Ethnobotany in a Changing World: Strategies for Plant Conservation

Dear Colleagues,

Plants play an important role in human lives as a source of food, medicine, fiber, shelter, etc. Ethnobotany explores both biological and cultural dimensions of diversity, collecting and explaining the traditional knowledge of our ancestors and providing insights for its utilization in the ever-changing present that poses constant challenges to humankind and the environment. The exploration of the multiple aspects of plant–human interactions reveals practices for the sustainable use and maintenance of natural resources that can serve as a background for wise conservation measures understood and supported by local communities and the general public. The crossroads between ethnobotany and conservation and the bi-directional link between them is the main reason why ethnobotany is experiencing a contemporary Renaissance and can serve as a response to the increased interest in biological and cultural dimensions of diversity, the interactions between them and their connection to social and economic development through building resilience against natural and human-induced change.

The globalization and rapid urbanization of the human population irreversibly changes the cultural identities of nations and communities and devalues local ecological knowledge—the bond with nature that has made possible the existence of humans for centuries and has been transmitted over generations. While these processes are hard to monitor and control, the scientific community, along with conservationists, communities, policy makers, and other stakeholders, must bring together viable solutions for sustaining our world. In this sense, only the integration of traditional and modern knowledge from around the world can bring positive change and create new opportunities for the sustainable development and preservation of nature.

This Special Issue will collect opinions and practical experiences from the interlinked scientific field between ethnobotany and plant conservation and, in so doing, correspond to the vision of the Convention on Biological Diversity that “by 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.”

This Special Issue invites research and review papers on (but not limited to) the following themes:

• Exploration and integration of traditional knowledge as a driver of the environmental conservation/restoration agenda;
• Traditional knowledge, plant awareness and public involvement;
• Understanding the human–plant–habitat interactions as a motivation for conservation actions;
• Traditional values and nature preservation;
• (Ethno)Botanical knowledge and education as an awareness tool;
• Traditional knowledge as a tool for reconciliation of local communities’ needs and nature conservation measures;
• Ecosystem services management;
• Cultural ecosystem services research related to plants and plant-based products;
• Sustainable use of ethnobotanical cultural heritage;
• Biocultural dimensions of wild and cultivated plant diversity;
• Intеr- and transdisciplinary research related to plant and habitat conservation.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Dessislava Dimitrova
Dr. Teodora Ivanova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Conservation is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ethnobotany
• traditional ecological knowledge
• integrated conservation strategies
• grass-root plant conservation and actions
• sustainable plant utilization
• ecosystem services assessment
• landscape conservation
• wildlife and forest resources management
• climate change and plant biodiversity