Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics University of Hohenheim Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Prof. Dr. J. Sauerborn Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio-cultural diversity conservation Dissertation Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree “Doktor der Agrarwissenschaften” (Dr.sc.agr.) to the Faculty of Agricultural Science. Presented by Abdolbaset Ghorbani Dahaneh Stuttgart 2012 This thesis titled “Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio-cultural diversity conservation” was accepted as a doctoral dissertation in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree “Doktor der Agrarwissenschaften” by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Hohenheim on 12 Juni 2012. Date of oral examination: 12 Juni 2012, Hohenheim Examination Committee: Supervisor and Reviewer Prof. Dr. Joachim Sauerborn Co-Reviewer Prof. Dr. Reinhardt Böcker Additional Examiners Prof. Dr. Joachim Müller Vice-Dean and Head of the Committee Prof. Dr. Andreas Fangmeier I Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio- cultural diversity conservation Overview of Publications This thesis is compiled based on the regulations of cumulative PhD thesis of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences. Several publications resulting from PhD research project have been included in this thesis. As these publications have been edited based on the requirements of different publishers, the layout and quoting style of references may vary between chapters. Chapter 1: General introduction of the topic and research objectives. Chapter 2: Abdolbaset Ghorbani, Gerhard Langenberger, Jing-Xin Liu, Stefanie Wehner, Joachim Sauerborn (2012). Diversity of medicinal and food plants as non-timber forest products in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (China): implications for livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation. Economic Botany 66 (2): 178-191. Chapter 3: Abdolbaset Ghorbani, Gerhard Langenberger, Liu Feng, Joachim Sauerborn (2011). Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants utilised by Hani ethnicity in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 134 (3): 651-667. Chapter 4: Abdolbaset Ghorbani, Gerhard Langenberger, Joachim Sauerborn. Indigenous healing and medicinal plant use among Lahu ethnic group in SW china. Submitted to the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine on 11.06.2012. Chapter 5: Abdolbaset Ghorbani, Gerhard Langenberger, Joachim Sauerborn (2012). A comparison of wild food plant knowledge of ethnic minorities in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, SW China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 8:17. II Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio- cultural diversity conservation Chapter 6: Solveig F. Bucher, Abdolbaset Ghorbani, Gerhard Langenberger, Manfred Küppers and Joachim Sauerborn (2011). Asparagus spp. in Traditional Chinese Medicine - wild collection and its sustainability. TRAFFIC Bulletin, 23 (2): 61-63. Own contribution approximately 40% including building the concept, field work establishment, supervision of the research work, co- authorship and proof-reading of the manuscript. III Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio- cultural diversity conservation Acknowledgements This research was part of LILAC project “Living landscapes China” funded by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (FN.: 0330797A). The project provided field work infrastructure and expenses and I would like to express my gratitude towards that. I’m indebted to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for giving me a scholarship to carry out my graduate studies in Germany. Many people helped me during this work, without their support this research could not have been completed. I’m highly indebted to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Joachim Sauerborn for his friendly support, useful suggestions and advices which have enabled me to complete this dissertation. I would especially like to thank Dr. Gerhard Langenberger for his assistance and advises during the whole period of work. Many thanks also go to Mr. Liu Feng from administration office of the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve for his administrative and scientific help. Special thanks also to Mrs. Inga Häuser from project secretary office and Mrs. Liu Xuan from project regional office in China for their administrative assistance. I’m also grateful to my local assistance Mrs. Cai Yun for her incredible help, to nature reserve rangers, traditional healers and villagers (too many to name) for their kind help, cooperation, sharing their knowledge with me and wonderful hospitality. Finally I would like to thank my family for their prayers and support, to my dear wife, Ensieh Hajazimi and to my committee members, Prof. Dr. Joachim Müller and Prof. Dr. Reinhard Böcker for their advice and support. IV Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio- cultural diversity conservation Table of Contents 1 General introduction .............................................................................. 1 1.1 Statement of the problem: Biodiversity, agrobiodiversity and indigenous knowledge loss in tropical regions ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Biodiversity use, ethnobotany and ethnomedicine........................................................ 3 1.3 Non-timber forest products and sustainability ............................................................... 5 1.4 Study area ................................................................................................................... 6 1.4.1 Geography and climate ......................................................................................... 6 1.4.2 Vegetation and Flora ............................................................................................. 7 1.4.3 Cultural diversity and land use .............................................................................. 8 1.5 Objectives ...................................................................................................................12 1.6 Chapter outline ...........................................................................................................12 1.7 References .................................................................................................................12 2 Diversity of medicinal and food plants as non-timber forest products in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (China): implications for livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation ............................... 18 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................21 2.1.1 Study area ...........................................................................................................22 2.2 Material and Methods .................................................................................................23 2.2.1 Data collection .....................................................................................................23 2.2.2 Data analysis .......................................................................................................25 2.3 Results and discussion ...............................................................................................27 2.3.1 Non-timber forest products in the NRWNNR ........................................................27 2.3.2 Non-timber forest products and local people’s livelihood ......................................28 2.3.3 Non-timber forest products and sustainability.......................................................34 2.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................................38 2.5 Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................39 2.6 References .................................................................................................................39 V Agrobiodiversity and its use in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve: implications for bio- cultural diversity conservation 3 Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants utilised by Hani ethnicity in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China ........... 43 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................45 3.2 Study site and methodology ........................................................................................46 3.2.1 Geography and flora ............................................................................................46 3.2.2 Ethnobotanical data collection .............................................................................48 3.2.3 Data analysis .......................................................................................................49 3.3 Results and discussion ...............................................................................................50 3.3.1 Plant species and life forms .................................................................................50 3.3.2 Plant parts