Abstract:

Background & Aims: Ethnobotany, the scientific study of the relationship between humans and plants, has been a field of growing interest in China since its introduction in 1982. Over the years, it has accumulated a substantial amount of descriptive work, both domestically and internationally. In our quest to promote Ethnobotany as a hypothesis- and theory-driven discipline, we undertook a comprehensive review of this vast body of domestic and international ethnobotanical research. We also delved into the theoretical bases of sociology, anthropology, ethnology, ecology, and related disciplines. This thorough review allowed us to reorganize the research approaches of Ethnobotany, and present 15 theoretical hypotheses that can serve as valuable references in ethnobotanical research.

Perspective: Generally speaking, ethnobotanical research has two research paradigms, which are the human-oriented paradigm and plants-oriented paradigm, and is carried out according to the three-stage research approach of “description-explanation-application” using a variety of research methods and tools. In the explanation stage, in order to more scientifically explain the relationship between humans and plants, we can proceed from the two perspectives of humans and plants based on the following theoretical hypotheses: (1) Theoretical hypotheses from the perspective of human include the survival hypothesis, animism, cultural adaptation hypothesis, ecological niche hypothesis, demographic traits hypothesis, social network theory, urbanization hypothesis, etc.; (2) Hypotheses from the perspective of plants include ecological apparency hypothesis, ecological redundancy hypothesis, coevolution hypothesis, edge effect hypothesis, versatility hypothesis, diversification hypothesis, pictographic hypothesis and kinship hypothesis, etc.

Future prospects: Theoretical hypotheses, as we have presented in this article, serve as invaluable tools for conducting ethnobotanical research. They not only provide a framework for understanding the complex relationship between humans and plants but also guide our exploration into the future of Ethnobotany. By relying on a variety of tools to conduct multi-dimensional ethnobotanical research, we are paving the way for the evolution of our discipline. It is our hope that the theoretical hypotheses we have outlined here will offer profound insights and practical guidance for future ethnobotanical research.

Key words: Ethnobotany, theory, hypothesis, research approach, traditional knowledge