Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Towards a traditional ecological knowledge-based monitoring scheme: a proposal for the case of edible mushrooms

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Monitoring wild edible fungi over long periods is essential to understand how environmental or cultural factors influence fruiting patterns. Since conventional sampling methods are time and resource intensive, alternatives providing reliable ecological information could be useful for assessments of fungal management. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can be used as a sampling alternative in a cost-effective manner. Thus, in this paper we aim to: (1) illustrate how GPS-recorded information on mushroom gatherers’ pathways can be used to describe fungal diversity and distribution patterns, and (2) outline a TEK-monitoring proposal that can provide communities and researchers with high-quality ecological data on edible mushrooms. Using information from 32 trips (55 GPS-tracked pathways) we were able to describe the frequency, abundance, diversity and spatial distribution of edible fungi at different sites. We recorded the collection of 6,905 sporocarps, representing 20 species and 6 genera, which were collected or identified at 2,683 locations. In addition to collections, we suggest consistent recording of fungal encounters defined as memory, exploration, traces, and failed collection, as these also provide ecological information. The most gathered species, Turbinellus floccosus and Clitocybe gibba, were also among the mushrooms most frequently listed by local people. Finally, we propose combining our GPS-tracking method with a thorough TEK investigation and participatory research in order to develop adaptive co-management strategies that allow local people to manage and conserve their forests through the integration of traditional and scientific knowledge.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. People’s knowledge of abundance and distribution of species usually gained from individual’s observations. In this paper we will use TEK and LEK as synonyms, even when the latter is not handed down through the generations.

  2. Sorting H’ values in descending order, and U values in ascending order. Note that higher U values are associated with lower richness (McIntosh 1967: p. 396).

References

  • Anadon JD, Gimenez A, Ballestar R, Perez I (2009) Evaluation of local ecological knowledge as a method for collecting extensive data on animal abundance. Conserv Biol 23:617–625. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01145.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnolds E (1991) Decline of ectomycorrhizal fungi in Europe. Agric Ecosyst Environ 35:209–224. doi:10.1016/0167-8809(91)90052-Y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley A, Turner R (2005) Spatstat: an R package for analyzing spatial point patterns. J Stat Softw 12:1–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Balice RG, Jarmie N, Rogers FJ (1997) Distribution and diversity of fungal species in and adjacent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. DOE Technical Report LA–13385-MS. http://www.osti.gov/scitech/biblio/564129. Accessed August 2014

  • Baxter JW, Dighton J (2005) Diversity-functioning relationships in ectomycorrhizal fungal communities. In: Dighton J, White JF Jr, Oudemans P (eds) The Fungal Community: Its Organization and Role in the Ecosystem. Mycology Series, 3rd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 383–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C (2000) Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecol Appl 10:1251–1262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bivand RS, Pebesma E, Gomez-Rubio V (2013) Applied spatial data analysis with R, 2nd edn. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bivand R, Keitt T, Rowlingson B (2014) rgdal: Bindings for the geospatial data abstraction library. R package version 0.8-16. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=rgdal Accessed August 2014

  • Boa E (2004) Wild edible fungi a global overview of their use and importance to people. FAO Document Repository. http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5489e/y5489e00.htm. Accessed August 2014

  • Brook RK, McLachlan SM (2008) Trends and prospects for local knowledge in ecological and conservation research and monitoring. Biodivers Conserv 17:3501–3512. doi:10.1007/s10531-008-9445-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon PF (1997) Strategies for rapid assessment of fungal diversity. Biodivers Conserv 6:669–680. doi:10.1023/a:1018362002273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheveau M, Imbeau L, Drapeau P, Belanger L (2008) Current status and future directions of traditional ecological knowledge in forest management: a review. For Chron 84:231–243. doi:10.5558/tfc84231-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark PJ, Evans FC (1954) Distance to nearest neighbor as a measure of spatial relationships in populations. Ecology 35:445–453. doi:10.2307/1931034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressie N, Wikle CK (2011) Statistics for Spatio-Temporal Data. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Crona B, Bodin Ö (2006) What you know is who you know? Communication patterns among resource users as a prerequisite for co-management. Ecol Soc 11(2):7

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis A, Wagner J (2003) Who knows? On the importance of identifying “experts” when researching local ecological knowledge. Hum Ecol 31:463–489. doi:10.1023/A:1025075923297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Ávila A (2008) La diversidad lingüística y el conocimiento etnobiológico. In: Soberón J, Halffter G, Llorente-Bosques J (eds) Capital natural de México, vol I., Conocimiento actual de la biodiversidadComisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, México, pp 497–556

    Google Scholar 

  • de Gruijter J, Brus DJ, Bierkens MFP, Knotters M (2006) Sampling for Natural Resource Monitoring. Springer, Netherlands

