Traditional knowledge on “<i>Luchai</i>” [<i>Phragmites australis</i> (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. and <i>Arundo donax</i> L.] and their dynamics through urbanization in Yangzhou area, East China

Abstract

As rural lifestyles have given way to more urbanized lifestyles, much traditional knowledge is lost. To investigate the dynamics of traditional knowledge on wetland plants during urbanization, <i>Phragmites australis </i>and <i>Arundo donax</i>, two important useful wetland plants in Yangtze River Delta were studied ethnobotanically in Yangzhou area, China. Our results revealed that, although the two plants both called “<i>Luchai</i>” in the study area, <i>P. australis</i> showed higher use value (UV), relative frequency of citation (RFC) and diversity of uses than<i> A. donax</i>. Presently, many traditional uses of <i>P. </i><i>australis</i>are still practiced by local people, while <i>A. donax</i> is only used for constructing fence and supporters for climbing crops. There were significant correlations between the ages of informants and their traditional knowledge on the two plants, indicating that a growing number of young people had less and less folk knowledge on wetland plants. Traditional knowledge plays crucial roles in the sustainable development of economy and society, it is necessary to collect and document the traditional knowledge about other wetland plant species in the context of urbanization.