Short bio:

We examined the relationship between psychological ownership of ethnobotanical plants in the landscape, how landscape and biodiversity are related, and the connection between the two. Findings showed that human age, plants and landscape biodiversity, and land grading affect psychological ownership.

Additional details:

This study’s objectives were to examine the relationship between psychological ownership of ethnobotanical plants in the landscape, the perceived relations between landscape and plant and animal diversity, and the connections between the two. It also attempts to address related questions posited in social-ecological systems theory. The mixed-methods research consisted of 40 interviews, a 200m radius land-use history study, field notes, and a questionnaire at a 746-unit housing complex in Matsudo City, Japan. 34 ethnobotanical plants were found within 200m of the complex center. 111 responses regarding psychological ownership of biodiversity and of ethnobotanical knowledge were analyzed. Results demonstrated a relationship between psychological ownership of the landscape and plants, mostly learned through familial experiences, an awareness of biodiversity, and reduction with land grading. Ethnobotanical knowledge was found to be related to interest in biodiversity. There was a relationship between age and knowledge; residents in their 60s and 70s knew more about the usages of plants for food and medicine and had more extensive knowledge of the landscape. Land use history showed that grading of the native landscape removed biodiversity, that original landscape had higher numbers of ethnobotanical plants and shelter for rarer birds, and that psychological ownership decreased with a decrease in biodiversity unless plants are actively accessible commercially. Findings suggest that conserving native landscapes and increasing psychological ownership of them, as well as galvanizing intergenerational, social appreciation of the elderly could lead to retaining biodiversity as well as traditional knowledge of ethnobotanical plants.