In Kyrgyzstan, most farming systems are based on animal husbandry, which depends on mixtures of crops and pastures around settlements and higher-elevation summer pastures. These farms face the problems of insufficient fodder production and pasture degradation due to overgrazing, resulting in low livestock productivity and reduced household incomes. This study used multivariate analysis to develop a consistent typology of smallholder farms in the Tien Shan mountainous range.

The paper, published in the journal Land, results from a long-term cooperation between the University of Central Asia, Rhine-Waal University and CZU Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (research teams TRIBE and TRACE).

Analyzing data from 235 farm-households and evaluating key classification variables, we identified two distinct farming systems, upper and lower mountain farms, based on socioeconomic and agro-ecological characteristics. Understanding the diversity and types of local farming systems is crucial for setting efficient and suitable policies to enhance livelihood and sustainable use of natural resources.

Our colleague and friend Jana Horáčková, a member of TRIBE lab since 2019, has recently defended her PhD thesis entitled Ethnobotanical inventory of Peruvian plants used in folk medicine in the Province of Purus, Peru. The thesis results were published in the form of a scientific paper in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (IF=3.404, Q2 in JCR).

Congratulations on behalf of the whole team!

We invite you to the dissertation thesis defence of Mgr. A. Jana Horáčková on “Ethnobotanical inventory of Peruvian plants used in folk medicine in the Province of Purus, Peru” (Department of Crop Sciences and Agroforestry, Tropical Agrobiology and Bioresource Management). Thesis defence will take place on 13th February 2024, 2:00 PM, Meeting Room 313 FTA.

This dissertation is based on primary data on traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in the Purus province of southern Peru, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, where ethnobotanical knowledge has been largely under-documented to date. This study provides novel insights into the traditional botanical knowledge of the Cashinahua people. The research involved working with 10 traditional healers and 10 midwives between November 2010 and June 2015, during which a total of 11 months were spent in the field.  A total of 467 medicinal species were documented, with a particular focus on highlighting 79 taxa that have received little or no attention in pharmacological research. Among them, the therapeutic activities most frequently reported were related to pregnancy and birth disorders, followed by poisonings, infections, and infestations. The predominant application form was external. These findings could be crucial for future pharmaceutical studies and diversity conservation programs in the region.