Children's plant knowledge over time: the importance of livelihood, landscape and life history in the Paraguayan Chaco

In 2011 we replicated a study of children's wild plant naming proficiencies that the first author conducted in 1998 in the Ayoreo community of Jesudi in the Paraguayan Chaco. Overall, the 24 children in the 2011 study were less than half as proficient in naming the same species along our interview trail in comparison to the 22 children participants one generation earlier. 13 individuals were interviewed both as children and as adults: though most became more proficient in adulthood, several exceptions provide insight into the importance of personal life choices in the context of livelihood opportunities and landscape change. The rapidly changing social, political, and biophysical environments of the Paraguayan Chaco continues to present serious challenges to Ayoreo community members who wish to continue to practice their parents' and grandparents' wild food traditions.