From the street to the table: food plant species used in urban aforestaton in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract:

Cites can have a considerable variety of plants, and such biodiversity ensures numerous ecosystem services: cultural, provision, regulaton, and support. One of the essental services is food production, which is in line with natonal sustainable development goals. This study aimed to present a diagnosis of food plants and plants with potential use in the human diet that are employed in urban aforestaton projects in municipalites of the Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. We compiled and updated a list of 102 species used in urban aforestaton in 11 municipalites and classifed these species concerning their use or potential use in terms of diet. The state capital, Campo Grande, had the most outstanding richness of food plants (67 species), and the municipality of Coxim had the highest percentage of food plants in aforestaton (65%). The food plants were distributed among 36 families, particularly Fabaceae (13 species), Arecaceae (9), Anacardiaceae (8), and Myrtaceae (8). The oit (Moquilea tomentosa), munguba (Pachira aquatica), and mango (Mangifera indica) trees were the most frequentily used species in street aforestaton. The parts most used in the human diet were fruits (77 species), followed by seeds (37) and flowers (21). Our suggestons to public administrators for the species selecton for urban aforestaton are those with edible parts and potential for inclusion in the human diet once all other technical criteria for this choice are ensured.

Keywords:
street aforestaton; urban biodiversity; fruit-bearing species; food plants