Ugo D'Ambrosio | University of Barcelona (original) (raw)

Papers by Ugo D'Ambrosio

Orígens de l'agricultura al Pròxim Orient Llegums originaris del Pròxim Orient i del Mediterrani ... more Orígens de l'agricultura al Pròxim Orient Llegums originaris del Pròxim Orient i del Mediterrani Pèsol, erb i espècies menors Simbiosi, fixació del nitrogen i proteïnes Les primeres proves de la domesticació de plantes, en concret de cereals, es troben en el Pròxim Orient a l'epipaleolític a Síria cap al 9.500 a C. Poc després van començar-se a domesticar els llegums. Aquesta àrea també coneguda com a mitja lluna fèrtil, és considerada com el lloc on començà la revolució neolítica a Occident, amb la domesticació de vuit espècies principals: dues espècies de blat (Triticum monococcum i T. dicoccum), l'ordi (Hordeum vulgare), el lli (Linum usitatissimum), el cigró (Cicer arietinum), el pèsol (Pisum sativum), la llentia (Lens culinaris) i l'erb (Vicia ervilia). Aquestes quatre darreres lleguminoses, encara consumides avui en dia, constitueixen fonts de proteïnes, fibra, vitamines i minerals molt importants per a la nostra vida i la d'altres espècies, i estan lligades a un conjunt de tradicions i creences en múltiples cultures.

Acta Protozoologica, 2000

The karyomastigont cytoskeletal pattern in which a nucleus is connected to motility organelles [1... more The karyomastigont cytoskeletal pattern in which a nucleus is connected to motility organelles [1-5 kinetosomes and associated axonemes, i.e., undulipodia (= eukaryotic flagella*), and axostyles] occurs in all early-branching lineages of eukaryotes (mastigamebids, diplomonads, oxymonads, retortamonads and trichomonads). Dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, the 50 or more nuclei of Snyderella (Calonymphidae: Trichomonadida) are not attached to the mastigont organelles. Except at the extreme posterior undulipodia cover the surface of the cell. All of the hundreds of undulipodia are arranged in groups of four typical of trichomonad mastigonts, but, since they lack nuclei, are akaryomastigonts. Each four-kinetosome akaryomastigont is connected to a set of axostylar microtubules, which extends toward the cell posterior. The axostyles, that together form a central bundle, like the shaft of an umbrella, position all the akaryomastigonts at the cell periphery. When groups of 20-50 motile akaryomastigonts become independently organized, two, three or more competing anterior conical regions appear. Karyokineses of the multiple nuclei in Snyderella are synchronized as in other calonymphids. We suggest that the ancestral character of eukaryotic cell organization is the karyomastigont, i.e., a stable nucleus-kinetid connection. Snyderella evolved from more basal calonymphids by severance of the nuclear connection, which led to the lack of karyomastigonts. The akaryomastigonts were retained and reproduced with each cell division

Trabajo presentado en la 2a Jornada Gastronomica de les Plantes Oblidades, celebrada en Igualada ... more Trabajo presentado en la 2a Jornada Gastronomica de les Plantes Oblidades, celebrada en Igualada (Barcelona, Espana), el 25 de marzo de 2017

Orígens de l'agricultura a l'Àsia meridional i oriental, a l'Àfrica subsahariana i a Amèrica Lleg... more Orígens de l'agricultura a l'Àsia meridional i oriental, a l'Àfrica subsahariana i a Amèrica Llegums originaris d'Àsia meridional i oriental, l'Àfrica subsahariana i Amèrica La revolució agrícola del neolític (aprox. 11.000-3.000 a.C.) es va donar de forma independent en diferents etapes almenys en vuit macroregions diferents: A) Àsia occidental (Pròxim Orient) B) Àsia meridional C) Àsia oriental D) Sud-est asiàtic E) Àfrica subsahariana F) Amèrica del Nord G) Mesoamèrica H) Amèrica del Sud En aquest pòster tractarem llegums domesticats a Àsia meridional (B), oriental (C) i del sud-est (D), l'Àfrica subsahariana (E) i l'Amèrica tropical (G i H), àrees encerclades de blau en el mapa. Els llegums domesticats al Pròxim Orient i a la Mediterrània, són tractats en el pòster "Llegums originaris del Pròxim Orient i del Mediterrani" d'aquesta mateixa sèrie.

