Occurrence data set for wild food plant species in Zimbabwe's biodiversity hotspots

Study Extent

Data on tree species of food importance were collected from Chimanimani (19°48'S;32°52'E), Chipinge (20°24'S;32°41'E) and Nyanga (18°13'S;32°44'E) in Eastern Highlands, Mutorashanga (17°25'S;30°35'E) in Great Dyke and Hwange (19°07'S;26°35'E) in dry savanna

Sampling

Data concerning numbers of species used for food, along with use categories, were compiled from representatives drawn from 17 communities. A total of 102 informants who included men, women, youths and traditional healers participated in the surveys. Of the selected communities, utilisation by men, women and youths was studied using group discussions and key informant interviews. For each hotspot area, separate groups of men and women were used. Information was given using local plant names, part(s) used, methods of preparation and how they are used. Additional data were compiled from publications, books and herbarium specimens collected from the hotspot areas. The data collected developed a checklist data set on non-timber forest products used for food in theses biodiversity hotspots. The developed checklist was then used to construct an occurrence data set using specimen located in the Nation Herbarium and Botanical garden

Quality Control

Data were checked for quality using software and databases such Catalogue of Life, Flora of Zimbabwe, Excel data cleaning, ECAT name parser, OpenRefine, TNRS, qGIS and GEOLocate.

Method steps

1. - Data collected from National Herbarium were compiled for digitisation. Knowledgeable representatives from each community attended the initiation meeting to verify use of species. The species names were given in vernacular language and this was later translated into scientific names by family, genus and species. - Review of literature was done to supplement the data gathered from community meetings. - The data was first prepared into a checklist, then used as basis for developing occurrence data set using spacemen found in The National Herbarium and Botanical Garden in Harare, Zimbabwe.
   - Data were checked for quality using databases and software such as Catalogue of Life, Flora of Zimbabwe, Excel, OpenRefine, and GEOLocate. After quality checks, the checklist was uploaded on IPT Cloud (https://cloud.gbif.org/bid/ )

Data on tree species of food importance were collected from Chimanimani (19°48'S;32°52'E), Chipinge (20°24'S;32°41'E) and Nyanga (18°13'S;32°44'E) in Eastern Highlands, Mutorashanga (17°25'S;30°35'E) in Great Dyke and Hwange (19°07'S;26°35'E) in dry savanna.