Department of
Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics

Biocultural Diversity

The laboratory carries out research in the field of biocultural diversity with a focus on local ecological knowledge and a special emphasis on ethnobotanical and ethnobiological aspects. The group is approaching the conclusion of the ERC project 'Divided Generations' (ERC-StG-2016 DiGe) which focuses on the use of medicinal and food plants among different ethnic groups in Eastern Europe. In this context, the study has focused on the evolution of ethnobotanical knowledge and practices following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, examining the impact of sources, medicine, education, and laws governing their use.
The focal points of the laboratory's permanent activities are the evolution of knowledge and practices related to the relationships between humans and the environment, both today and in past centuries, through the use of various qualitative and quantitative methods employed in various disciplines. The main fields of research application are education, the development of local products, participatory conservation strategies, and policy suggestions.

Research group

Collaborators

  • Jimlea Nadezhda Mendoza
  • Yuliya Prakofyeva
  • Matteo Sartori

Collaborations

Publications

  • Mattalia, G., Stryamets, N., Pieroni, A., Sõukand R. (2022). “Mushrooms (and a cow) are A Means of Survival for Us”: Dissimilar Ethnomycological Perspectives among Hutsuls and Romanians Living Across The Ukrainian-Romanian Border. Environmental Management. In press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01619-6
  • Sõukand, R., Kalle, R., Pieroni, A. (2022). Homogenisation of Biocultural Diversity: Plant Ethnomedicine and Its Diachronic Change in Setomaa and Võromaa, Estonia, in the Last Century. Biology, 11, 192. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020192
  • Mattalia, G., Stryamets, N., Pieroni, A., Sõukand, R. (2020). Knowledge transmission patterns at the border: ethnobotany of Hutsuls living in the Carpathian Mountains of Bukovina (SW Ukraine and NE Romania). J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine, 16(41). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-00391-3
  • Sõukand, R., Mattalia, G., Kolosova, V., Stryamets, N., Prakofjewa, J., Belichenko, O., Kuznetsova, N., Minuzzi, S., Keedus, L., Prūse, B., Simanova, A., and Kalle, R. (2020). Inventing a herbal tradition: The complex roots of the current popularity of Epilobium angustifolium in Eastern Europe. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 247, 112254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2019.112254
  • Prakofjewa, J., Kalle, R., Belichenko, O., Kolosova, V., & Soukand, R. (2020). Re-written narrative: transformation of the image of Ivan-chaj in Eastern Europe. Heliyon, 6(8), e04632. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04632

Case studies

Areas of interest: Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, Middle East

  • Local ecological knowledge
  • Impact of policies on local ecological knowledge
  • Global change and local ecological knowledge

Research projects

DiGe - Ethnobotany of divided generations in the context of centralization

Funded by an ERC Starting Grant, the DiGe project aims to create an advanced understanding of the processes of change in the popular use of plants as food and medicine. Four case studies were conducted in the context of ethnic minorities that for shorter or longer periods were subject to various influences that changed their use of plant species. We have detected a strong influence of centralisation and totalitarism on the changes that have occurred in ethnobotanical knowledge. As the next step, the project aims to create a platform for the development of educational tools for the sustainable preservation and use of local plant resources for the health and well-being of people.

Website: http://www.unive.it/dige

Last update: 23/04/2024