A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Plant Resources among Five Ethnic Groups in the Western Himalayan Region of Jammu and Kashmir

Simple Summary For generations, local ethnic communities have amassed a vast body of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) on the use of plant resources. Ethnobiologists have recently focused on cross-cultural studies in order to record and measure the processes guiding the evolution of TEK within a specific society; both to preserve it and use it sustainably in the future. The current study documents the TEK of plant resources from five ethnic communities of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region, Western Himalayas. Through semi-structured interviews and group discussions, we recorded a total of 127 plant species used by local ethnic groups for various provisioning services (i.e., medicine, food, fodder, fuelwood, herbal tea) and/or with spiritual significance. Across the ethnic groups, Gujjar reported the highest number of plants (25% species), followed by Pahari (24% species), and the lowest number of plants were reported by Dogra (12% species). Looking at plant uses among different cultural groups, we discovered that, especially, some ritual practices were associated with specific plants. We found a relatively high overlap in the use of specific plants among the ethnic groups, namely Gujjar, Bakarwal, and Pahari. Certain species were found to be common in all cultures due to their food value. The current study is a collaborative effort that includes not only documenting, but also cross-cultural comparisons of the documented species, in order to better understand the diverse traditional plant usage systems. This will not only increase regional understanding of cross-cultural ethnobotany, but it will also open opportunities for local people to be rewarded for promoting and celebrating their expertise and participating in future development activities. Plant resources have always been valuable in human life, and many plant species are used in medicine, food, and ritual, and resource utilization is closely related to cultural diversity. Our study was conducted from June 2019 to April 2021, during which we aimed to document the local knowledge of plant resources of five ethnic groups, i.e., the Gujjar, Bakarwal, Kashmiri, Pahari, and Dogra communities of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region, Western Himalayas. Through semi-structured interviews (N = 342) and group discussions (N = 38), we collected data on the ethnobotanical uses of plant resources. The data was subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis and ordination techniques (Principal Component Analysis) via, R software of version 4.0.0. Traditional uses were classified into three groups, i.e., single-, double-, and multi-use groups. The study recorded a total of 127 plant species, belonging to 113 genera and distributed among 64 botanical families. The dominant plant families were the Asteraceae, with 8% of all species, followed by Lamiaceae (6%), Polygonaceae (5%) and Ranunculaceae (4%). The recorded plant taxa were frequently used for medicine (51.4% responses), followed by food (14.9%), and fodder (9.5%). Principal component analysis (PCA) separated three groups of provisioning services depending on plant consumption preference levels. Comparative analysis showed remarkable similarities in plant uses (food, medicinal) among the Gujjar and Bakarwal ethnic groups, as both groups share a common culture. Some plants like Azadirachta indica, Brassica campestris, Ulmus wallichiana, Amaranthus blitum, and Celtis australis were also used for magico-religious purposes. We also recorded some medicinal uses that are new to the ethnobotanical literature of the J&K Himalayas, such as for Betula utilis, Sambucus wightiana, and Dolomiaea macrocephala, in our case for example local medicinal recipe, which is derived from Dolomiaea macrocephala, often known as Nashasta, used to treat weakness, back pain, and joint pain. Similarly, we also recorded new food uses for Eremurus himalaicus. Moreover, we also observed some plants for instance, Fragaria nubicola, Betula utilis and Juniperus communis have spiritual significance (i.e., amulets and scrolls) for this part of the Himalayan region. The present study provides a useful tool for resource management and can help in developing scientifically informed strategies for the conservation of plant resources.