In terms of development of the phenological calendar at a regional park level, this serves as an accessible one-pager to ground the importance and prevalence of gathering culturally important species. Lastly, implementation of the pine ecocultural restoration project is still to come. The clear, actionable results of this research are still to be seen in many ways. These small, incremental, translational steps in the short-term, will hopefully make progress in successful outcomes in the long-term .The translational approach to interdisciplinary ecological research provides a fairly novel, yet necessary and integrated call to intentionally include diverse voices in the decision-making processes that govern policy making. Given the abundance of socially linked environmental problems governing our global climate, it is urgent that ecologists consider the direct policy impacts of their research. Research shows that integrating strategies typically seen in the social sciences are effective in bridging the gap between research and decision-making entities . Training future translational ecologists in practical competencies including areas such as mediation, conflict management, project management, ethics, as well as nurturing personal attributes including empathy, leadership, and a commitment to valuing multiple world views, epistemologies, non-formal knowledge, and experience. Translational ecologists, in many instances, are asked to invest their time in crossing boundaries of understanding, distinct fields,ebb and flow flood table and personal comfort zones, in order to participate in a collaborative decision-making as a result of a translational process. In reflecting on various dimensions present in the translational approach and in my own dissertation research process, I provide concrete examples of challenges encountered and direct actions taken to address those challenges.
In addition, I present insights into necessary areas of growth and development, as I continue along my journey in research and education. There continues to be a great need for translational researchers who can collaboratively create research objectives and methodologies that are contextually driven and culturally relevant in order to drive thoughtful decision making and proposed solutions to environmental problems. The diverse ecosystems nestled in the Carpathian Mountains are biodiversity hotspots with forests and grasslands harboring over 200 endemic plant species. Considered the “Amazon of Europe”, this mountain region is one of Europe’s last fully undeveloped landscapes; it serves as a rich refuge for large carnivores and principle source of subsistence to 16 million people . The Carpathian region in Ukraine covers 3.5% of Ukraine’s area and 10.3% of total area of the Carpathian Mountains . The flora species composition of the Carpathian alpine forest provides a key indicator of ecosystem health in response to climate change . As an ancient corridor and refuge for humans, the cultural landscape mirrors the breadth and depth of the biological landscape. Beginning over 2,000 years ago, many tribes have established cultural roots in this region . Ukraine is home to Indigenous, ethnographic groups ranging from various highlanders in the eastern Carpathian Mountains including Hutsuls in Hutsulshchyna , Boykos, in the Bystrytsia Solotvynska River Basin, Lemkos, in the Low and Middle Beskyd Mountains as well as Tatars in Crimea . Archaelogical evidence points to human existence in the region dating back to 100,000 years . This ethnobotanical study is centered in the cultural, historical center of Hutsulshchyna, which translates to “Land of Hutsuls”, a mountainous area of the Carpathian Mountains in the southwestern Ukraine and northern Romania . This territory covers three administrative regions in Ukraine as well as a portion in northern Romania.
At a landscape scale, for centuries, Hutsuls, traditional pastoral highlands of the Ukrainian Carpathians, have maintained alpine grasslands through mountain shepherding. Currently, there is a continuing threat of cultural loss of this shepherding practice due to its low economic competitiveness as well as increasing disinterest among younger generations . Maintenance of polonynas is declining quickly as newer pressures such as tourism infrastructure and emigration of younger generations to cities rise. The recent decline of grazing on secondary grasslands has led to reforestation of previously cleared areas . However, mountain shepherding and other traditional ecological practices, such as gathering of NTFP , like wild edible plants and mushrooms, have continued to thrive despite these pressures. NTFPs, typically refer to substances, materials or non-timber species that provide economic value to rural communities . Forests and a multitude of other habitats bordering various village settlements provide an integral zone of nourishment through the gathering of wild and cultivated species . Flowers, birch sap, resin, honey, mushrooms, and berries, gathered in these diverse habitats, form an essential part of the social fabric and political economy of Ukrainian culture , and in forest-dependent Hutsul communities. Lived and experienced by local and Indigenous communities worldwide, TEK is cultural, spiritual, intergenerational, dynamic, place-based, environmental wisdom for survival and interconnection that is revisited, reinterpreted, and re-evaluated consistently . TEK, the scientific method brought to life through culture, plays a significant role in meeting community needs, while adapting to environmental changes and societal needs. In this region, TEK have all been impacted by deforestation and ecosystem degradation caused by various factors such as illegal logging, climate change, and ski tourism .