é (1909: 5) va considerar la flora de CR " (1909: 5) va considerar la flora de CR "una una avan a... more é (1909: 5) va considerar la flora de CR " (1909: 5) va considerar la flora de CR "una una avan avanç çada de la flora del N d ada de la flora del N d' 'Equador al continent del N Equador al continent del N". ". Patr Patró ó d d' 'afinitat biòtica confirmat en d afinitat biòtica confirmat en d' 'altres grups [briòfits altres grups [briòfits (Bartram, 1928), aus (Stiles & Skutch, 1989) i papallones (Bartram, 1928), aus (Stiles & Skutch, 1989) i papallones (DeVries, 1987)]. (DeVries, 1987)].

inventariosnacionales/inventario-espanol-de-los-conocimientostradicionales/inventario_esp_conocim... more inventariosnacionales/inventario-espanol-de-los-conocimientostradicionales/inventario_esp_conocimientos_tradicionales.aspx

Sustainability

Local agrobiodiversity in remote areas such as the Moroccan High Atlas is poorly studied, despite... more Local agrobiodiversity in remote areas such as the Moroccan High Atlas is poorly studied, despite being of great importance for the sustainability and resilience of mountainous populations. This includes important species such as wheat (Triticum spp.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), fava beans (Vicia faba), peas (Pisum sativum), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). This study aimed to better understand varietal naming by farmers and the traits they use for assessing the current diversity of the five species, in 22 locations, distributed across three hubs of the High Atlas. The data were provided by 282 Amazigh informants during focus-group discussions, household surveys, and market surveys, with the support of the Diversity Assessment Tool for Agrobiodiversity and Resilience (DATAR). The use of local terminology for variety names and systematically collected morphological, ecological, and use descriptors appears to be a valuable way to assess local intraspecific diversity, and further comparis...

Sustainability Science

The Mediterranean Basin is a global biodiversity hotspot, but formal conservation approaches have... more The Mediterranean Basin is a global biodiversity hotspot, but formal conservation approaches have not been wholly effective to halt species and ecosystem losses in this world region. There is wide agreement that maintaining traditional and diverse land-use systems is key to conserving biodiversity across the Mediterranean region. Biocultural approaches provide a perspective to understand and manage the interplay of nature and culture in various contexts. To develop biocultural systems as positive alternatives to unsustainable land-use systems requires an understanding of the decision-making contexts that enable such approaches. The aim of this synthesis study is therefore to compare how four biocultural conservation systems in the Mediterranean are shaped by values, rules, and knowledge. Our study is based on a synthesis of the literature published on agdal (Morocco), communal forests (Spain), sacred natural sites (Greece), and hima (Lebanon). Our synthesis shows that instrumental, ...

Trabajo presentado en las Jornades Micologiques i Botaniques a Montmajor, celebradas en Montmajor... more Trabajo presentado en las Jornades Micologiques i Botaniques a Montmajor, celebradas en Montmajor (Barcelona, Espana), el 3 de junio de 2017

Trabajo presentado en las XV Jornada Etnologia de les Terres de l'Ebre, celebradas en Ribarro... more Trabajo presentado en las XV Jornada Etnologia de les Terres de l'Ebre, celebradas en Ribarroja de Ebro (Tarragona, Espana), el 21 de octubre de 2017

Tomo 2. Fichas. -- Editores: Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Ramon Morales, Javier Tardio, Laura Aceit... more Tomo 2. Fichas. -- Editores: Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Ramon Morales, Javier Tardio, Laura Aceituno y Maria Molina.-- Esta obra se enmarca dentro de los trabajos del Inventario Espanol del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad que desarrolla el MAPAMA en el marco de la ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre, del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad.

