Methodological strategies to access the biocultural diversity in periurban homegardens of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Abstract

The study of homegardens is an important subject in ethnobotany, as they are the expression of local botanical knowledge, and preserve significant biocultural diversity. This diversity is the result of the vital experience of horticulturalists, but it frequently remains hidden when usual ethnobotanical qualitative methodological strategies are applied. In this contribution, a biographical approach is used for the first time in the La Plata horticultural belt (Buenos Aires, Argentina), which is pluricultural and diverse in forms of production, to evaluate its usefulness for knowing the biocultural diversity of the area. When results are compared with those obtained by synchronous observation and interview techniques, a similar number of taxa was identified, with an increase of the total number of plants recognized and used in the area. It was observed that previous experience acquired in other regions enabled the use of certain plants, not habitual in the area. Both advantages and disadvantages of the biographical approach, as well as the contribution of this kind of studies in projects of local development are discussed. It is concluded that the integration of both synchronical methodologies with biographical studies derives in an integral and complex approach to biocultural diversity, not able to be achieved by a single methological way.