Use of ecological methods in ethnobotany: Diversity indices

The application of ecological concepts to ethnobotanical studies, ill particular of diversity, is analyzed. Diversity indices are important tools that may help in understanding human-environment interactions. Those indices allow comparisons on the use of plants by different populations in different environments. A review on recent major ethnobotanical journals was carried out, and 10 studies (7 from Latin America, 2 from Asia and I front Europe) were selected based on available data to calculate diversity indices. The Shannon-Wiener indices and rarefaction curves were obtained. High diversity on plant uses were found for studies carried out at Peru, Mexico, Brazil and Thailand. A low diversity was found for Tonga, and island biogeography theory is used to discuss these results. Sampling effort is evaluated through rarefaction curves. The estimation of the diversity of resources used by native populations may be useful when planning conservation areas and their management.