Ethnobotanical focus on the traditional uses of plants in the Ziz Valley, Errachidia, in the Biosphere Reserve of the Oases of Southwestern Morocco by local populations

Abstract

Background: Ziz Valley, part of the Southern Moroccan Biosphere Reserve, is a rich arid ecosystem that is ideal for a study of plant diversity that has adapted to extreme climate conditions.

Objective: Our study aims to record the diversity of plant taxa used by the local Arabic and Amazigh-speaking communities of the Ziz Valley, Errachidia, Morocco, in the province of Errachidia. The research aims to describe traditional knowledge related to medicinal, food, cosmetic and forage use.

Methods: To achieve this goal, a survey was carried out throughout the Study area, recording various plant taxa used and their distribution in botanical families. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices (UV, RFC, FUV) are used to describe traditional use in medicinal, food, cosmetic and other uses. Moreover, it explores how this generational knowledge is transferred and encoded in ethnos, as well as the risk of traditional knowledge loss caused by modernization and rural migration

Results: 148 plant taxa from 52 families, mostly from the Lamiaceae, were listed, with 761 references. The majority of the plants are wild (56.5 % or cultivated (37.3 %). The use for medicinal purposes is the most prevalent (61.4 %), mostly for digestive, nervous and dermatological diseases. Then, culinary use (24.6 %). The parts harvested are the leaves, fruits and seeds. This is the traditional knowledge that has been documented by the local ethnotaxonomic system and has been passed on primarily through family and tribal structures. Regarding safety, 73% of informants reported no adverse effects and 9 % frequent incidents.

Conclusion: Urgent documentation and conservation of traditional knowledge and endemic species in this ecosystem are imperative.

Keywords: Ziz Valley, ethnobotanical survey, plant uses, traditional medicine, Ethnotaxonomy.