Composição, riqueza e diversidade de plantas dos quintais urbanos em Boa Vista - Roraima

Abstract

The objective of this study was to inventory the plant composition, richness and diversity of the urban homegardens in Boa Vista, as well as to evaluate their relationships with the socioeconomic and cultural factors. The sampling was accomplished in three neighborhoods with ages greater than ten years: Aparecida, Tancredo Neves and Pricumã. The owners of 20 residences were interviewed in each neighborhood between 04/25/2007 and 06/02/2007, totaling 60 homegardens. A total of 4197 specimens (plants) were registered. Aparecida was the neighborhood with greater richness, with 68.6% of the species identified (12.3 species.house-1), followed by Pricumã (58.1%; 10.4 species.house-1) and Tancredo Neves (43.3%; 7.8 species.house-1). Seventy six botany families were identified. The main families were Araceae (7.3%), Rubiaceae (6.8%), Euphorbiaceae (5.8%), Liliaceae (5.1%) and Arecaceae (4.9%). The use categories observed were of edible plants (96.7% of the houses), ornamental (86.7%), medicinal (80.0%) and mythical (68.3%). The more representative life forms were herbs (34.3%), bushes (31.9%) and trees (19.3%). Taking account the Preference Index Value (PIV) it was observed preferences for some fruit species in Boa Vista, such as coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), acerola (Malpighia glabra L.), mango (Mangifera indica L.) and guava (Psidium guajava L.), and of non-fruit, such as ixora (Ixora coccinea L.), chicory (Eryngium foetidum L.), wisdom bonsai (Sansevieria trifasciata var. laurentii (De Wild.) N.E. Br) and giant dumb cane (Dieffenbachia amoena Bull.). The choice for the fruit species is based on their historical use of domestication due facilities in the daily management. These results suggest that Boa Vista’s urban homegardens have homogeneity and they are similar to each other, meaning an average of preferential use of the equivalent species by study on the three sampled neighborhoods. The diversity of species had a log relationship with richness in the homegardens, although there is not a significant relationship between richness and diversity with socioeconomic patterns and time of residence. The fruit species cultivated in the homegardens of Boa Vista are, in general, a source of retinol and protein, indicating that, even in a non-intentional way, the cultivated species are an excellent source of vitamin A and vegetal protein for the population that use the fruits of these urban homegardens. The dimension of home production, mainly fruits, can figure in annual tons, indicating that application of urban homegardens studies in public policy for urban planning can offer cheap alternative to complement the diet and, in some cases, family income.