| The excavation,protection,inheritance and utilization of agricultural cultural heritage are conducive to carrying forward Chinese agricultural culture,enhancing national cultural identity and promoting the sustainable development of China agriculture.It will also make positive contributions to enhance the development of rural areas,boost employment and income for farmers in heritage areas and realize rural revitalization.As one site of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS),the "Rice-Fish-Duck Complex Agricultural System"in Dong ethnic communities,Congjiang County,Southeast Guizhou has played an important role in maintaining local ecological security,protecting biodiversity and maintaining the livelihood of local people,and has important social,economic and ecological values.The fish in the system is a major source of protein,called Dao-hua-yu in common language,a general term for fish farmed in paddy rice fields.In this study refer specifically to carp(Cyprinus carpio)in the local rice-fish-duck complex system,named "paddy rice carp" thereafter.However,there is still a lack of systematic compilation of the traditional knowledge related to the utilization of carp in the system.The relationship between this relevant traditional knowledge and regional sustainable development and the synergistic evolution of social and natural ecosystems is still unclear.So in the historical process of China's increasing urbanization and building a moderately prosperous society,a series of exploratory studies will be beneficial to explore the ecological wisdom in the agricultural cultural heritage sites.Some of the major studies include:1)systematically exploring the background and traditional knowledge of paddy rice carp;2)diversity of biological genetic resources and 3)local people's cognition and behavior towards the sustainable use of paddy rice fish resources.Overall,it has important theoretical and practical significance for biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization of biological resources in Southeast Guizhou.Based on the literature analysis,this study was conducted from an ethno-ecological perspective,guided by the theories of ethnology,ecology,ethnobotany,microbiology,and food chemistry.It was started with an ethnoecological field survey on the use of fish in paddy fields from Southeast Guizhou.The case site of this study is the Dong minority area in southeast Guizhou.This study was conducted on the basis of literature analysis,and from the perspective of ethnoecology.Through the approaches of ethnology,ecology,ethnobotany,microbiology,and food chemistry,the traditional use of wild food plants had been investigated.The preferences of local people for biological resources in the process of grilling fish was analyzed in terms of traditional grilled fish(grilled paddy rice carp in rice paddies and nearby hillsides)and related traditional knowledge.The raw material plants and related traditional knowledge for the production of traditional fermented fish(paddy rice carp pickled by koji)had been recorded and documented.Then an explanation of the diversity of raw material plants and related traditional knowledge possessed by the local people for the production of koji for fish fermentation was presented.This study analyzed the microbial diversity composition and quality characteristics of fermented fish from the perspective of cultural attributes including self-consumption,medicinal uses or sacrifice in ceremonies.Thus the eco-cultural adaptability of Dong people in this area can be explained in such a special agroecosystem.The perceptions and behaviors of local people on the sustainable use of paddy rice fish resources were investigated in eight towns and villages in Conjiang County,an agrocultural heritage site with well-preserved traditional paddy rice carp.It revealed the internal mechanisms that determine how local people maintain the sustainable use of paddy rice fish resources,and proposed policy suggestions in line with local conditions on this basis.The main findings of this research are as follows:First,this study conducted an ethnoecological research on the paddy rice carp utilization in Southeast Guizhou.Results found that 1)there are local traditions on land arrangement,water management,fish hatching,field management,fish havesting,grilled fish techniques,fish processing teniques,social relations,folk culture and religious beliefs,etc.;2)paddy rice fish functions as a material basis for Dong people to acquire local and traditional ecological knowledge,to maintain livelihood,to persue simple values,and to implement folk faith activities;3)its related traditional knowledge occupies a very important position in the local culture and is the basic right for the local to maintain their livelihood and well-being.Second,this study analyzed the raw material plants and traditional knowledge of grilled fish in Southeast Guizhou.A field survey of was conducted in Congjiang county,with 279 informants interviewed and 52 species of raw materials catalogued,belonging to 21 families and 43 genera.It sorted out the traditional knowledge of plant types,parts used,wild and cultivated condition,ritual symbols,etc.Results suggest that 1)there is a high degree of cultural intermingling between the Dong and Miao ethnic groups in the region in terms of grilled fish customs,as