Ethnobotany of Home Gardens and Traditional Knowledge of The Malay Community in Pongok Island, Bangka Belitung, Indonesia

Through the application of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge, home gardens are essential for food security and biodiversity conservation. This quantitative ethnobotanical study identifies plant species cultivated in home gardens on Pongok Island, Bangka Belitung, Indonesia, and examines the contributions of traditional home garden management practices to the community. Data collection involved interviews with 15 source persons, comprising three key participants and 12 general respondents. The obtained data were analyzed using the Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), and Relative Importance (RI) indices, as well as an assessment of land use/land cover changes. This study identified 137 plant species from 55 families, with Fabaceae and Asparagaceae being the most prevalent. The most common plant habits were trees, totaling 57 species. Home gardens on Pongok Island were used mostly to grow fruits (28.76%), ornamentals (24.84%), and medicinal plants (21.57%). A total of 12 species had the highest UV values; the highest RFC value was 1.00 for Mangifera indica L.; and the highest RI value was 1.30 for Musa paradisiaca L. The decline of home gardens due to land conversion over the past two decades on this island, however, poses a significant threat to the sustainability of traditional plants that are crucial for both food security and medicinal purposes. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of sustainable home garden management for the preservation of plant diversity and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge.