Importance and values attributed to native plants from the Caatinga in an urban neighborhood in Petrolina - Pernambuco

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the value and importance that people attribute to the biodiversity of plants in the Caatinga in a neighborhood in the urban area of ​​Petrolina. For this, an opinion survey was carried out to collect data related to the utility, importance and value of the plants, with individuals of three age groups (adult 20 to 40 years old; intermediate adult 41 to 64 years old; and elderly over 65 years old ), with 20 respondents per age group. For this, 10 species were selected from searches on websites and ranking of the 10 most cited species on the internet, which were used in the field research. In addition, a form was created with alternatives on the usefulness and value of these species. No significant correlation was found between the number of species citations and the number of times that the plant was cited as “useful” in the field research. Among adults in the first age group, there were six citations as the plant being “unimportant”, and only two citations in the third age group. Cultural value was the most mentioned in the three age groups, especially in the third. There was greater diversification in the values ​​cited in the second and third age groups. It is concluded that cultural value is the most evident among the interviewed subjects and that plants in general are considered useful at different ages. However, the results show that the different values are still little mentioned and known, and their approach in formal and informal education can be an important tool for Caatinga’s flora conservation.

Keywords: Caatinga flora. Value. Utility. Age group. semiarid.