Hierba anual o bienal, con olor fuerte y tallos hasta de 2 m, huecos, asurcados y con característ... more Hierba anual o bienal, con olor fuerte y tallos hasta de 2 m, huecos, asurcados y con características manchas de color púrpura. Hojas cuatro veces divididas, con peciolo largo, con la base que rodea al tallo, y segmentos hasta de 2 cm, alargados, estrechos. Inflorescencia en umbelas de umbelas numerosas, con brácteas en la base, que nacen en pedúnculos opuestos. Flores con pétalos pequeños, blancos. Frutos hasta de 3,5 mm, globosos, con cinco costillas longitudinales, que se dividen en dos mericarpos.

Trabajo presentado en el 58th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany: Living in a glob... more Trabajo presentado en el 58th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany: Living in a global world: ethnobotany, local knowledge and sustainability, celebrado en Braganza (Portugal), del 4 al 9 de junio de 2017

Ethnobotany, dedicated to the study of the relationships between human societies and plants, has ... more Ethnobotany, dedicated to the study of the relationships between human societies and plants, has a basic focus (establishing a corpus of folk knowledge on the plant world) and an applied one (discovering new useful products). Apart from data on medicinal, culinary and other kinds of uses, and phytonyms, diverse information has been collected from popular wisdom. Time and weather are important subjects of such knowledge of nature. We analysed time (which marks the rhythm throughout the year, as often indicated by plant names), and weather (which conditions nature and its management), departing from the testimony of our informants. We focussed our interest on a kind of agroecosystem in particular, homegardens, with its projection to local markets and plant calendars. Finally, we dealt with popular plant knowledge linked to different moments in people’s life cycle. Plants play a very relevant role in our lives, from birth to death (and even before and after), two milestones between which we undergo through many episodes linked to plants. In this work, we address all these subjects related to time (and weather) with plants in the linguistic-cultural Catalan area, based on data that our research group (www.etnobiofic.cat) has been collecting in the last 25 years

Tomo 3. Fichas. -- Editores: Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Ramon Morales, Javier Tardio, Laura Aceit... more Tomo 3. Fichas. -- Editores: Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Ramon Morales, Javier Tardio, Laura Aceituno y Maria Molina.-- Esta obra se enmarca dentro de los trabajos del Inventario Espanol del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad que desarrolla el MAPAMA en el marco de la ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre, del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad.

Tomo 1. Introduccion, actualizacion de la metodologia y fichas. -- Editores: Manuel Pardo de Sant... more Tomo 1. Introduccion, actualizacion de la metodologia y fichas. -- Editores: Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Ramon Morales, Javier Tardio y Maria Molina.-- Esta obra se enmarca dentro de los trabajos del Inventario Espanol del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad que desarrolla el MAPAMA en el marco de la ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre, del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad.

Aquest pòster introdueix el concepte de vegetal, les seves característiques bàsiques, les parts i... more Aquest pòster introdueix el concepte de vegetal, les seves característiques bàsiques, les parts i les formes de vida de les plantes i les seves característiques nutritives així com conceptes d’etnobotànica i evolució socioambiental.

