Diversity and use of fibre plants in tropical South America

Klára Hajšmanová

Bakalářská práce

Abstract:

Fibre plants have been playing an important role in our lives for a long time now. They are utilised in a wide range of industries, such as textile manufacture, cordage production, weaving, paper making, and many others. They are really flexible, cohesive, and strong, but their full potential has not been explored yet. Many people do not know about their other great advantages, like their biodegradability or recyclability. Numerous underutilised plant species exist that have a lot of potential as substitutes for the main crops. These substitute can be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This thesis summarised the main uses of fibre plants, focusing on the regions of tropical South America. It explained their ethnobotanical use as well as the economic profit for the local people. Afterwards, the two biggest families of underutilised crops that originated in South America were briefly described. Sadly, there is not that much information about them till this day. They should be more explored and researched in the field of fibre use. Then two tables that illustrate some examples of underutilised fibre plants were provided. It mentions their scientific names as well as their vernacular names, along with their origin and use. The information was collected from many online databases, including Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as from printed books like Prosea.

Keywords

agroecology, economic botany, industrial crops, natural fibres, agrobiodiversity, Neotropics, plant fibres, tropical crops

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 20. 4. 2024

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 30. 5. 2024
• Vedoucí: doc. Ing. Zbyněk Polesný, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Barbora Fišerová

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta tropického zemědělství

Bakalářský studijní program:
Tropické zemědělství