The Biella paradox: the resilience of plant foraging in a post-industrial pre-alpine area of Northern Italy.

backgroundThis study explores the continuity and transformation of wild plant foraging practices in Biella, Piedmont (northwestern Italy), over the past 55 years. The aim was to assess how cultural, economic, and environmental shifts have shaped local ethnobotanical knowledge and practices, using a 1970 survey as a baseline for comparison. Ethnobotanical fieldwork was conducted with 15 local informants to document current wild plant uses for food and herbal teas.

resultsThe resulting dataset of 82 species was compared with a historical record of 93 species to identify patterns of continuity, loss, and innovation. Three main patterns emerged: (1) the disappearance of certain traditionally foraged plants, not due to ecological absence but largely because of socio-economic changes like the decline of pastoralism and the loss of daily interaction with mountain environments (2) the emergence of new foraging practices involving species that grow near settlements, linked to evolving lifestyles and land use; and (3) a relatively robust preservation of traditional ecological knowledge when compared to other Alpine areas. This resilience is attributed to the area's geographic marginality, the socio-economic aftermath of the textile industry's collapse, and the strength of local traditions such as home gardening and communal land use.

conclusionWild plant foraging remains a living tradition in Biella, marked by both persistence and adaptation. The findings underscore the dynamic nature of ethnobotanical knowledge and its potential role in sustainability, food security, and cultural heritage preservation amid rural and peri-urban change.