most wild edible pants are used and processed in the same way;2)however,both groups maintain a small selection preference of their own foods;3)meanwhile,the exotic pants are well integrated into the traditional local food culture.Third,this study explored the traditional knowledge of "caoqu"(wine koji)in Southeast Guizhou.The case study concerns Xiaohuang village of Congjiang,Huanggang village and Nongwu village of Liping.217 residents were interviewed.Results found that 1)58.06%of men and 41.94%of women were among those who mastered traditional fish pickling techniques;2)mainly middle-aged between 40 and 60 years old;3)70.05%of the respondents were illiterate,mostly farmers,small traders or migrant workers;these relevant knowledge possessions s were not significantly correlated with gender and occupation,but were significantly correlated with age and education level.In this study,we collated 60 species of raw material plants of making wine koji,belonging to 36 families and 58 genera.The common plant families are Comppositae,Rosaceae,asparagus and Ipomoeaceae,mainly herbs,shrubs and vines,but few trees.The root is the most commonly used plant part,followed by leaves,whole plants,fruits,aboveground parts,branches,stems,bark and flowers.The(UV)index of raw plants ranged from 0.27 to 1.74,among which 23 species had UV value greater than 1.Pueraria montana var.lobata(Willd.)Sanjappa&Pradeep(UV?1.74)was the most important plant in making wine koji,followed by Actinidia eriantha Benth.(UV=1.51)and Oryza sativa L.var.glutinosa Matsum(UV=1.5).All three plants were common in the survey area.Forth,this study investigated the microbial ecology and resource quality heterogeneity of grilled fish with different cultural attributes.It's found that 1)using wine koji and low-salt fermentation to pickle fish might be a true tradition in Southeast Guizhou;2)both bacterial and fungal diversity were higher in the edible ceviche group with low salt concentration than in the medicinal(ritual)ceviche group with high salt concentration;3)42 bacterial OTUs and six fungal OTUs were significantly different between the two groups of culturally different pickled fish samples(P<0.001),indicating that the non-standardized treatment of farmers had an effect on the microbial community structure of pickled fish;4)in the process of low-salt fish pickling,protein was converted into flavorful substances to improve palatability,and to meet the functional needs of consumption;5)in the process of high-salt fish pickling,in addition to protein metabolism,carbohydrate metabolism is required to produce other functional substances to meet the functional requirements for medicinal purposes.The traditional kowledge of pickled fish is an adaptation of the Dong people of Qiandongnan to their living environment and social culture.Fifth,this study looked into the perception and behaviors of sustainable use of paddy rice fish resources.It's found that 1)local farmers'attitudes toward the sustainable use of paddy rice fish resources directly determine their willingness to participate in the survey;2)and their willingness to participate directly determines their actual participation in the sustainable use of paddy rice fish resources;3)opinions of family members,neighbors,agricultural departmens,food departments and governments contributed to residents engaging in eco-farming of paddy rice fish;4)different subjects such as farmers(gender,age,education level,family structure),organizations,policies(knowledge of relevant departments and policies)and markets have different degrees of knowledge about paddy-rice-capt resources and its traditional knowledge;5)the influence of subjective perceptions on local perceptions and behaviors in the sustainable use of rice-fish resources was much lower than that of farmers' attitudes.As a conclusion,this study suggest that 1)future research on the sustainable use of paddy rice fish resource should focus on the behavioral characteristics of the resource use by local groups,look into the methods of biological resource use,pay attention to cultural traditions,consider the local's perceptions and behaviors,and highlight its impact on ecological environment;2)it should be stressed that the paddy rice fish resource is an important component of agricultural heritage resources;3)agricultural heritage protection is closely linked to the development of rural culture in the process of implementing the strategy of building a well-off society and revitalizing the countryside.Farmers should be encouraged to particapte in the development by adapting modern technology to improve the quality of paddy rice fishs and the derivatives,and connecting the products to the mainstream markets to form a complete industrial chain.Governments should create conditions to guide people to protect and inherit paddy rice fish resources and its associated cultural heritage;4)Governments integrate the paddy rice fish and its related biological resources as cultural resources in the process of the great development and prosperity of socialist culture at the national level.The overall goal is to realize the transition from rice-based agriculture to harmless and residue-free ecological agriculture in the south of China,while preserving the local biological and cultural diversity. |
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