title: Indigenous knowledge and use of lichens by the lichenophilic communities of the Nepal Himalaya.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to document the prevailing indigenous knowledge and various uses of lichens among the lichenophilic communities in the hills and mountainous settlements of Nepal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ethnic uses were recorded during twelve field trips, each of roughly 15 days in three consecutive years, through direct questionnaires administered to 190 respondents. Lichen samples were identified applying microscopic observation and thin layer chromatography (TLC). Voucher specimens of identified species are deposited at TUCH (Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium) in Nepal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lichens are being used in several ways by different communities of Nepal. We recorded the ethnic use of seven species of lichens belonging to four families (Parmeliaceae, Physciaceae, Ramalinaceae and Usneaceae) and six genera (Heterodermia, Everniastrum, Parmotrema, Ramalina, Thamnolia and Usnea) among the Limbu, Sherpa, Lama, Gurung, Rai, Dalit, Tamang, Chhetri and Brahman communities. The present study revealed six use values namely; Medicinal value (MV), food value (FV), ritual and spiritual value (RSV), aesthetic and decorative value (ADV), bedding value (BV) and ethno-veterinary value (EVV) from different parts of Nepal. Three lichen species, Everniastrum cirrhatum, E. nepalense and Parmotrema cetratum were consumed by the Limbu and Rai communities. The Limbu and Sherpa ethnic groups are regarded as most lichenophilic communities while respondents from Brahman, Chhetri and Tamang communities showed less interest in lichen uses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study contributes to document traditional knowledge on various uses of lichens among nine communities with three different cultural background, inhabitants of eight different altitudinal levels of Nepal. Regarding the six values as identified from this research, significant difference (p = <0.05) were found along altitudinal gradients or locations of the settlements, cultural groups and ethnicity of the respondents.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland. shiva.devkota@gmail.com.|Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. shiva.devkota@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shiva
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5290-1113
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devkota
authors.affiliation: Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.|Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST), Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Ram Prasad
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Chaudhary
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.|Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Graz, Holteigasse 6, 8010, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Werth
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scheidegger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D019448:Ethnobotany; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008011:Lichens; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ethnolichenology; Ethnoveterinary; Limbu and Sherpa ethnic groups; Use values