Traditional agroecological practices for Amazonian medicinal plants: implications for biocultural conservation in Ecuador
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29076/issn.2528-7737vol19iss52.2026pp62-71pKeywords:
Traditional agroecology, indigenous knowledge, biocultural conservation, intergenerational transmissionAbstract
The Ecuadorian Amazon constitutes a critical socio-ecological system where medicinal plants link biodiversity and indigenous knowledge; however, the literature has focused primarily on ethnobotanical descriptors, neglecting the analysis of associated traditional agroecological practices. This gap limits our understanding of medicinal agroecosystems as systems of biocultural conservation. In this context, the objective of the study was to comprehensively analyze the traditional agroecological practices employed by the Kichwa, Waorani, and Shuar communities, and their relationship with plant diversity and knowledge transmission. A mixed-methods approach with an ethnographic-quantitative design was adopted, including 45 key informants, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and nonparametric statistical analysis. The results show high diversity (82 species; H´=2.69) and a significant positive association between agroecological practices and species richness (ρ=0.63; p<0.01). Furthermore, ethnicity and age emerge as determinants in the persistence of knowledge and its transmission mechanisms. It is concluded that traditional agroecological practices not only sustain medicinal diversity but also function as in situ biocultural conservation mechanisms. However, the generational erosion of knowledge introduces a structural risk that requires contextualized interventions rather than merely normative ones
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Copyright (c) 2026 Marco Vizuete-Montero; Hilter Figueroa-Saavedra, Marco Usca-Tiuquinga; Josue Sanmiguel-Chimbo
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