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Diemont SAW, Martin JF (2009) Lacandon Maya ecosystem management: sustainable design for subsistence and environmental restoration. Ecol Appl 19:254–266. doi:10.1890/08-0176.1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Egli S (2011) Mycorrhizal mushroom diversity and productivity—an indicator of forest health? Ann For Sci 68:81–88. doi:10.1007/s13595-010-0009-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etkin NL, Ticktin T, McMillen HL (2011) Ethnoecological approaches to integrating theory and method in ethnomedical research. In: Anderson EN, Pearsall DM, Hunn ES, Turner NJ (eds) Ethnobiology. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 231–247. doi:10.1002/9781118015872.ch14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Hahn T, Olsson P, Norberg J (2005) Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annu Rev Environ Resour 30:441–473. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser DJ, Coon T, Prince MR, Dion R, Bernatchez L (2006) Integrating traditional and evolutionary knowledge in biodiversity conservation: a population level case study. Ecol Soc 11(2):4

    Google Scholar 

  • Garibay-Orijel R, Córdova J, Cifuentes J, Valenzuela R, Estrada-Torres A, Kong A (2009) Integrating wild mushrooms use into a model of sustainable management for indigenous community forests. For Ecol Manag 258:122–131. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.03.051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs HK, Ruesch AS, Achard F, Clayton MK, Holmgren P, Ramankutty N, Foley JA (2010) Tropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s. Proc Natl Acad Sci 107:16732–16737. doi:10.1073/pnas.0910275107

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmore MP, Eshbaugh WH (2011) From researcher to partner: ethical challenges and issues facing the ethnobiological researcher. In: Anderson EN, Pearsall DM, Hunn ES, Turner N (eds) Ethnobiology. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 51–63. doi:10.1002/9781118015872.ch4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon JE, Newton AC (2006) The potential misapplication of rapid plant diversity assessment in tropical conservation. J Nat Conserv 14:117–126. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2006.01.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawksworth DL (2003) Monitoring and safeguarding fungal resources worldwide: the need for an international collaborative MycoAction Plan. Fung Divers 13:29–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawksworth DL, Mueller GM (2005) Fungal communities: their diversity and distribution. In: Dighton J, White JF Jr, Oudemans P (eds) The Fungal Community: Its Organization and Role in the Ecosystem. Mycology Series, 3rd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 27–38

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • He J, Zhou Z, Weyerhaeuser H, Xu J (2009) Participatory technology development for incorporating non-timber forest products into forest restoration in Yunnan, Southwest China. For Ecol Manag 257:2010–2016. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.01.041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He J, Zhou Z, Yang H, Xu J (2011) Integrative management of commercialized wild mushroom: a case study of Thelephora ganbajun in Yunnan, Southwest China. Environ Manag 48:98–108. doi:10.1007/s00267-011-9691-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hellier A, Newton AC, Ochoa Gaona S (1999) Use of indigenous knowledge for rapidly assessing trends in biodiversity: a case study from Chiapas, Mexico. Biodivers Conserv 8:869–889. doi:10.1023/A:1008862005556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jajuga K, Walesiak M (2000) Standardisation of data set under different measurement scales. In: Decker R, Gaul W (eds) Classification and Information Processing at the Turn of the Millennium. Studies in Classification, Data Analysis, and Knowledge Organization. Springer, Berlin, pp 105–112. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-57280-7_11

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman L, Rousseeuw PJ (2008) Agglomerative nesting (program AGNES). Finding Groups in Data. Wiley, An introduction to cluster analysis. New York, pp 199–252. doi:10.1002/9780470316801.ch5

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladio AH, Lozada M (2009) Human ecology, ethnobotany and traditional practices in rural populations inhabiting the Monte region: resilience and ecological knowledge. J Arid Environ 73:222–227. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.02.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaRiviere CM, Crawford SS (2013) Indigenous principles of wild harvest and management: an Ojibway community as a case study. Hum Ecol 41:947–960. doi:10.1007/s10745-013-9568-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lodge DJ, Ammirati JF, O’Dell TE et al (2004) Terrestrial and lignicolous macrofungi. In: Mueller GM, Bills GF, Foster (eds) Biodiversity of Fungi. Academic Press, Burlington, pp 127–172. doi:10.1016/B978-012509551-8/50011-8

    Google Scholar 

  • Magurran A (1988) Choosing and interpreting diversity measures. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 61–80. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-7358-0_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Manoharachary C, Sridhar K, Singh R, Adholeya A, Suryanarayanan TS, Rawat S, Johri BN (2005) Fungal biodiversity: distribution, conservation and prospecting of fungi from India. Curr Sci 89:58–71

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh RP (1967) An index of diversity and the relation of certain concepts to diversity. Ecology 48:392–404. doi:10.2307/1932674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montoya A, Estrada-Torres A, Caballero J (2002) Comparative ethnomycological survey of three localities from La Malinche volcano, México. J Ethnobiol 22:103–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Montoya A, Hernández-Totomoch O, Estrada-Torres A, Kong A, Caballero J (2003) Traditional knowledge about mushrooms in a Nahua community in the state of Tlaxcala, México. Mycologia 95:793–806