Acta Protozoologica, 2000

Sustainability

Sustainability Science

In Costa Rica, the many-sided effects of multimillionaire incentive-based conservation and develo... more In Costa Rica, the many-sided effects of multimillionaire incentive-based conservation and development policies in general, and in biocultural systems in particular, have been chiefly analysed in economic terms or in the majority of cases, merely overlooked, even more so in relation to indigenous communities. Aiming to contribute to fill this gap, the present ethnobotanical study carried out with 67 Ngäbe informants from 30 different households in Conte-Burica, analyses and discusses the observed foodways transition, biocultural diversity loss, livelihood transformations, and the resulting food insecurity –all four situations absolutely contrary to the premises of sustainable development–, and their relationships with an increased presence of conservation-development programs, market and State accelerated intrusion, augmented political interests, as well as considerable amounts of money and material artefacts, specially being on the rise since late 1980's onwards. The paper progresses as follows: first, the research topic is introduced and placed in context with a brief literature review. Subsequently, preliminary ethnobotanical observations and results on foodways transitions are presented, discussing their implications and concluding with speculation on possible extensions of the analysis and for future fieldwork.

The Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge. Edited ByThomas F. Thornton, Shonil A. Bhagwat, 2020

This chapter looks at cultural practices of conservation in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. ... more This chapter looks at cultural practices of conservation in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. It focuses on two rural communities who inhabit the cultural landscapes of this mountainous region and finds that most conservation practices are associated with agriculture, food, pastoralism, and soil and water management. These multifaceted practices help in developing the High Atlas cultural landscapes and support the biodiversity they harbour by: (1) creating mosaics of cultivated and grazing areas supported by communally-managed water sources; (2) managing plant resources in a way that enriches floristic diversity; and (3) regulating interactions between people and their local environment in ways that embody local values on access to lands and resources.

ICEB 2014 Huellas inéditas del VI Congreso Internacional de Etnobotánica Recovered tracks from the VIth International Congress of Ethnobotany, 2017

Many cities constitute spaces with high levels of ethnobiological richness due to the different b... more Many cities constitute spaces with high levels of ethnobiological richness due to the different biocultural groups that inhabit them. Nonetheless, little is known about the characteristics and dynamics of this heritage in urban milieus. Western Europe and, particularly big conurbations like the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB) have experienced during the last decades an increase of immigrants from all five continents, providing (as in previous epochs) new botanical and cultural elements. Such a phenomenon is of particular interest to study and analyze in ethnobotanical and biocultural terms, especially the concept of transculturation. The present investigation is a pilot study in Santa Coloma de Gramenet to set the basis for a larger research program in the MAB, in order to promote research and the establishment of local networks with the involvement of academic and administrative institutions as well as local farmers, food stores, professional cooks and the public in general. Preliminary results include an ethnobotanical characterization of food plants in a selection of stores, an institutional and local network depiction, along with participation in outreach activities. Future research will analyze a larger area and stakeholders, to better understand urban ethnobotanical phenomena and strengthen collaboration amongst all agents.

In: McGaw L., Abdalla M. (eds). Ethnoveterinary Medicine. Springer., 2020

The Maghreb, the north-western tip of Africa, is a geographically, floristically, and culturally ... more The Maghreb, the north-western tip of Africa, is a geographically, floristically, and culturally rich area with a long history of animal husbandry. Local ethnoveterinary practices reflect Maghrebi beliefs about health and illness, as well as ecological knowledge of the farmers, nomads and other pastoralists. Ethnoveterinary medicine in the Maghreb makes use of ritual, therapeutic materials, especially plants, and other practices such as surgery and cauterisation. Despite the limited sources, through an intensive literature review we have documented 489 different ethnoveterinary medicinal uses for 183 plant species and nine fungal, animal and mineral materials. Preventive practices, including an in-depth knowledge of the environment for grazing management, use of dietary complements, or ritual and cultural prescriptions at specific times, are also important. As our literature review indicates, information on ethnoveterinary practices in the Maghreb is scarce, dispersed in studies with varying aims and ultimately, incomplete. New studies following international ethnopharmacology and ethnobiology research standards should focus on undocumented areas and ethnic groups, an effort most needed at a time when traditional knowledge is rapidly changing, with a tendency of being abandoned. Understanding the adaptation of traditional knowledge and practice to modern livelihoods and resources will be key for achieving sustainable development targets.