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Does the local availability of woody Caatinga plants (Northeastern Brazil) explain their use value?

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Abstract

This study investigated the use of woody plants by a rural community in an area of dry land Caatinga vegetation in northeastern Brazil. Information was obtained concerning this woody species with a diameter that is equal to or greater than 3 centimeters (cm) at soil level surveyed in 100 sample plots totaling 1 hectare (ha). The following question is the hypothesis we tested. Is a plant’s relative importance (as measured by its use value) related to its “apparency,” as measured by its abundance and ecological dominance? “Apparency” explains the use value of plants in four categories: medicinal, construction, fuel, and technology. The most important uses of woody plants are related to harvesting for energy and construction purposes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departmento de Biologia, Área de Botânica. Laboratório de Etnobotânica Aplicada, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n. Dois Irmãos, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Reinaldo Farias Paiva de Lucena & Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Área de Botânica. Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal dos Ecossistemas Nordestinos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros s/n. Dois Irmãos, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Elcida de Lima Araújo

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  1. Reinaldo Farias Paiva de Lucena
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  2. Elcida de Lima Araújo
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  3. Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque
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Correspondence to Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque.

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de Lucena, R.F.P., Araújo, E.d.L. & de Albuquerque, U.P. Does the local availability of woody Caatinga plants (Northeastern Brazil) explain their use value?. Econ Bot 61, 347–361 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2007)61[347:DTLAOW]2.0.CO;2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2007)61[347:DTLAOW]2.0.CO;2

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