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montoya A, Kong A, Estrada-Torres A, Cifuentes J, Caballero J (2004) Useful wild fungi of La Malinche National Park, Mexico. Fungal Divers 17:115–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Montoya A, Kong A, Garibay-Orijel R, Méndez-Espinoza C, Tulloss RE, Estrada-Torres A (2014) Availability of wild edible fungi in La Malinche National Park, México. J Mycol. doi:10.1155/2014/241806

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller G, Halling R, Carranza J, Mata M, Schmit J (2006) Saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal macrofungi of Costa Rican oak forests. In: Kappelle M (ed) Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Montane Oak Forests. Springer, Berlin, pp 55–68. doi:10.1007/3-540-28909-7_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nettle D, Gibson MA, Lawson DW, Sear R (2013) Human behavioral ecology: current research and future prospects. Behav Ecol 24:1031–1040. doi:10.1093/beheco/ars222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Dell TE, Smith JE, Castellano M, Luoma D (1996) Diversity and conservation of forest fungi. In: Pilz D, Molina R (eds) Managing forest ecosystems to conserve fungus diversity and sustain wild mushroom harvests. Gen Tech Rep PNW-GTR-371, Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, OR, US

  • Olson DM, Dinerstein E, Wikramanayake ED et al (2001) Terrestrial ecoregions of the world: a new map of life on earth. Bioscience 51:933–938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacheco-Cobos L (2010) Análisis de las trayectorias de búsqueda de recursos forestales: el caso de la recolección de hongos en San Isidro Buensuceso, Tlaxcala. Dissertation, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

  • Pacheco-Cobos L, Rosetti M, Hudson R (2009) A new method for tracking pathways of humans searching for wild, edible fungi. Micol Apl Int 21:77–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacheco-Cobos L, Rosetti M, Cuatianquiz C, Hudson R (2010) Sex differences in mushroom gathering: men expend more energy to obtain equivalent benefits. Evol Hum Behav 31:289–297. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.12.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pebesma EJ, Bivand RS (2005) Classes and methods for spatial data in R. R News 5:9–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilz D, Molina R (1996) Managing forest ecosystems to conserve fungus diversity and sustain wild mushroom harvests. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-371. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, OR, US

  • R Core Team (2014) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.org. Accessed August 2014

  • Rossman AY, Tulloss RE, O’Dell TE, Thorn RG (1998) Protocols for an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory of Fungi in a Costa Rican Conservation Area. Parkway Publishers, Boone

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarukhán J, Koleff P, Carabias J et al (2009) Capital natural de México. Síntesis: conocimiento actual, evaluación y perspectivas de sustentabilidad. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Shannon CE (1948) A mathematical theory of communication. Bell Syste Tech J 27:379–423. doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DA (2003) Participatory mapping of community lands and hunting yields among the Bugle of western Panama. Hum Organ 62:332–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith RC, Benavides M, Pariona M, Tuesta E (2003) Mapping the past and the future: geomatics and indigenous territories in the Peruvian Amazon. Hum Organ 62:357–368

    Google Scholar 

  • Swift MJ (2005) Human impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services: an overview. In: Dighton J, White JF Jr, Oudemans P (eds) The Fungal Community: Its Organization and Role in the Ecosystem. Mycology, 3rd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 627–641

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Toledo VM, Ortiz-Espejel B, Cortés L, Moguel P, de Jesús Ordoñez M (2003) The multiple use of tropical forests by indigenous peoples in Mexico: a case of adaptive management. Conserv Ecol 7:9

    Google Scholar 

  • Uprety Y, Asselin H, Bergeron Y, Doyon F, Boucher J-F (2012) Contribution of traditional knowledge to ecological restoration: practices and applications. Ecoscience 19:225–237. doi:10.2980/19-3-3530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villers-Ruiz L, Rojas-García F, Tenorio-Lezama P (2006) Guía botánica del Parque Nacional Malinche, Tlaxcala-Puebla. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Zak JC, Willig MR (2004) Fungal biodiversity patterns. In: Mueller GM, Bills GF, Foster (eds) Biodiversity of Fungi. Academic Press, Burlington, pp 59–75. doi:10.1016/B978-012509551-8/50008-8

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

All the mushroom gatherers who shared treasured knowledge with us. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT; Repatriación 2013-1, 203604).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Biología-Xalapa, Universidad Veracruzana, Cto. Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán s/n, Zona Universitaria, 91090, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Luis Pacheco-Cobos

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Cto. Interior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Ciudad De Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Marcos F. Rosetti & Robyn Hudson

  3. Centro de Investigación de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Km 10.5 Autopista San Martín Texmelucan-Tlaxcala, 90120, Ixtacuixtla, Tlaxcala, Mexico

    Adriana Montoya Esquivel

Authors
  1. Luis Pacheco-Cobos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marcos F. Rosetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adriana Montoya Esquivel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robyn Hudson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luis Pacheco-Cobos.

Additional information

Communicated by David Hawksworth.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 107 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pacheco-Cobos, L., Rosetti, M.F., Esquivel, A.M. et al. Towards a traditional ecological knowledge-based monitoring scheme: a proposal for the case of edible mushrooms. Biodivers Conserv 24, 1253–1269 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0856-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0856-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation