Plant Resources Utilization among Different Ethnic Groups of Ladakh in Trans-Himalayan Region
Shiekh Marifatul Haq,
Umer Yaqoob,
Eduardo Soares Calixto,
Inayat Ur Rahman,
Abeer Hashem,
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah,
Maha Abdullah Alakeel,
Abdulaziz A. Alqarawi,
Mohnad Abdalla,
Musheerul Hassan,
Rainer W. Bussmann,
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi,
Sami Ur Rahman,
Farhana Ijaz
Affiliations
Shiekh Marifatul Haq
Department of Botany, University of Kashmir Srinagar, Srinagar 190006, India
Umer Yaqoob
Department of Botany, University of Kashmir Srinagar, Srinagar 190006, India
Eduardo Soares Calixto
Institute of Biology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05315-970, Brazil
Inayat Ur Rahman
Department of Botany, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan
Abeer Hashem
Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Maha Abdullah Alakeel
Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz A. Alqarawi
Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohnad Abdalla
Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Cultural West Road, Jinan 250012, China
Musheerul Hassan
Clybay Research Private Limited, Bangalore 560114, India
Rainer W. Bussmann
Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, 1 Botanical Street, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi
Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad Campus, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad 22060, Pakistan
Sami Ur Rahman
Nawaz Sharif Kidney Teaching Hospital and Postgraduate Institute Manglawar, Swat 19200, Pakistan
Farhana Ijaz
Department of Botany, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan
The nomadic pastoral indigenous communities of the Ladakhi people share roots with Tibetan culture in terms of food, clothing, religion, festivals, and habits, and rely widely on plant resources for survival and livelihood. This survey was conducted during 2019–2021 to document the indigenous knowledge about plant resources of the Balti, Beda, and Brokpa communities of the Ladakh region, trans-Himalayas. Open- and close-ended semi-structured interviews (N = 184) and group discussions (N = 17) were used to collect the data. Quantitative data was further analyzed using various statistical tools. A total of 105 plant species belonging to 82 genera and 39 families were used as medicine, fuel wood, fragrance, oil, food, flavor, fodder, decoration, and dye. Among these, medicinal use was most prevalent, with 70% of use reports, followed by fodder and fuel wood. Leaves (27%) were the most preferred plant part used, followed by roots and flowers. The principal component analysis revealed five clusters of ethnobotanical usage, i.e., food, medicine, fuel wood, fodder, and fragrance, oil, dye, and flavor. The maximum number of plant species used was reported by the Brokpa, while the Beda reported the minimum number of plant species uses. Delphinium brunonianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, and Juniperus indica played a significant role in the cultural and religious ritual aspects, whereas Allium przewalskianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, Juniperus indica, and Hippophae rhamnoides were commonly used as a livelihood source among Ladakhi communities. The local people collected most plants (65%) for self-consumption, while the rest (35%) were sold in markets as a source of income. The sustainable utilization and management of plant resources by local people is a strategy to boost livelihoods and food security and alleviate poverty.