics that had been planted primarily as live fences, ornamentals, or edibles. Species richness was positively correlated with the size of the farms (rs = 0.664, P<< 0.001) and negatively with their proximity to areas with natural vegetation (rs = -0.515, P = 0.010). Smallholder agriculture favors the establishment of trees and shrubs; we, therefore, stress the important role of these productive systems for the conservation of biodiversity in the Colombian Andes.https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/cal/article/view/84230/77275agroforestryethnobotanyfamily farminghome gardensliving fences
spellingShingle Néstor García
Juanita Peñaranda
Natalia Sarmiento
Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes
Caldasia
agroforestry
ethnobotany
family farming
home gardens
living fences
title Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes
title_full Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes
title_fullStr Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes
title_full_unstemmed Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes
title_short Diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the Colombian Andes
title_sort diversity and use of trees and shrubs in smallholder farming systems in the colombian andes
topic agroforestry
ethnobotany
family farming
home gardens
living fences
url https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/cal/article/view/84230/77275
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AT juanitapenaranda diversityanduseoftreesandshrubsinsmallholderfarmingsystemsinthecolombianandes
AT nataliasarmiento diversityanduseoftreesandshrubsinsmallholderfarmingsystemsinthecolombianandes