As Ukraine continues to face political crisis, financial insecurity, food scarcity, and increasingly expensive medical care, trade and direct consumption of NTFPs in local diets has increased in the Carpathian region . According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 80% of developing countries rely on NTFPs for nutrition and health purposes . NTFPs contribute to a growing local economy, diversify diets, present possibilities for genetic research and development in new domesticated crops, and provide a lens for understanding cultural identity. For centuries, local Hutsul people have creatively and effectively managed species, maintaining their productivity and availability, thus creating a socioeconomic safety net to sustain them in times of scarcity. Hutsulshchyna has been a place of extensive ethnographic work starting in the early 1800s and continuing well into the 1930s, whereby this region was under various colonial regimes . In the last 5 years, a group of authors have centered their ethnobotanical research in Bukovina, the southeastern corner of Hutsulschyna with several studies focusing on Hutsul ethnobotany . Their methodologies generally consist of qualitative interviewing followed by quantitative analyses including detailed use report and calculations of the Jaccard Similarity Index to cross-culturally compare ethnobotanical uses on either side of the border. Their studies suggest that the establishment of the border between Ukraine and Romania in 1940 and the resulting impacts of Soviet policies in Ukraine contribute to differences seen in ethnobotanical use and knowledge transmission between Hutsuls in North Bukovina and Hutsuls in South Bukovina . Additionally, other studies analyze differences between wild and cultivated species’ use between Romanians and Hutsuls in Bukovina as well as the revitalization of ethnobotanical practices in religious holidays of Hutsuls in Northern Bukovina and Ukrainians in Roztochya, western Ukraine . The most recent study infers that Hutsuls in Northern Bukovina exhibit greater reliance and dependence on forest habitats than Hutsuls in Southern Bukovina . The splitting of Hutsulshchyna between Ukraine and Romania in 1940 and the resulting socio-political policies implemented on each side of the border guide the narrative of these studies; differences seen in species uses, range of species as well as ethnobotanical knowledge transmission are attributed to this border creation. What does traditional ecological knowledge which supports ethnobotanical use look like in the center of Hutsulshchyna? How is TEK adapting to regional challenges? This study elucidates today’s current traditional ecological knowledge in the Carpathian Mountains, underpinning the practices of gathering wild and cultivated species use ,hydroponic drain table radiating out from the historical, cultural center of Hutsulshchyna, Verkhovyna, in Ukraine. Building upon previous studies, this study incorporates both the ethnobotanical, quantitative analyses as well as collaborative, qualitative methodologies . By exploring how TEK supports gathering practices surrounding use, factors including accessibility to habitat and availability of species arise; current ecosystem, climatic and cultural changes are impacting these factors. The results of this study are interpreted through the lenses of quantitative ethnobotanical indices , qualitative methods , and TEK . The answers to all these questions provide a starting point to centering TEK within a broader context of conservation policy, acknowledging the critical relationships between forest-dependent communities and their neighboring habitats.
The study area of focus within Hutsulshchyna has experienced numerous battles including Tartar hordes , the Polish regime , the Austrian-Hungarian Empire , Poland , and the Soviet Union . During the interwar period between World War I and World War II, Hutsulshchyna was split between Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia . In 1940, Hutsulshchyna was split between the Soviet Union and Romania. In 1991, when Ukraine became independent, Hutsulshchyna was then split between Ukraine and Romania. The Hutsulshchyna region holds a lot of appeal for Ukrainian, Polish and European tourists today due to its natural beauty – rolling hills dot a landscape of coniferous pine forests, grazed land, gardens, mountains, polonynas , and rivers. For Hutsuls living in the region, many households manage subsistence agriculture, beekeeping, and cattle operations, with additional income derived from family members going abroad to earn income. Low salaries demand multiple avenues of revenue from subsistence farming, gathering of wild foods, selling valuable wild plants, and opening one’s home to tourist stays . This area is characterized by its high elevation and small villages that dot the valleys between the peaks. Vekhovyna , the center of this study, lies at 607 meters above sea level and has a cold and temperate climate . Characteristic of this region are the valley microclimates, fog, and significant amount of rainfall. Daily average air temperatures can range from 16.9 degrees Celsius, with July being the hottest month to -5.1 degrees Celsius with January being the coldest month. Precipitation can vary from 38 mm to 109 mm . Hutsuls are associated with Ukrainians and Ruthenians , yet they consider themselves a freestanding ethnicity. Political boundaries running through the territory have had minimal effect on Hutsul unity or identity since it is the mountains that form the natural boundary among states, not the artificial lines drawn through them . Lifeway overrides these century-old claims to land, and peoples as seen through shepherding, farming, use and knowledge of plants, embroidery, song, storytelling, and language. Hutsul, considered a unique dialect is endangered due to various socio-economic pressures , and in many instances is indistinguishable from Contemporary Standard Ukrainian . Even from village to village which can be distant across mountain ranges there are notable linguistic differences, as an old saying goes, “in every cottage a different tongue” . The same can be said with local Hutsul plant names and uses as well as place names. I conducted my field research over the course of two field seasons . My methodologies are both quantitative and qualitative in nature. To understand the documented regional ethnobotanical knowledge, I conducted historic and ethnographic literature reviews, as well as visited local museums including Didova Apteka, The Hutsulshchyna Museum, and The Ivan Franko Museum. Two qualitative methods guide this research: 1) participant observation in which I, as a researcher, took part in daily activities, interactions, and events, including gathering trips and 2) community-based participatory action research , in which I worked collaboratively with community members on the framing and formation of this study. During the first field season, between December 2017 and August 2018, I conducted in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews , using ethnographic interview methods with 40 people including elders, herbalists, villagers, farmers, and knowledge holders through snowball sampling in eight different villages. Interview participants also included foresters, rangers, and scientists at two national parks . Interviewees ranged in age from 25 to 93 years old, with an average age of 53. Interviews were conducted in Ukrainian, and participants responded in Hutsul and Ukrainian. Interviews typically ranged from one hour to four hours, focused on topics of species use , gathering practices, species history and species ecology. I typically brought a camera, audio recorder, notebook, and a travel plant press to each interview. Each participant was asked for consent before recording or photographing occurred. Most interviews occurred at homes, places of work, or at places of gathering. An IRB consent was completed and filed for the length of the study and the project followed the ethical guidelines outlined in the International Society of Ethnobiology .