USE OF PLANT RESOURCE OF THE CAATINGA IN A RURAL COMMUNITY IN CURIMATAÚ PARAÍBA (NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL)

Reinaldo Farias Paiva de Lucena¹, Taíza da Cunha Soares², Carlos Frederico Alvesde Vasconcelos Neto¹, Thamires Kelly Nunes Carvalho¹, Camilla Marques de Lucena¹ e Rômulo Romeu da Nóbrega Alves<sup>2

1</sup>Universidade Federal da Paraíba. ²Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Paraíba, Brasil. Correo electrónico: reinaldo@cca.ufpb.br

This study sought to identify the potential utility of native speciesin the Caatinga area in the municipality of Soledade (Northeastern Brazil). The survey was conducted in two stages, first a phytosociological inventory was carried out in fragments of vegetation next to the community to identify the species, then an ethnobotanical survey was conducted using structured interviews with 33 informants of both sexes in order to investigate their knowledge about the attributed uses to plants. A total of 101 species were identified, and 84 of those were considered useful by the community. Reported species were divided into nine categories of use (forage, medicine, technology, construction, food, fuel, veterinary, poison-arbotive, others), among which the most relevant in terms of number of species were the categories of fodder, medicine and technology, with over 20 species each. The leaf is the plant part most used, followed by wood and bark, reinforcing the importance of timber resources to the community. Knowledge about the potential utility of native vegetation appears to be evenly distributed among the informers. Few species are highly valued, while most have marginal use values. Although there is no real distinction between use and cognitive use of plant resources, it is indispensable to report knowledge on plant-use. These traditional knowledge and practices are essential to establish techniques and for sustainable use and management of these resources, in order to minimize the human action on the biodiversity of the Caatinga, for the potential of this biome can be enjoyed by future generations.

Key words: Caatinga, ethnobotany, use value, local knowledge.

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