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Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are known to provide livelihoods for forest-based communities across the world. While ensuring the sustainability of NTFP harvests is a key challenge, optimizing the production of NTFPs through appropriate silvicultural practices is also critical for forest-based economies. In Central India, the suitability of fire or pruning practices for enhancing the production of leaves of the tendu tree (Diospyros melanoxylon) has been much debated. While villagers commonly adopt annual litter fires, the state Forest Department urges leaf collectors to adopt the more labor-intensive practice of pruning. On the other hand, conservationists recommend completely hands-off management (no fire or pruning). In this study, we compared leaf production from the competing practices of litter fire, pruning, pruning-with-fire, and hands-off management, that are experimented with in community-managed forests. We checked for confounding factors such as tree canopy cover, presence of tendu trees, and inherent differences in forest type. We conducted the study during the pre-harvest season from March to May 2020 in villages in the northern Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, India. We found that pruning and pruning-with-fire lead to higher root sprout production and, in turn, higher leaf production per unit area when compared to litter fire and the control (no pruning or fire). Fire alone led to a negative impact on leaf production. Implementing pruning instead of litter fire, however, comes with labor costs. Its adoption is therefore linked with the institutional arrangements for tendu management and marketing that shape community perception of costs. गौण वन उत्पादने जगभरातील वन-आधारित समुदायांसाठी उपजीविका म्हणून महत्त्वाची आहेत. त्यांच्या शाश्वत उपलब्धतेसाठी तसेच त्यांच्यावर अवलंबून आजीविकांच्या दृष्टीने वन उपजाच्या नियोजन पद्धतींचा वनवृक्षशास्त्राच्या दृष्टीने अभ्यास होणे गरजेचे आहे. मध्य भारतातील वन-आधारित समुदाय अनेक वर्ष तेंदू वृक्षाच्या पानांना (म्हणजे बिडी-पत्त्याला) निरनिराळ्या पद्धतीने संकलित करीत आहेत व त्याकरिता निरनिराळ्या पद्धतीने नियोजन करीत आहेत. झाडाची झुडपी वाढ करून, पाने हाता जवळ वाढवणे हा त्यातील मुख्य उद्देश आहे. यामध्ये झाडाच्या रोपांची मुळाशी छाटणी करणे (खुट/बेल कटाई) किंवा, जंगलातील पाचोळा पेटवणे, किंवा या दोन्ही पद्धती एकत्रित वापरणे ('छाटणी-व-आग') अशा पद्धतींचा समावेश आहे. अलीकडे काही लोक तेंदू संवर्धनासाठी झाडाची विना-नियोजन वाढ होऊ देतात (म्हणजे विना आग आणि विना खुट कटाईने). यातील कोणत्या पद्धतीने प्रती हेक्टरी सर्वात जास्त तेंदू पाने तयार होतात याचा अभ्यास आम्ही केला. यासाठी आम्ही उत्तर गडचिरोली, महाराष्ट्र येथील काही गावांच्या सामुहिक वन क्षेत्रात मार्च ते मे २०२० मध्ये वेगवेगळ्या नियोजन पद्धतीमध्ये होणाऱ्या तेंदूपत्ता उत्पन्नाचा पद्धतशीर अभ्यास केला. एकूण आम्हाला असे दिसले की, आग वापरण्यापेक्षा तेंदूच्या रोपांची मुळाशी केलेली छाटणी व 'छाटणी-व-आग' या पद्धती अधिक पानांचे उत्पन्न देतात. आम्ही पाहिले की स्थानिक जंगल प्रकार, त्याची दाटी, व तेंदू वृक्षाची निकटता या निकषांमुळे पानांच्या उत्पन्नात नियोजन पद्धतीपेक्षा जास्त परिणाम होत नाही. परंतु यातील कोणतीही पद्धत वापरताना व वन-आधारित उपजीविका सांभाळत, तसेच सामुहिक वन नियोजन करताना काही व्यावहारिक अडचणी आहेत. त्यांचावरही आम्ही या अभ्यासात विचार केला आहे. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A New Global Estimation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Species in Commercial Cultivation and Their Conservation Status. Historically, the majority of medicinal and aromatic plant (MAP) species has been harvested in the wild. In recent decades, there has been concern that certain species appear to face threats due to overexploitation related to increasing global demand coupled with loss of habitat due to development and land use change. Earlier studies estimated that about 900 species were produced, to some extent, by cultivation. This study aims to update previous estimates by applying a systematic approach for obtaining data from a large number of different sources of information and knowledge. A broad categorization scheme for forms of cultivation is introduced. Using multiple methods of data collection, we found evidence of commercial cultivation of 3,227 taxa, belonging to 235 different plant families. The most frequently identified forms of cultivation were agroforestry, intensive farming, and controlled cultivation, followed by, to a much lesser extent, extensive farming, and natural fostering. Of the identified species, 954 have a global International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment, of which 82 species (2.5%) are threatened to some degree according to IUCN Red List categories and criteria. Of the 3,227 cultivated taxa, 1,732 (54%) have also been assessed by national red lists, of which 688 taxa are assessed as threatened in at least one country. Additionally, 109 of the 3,227 cultivated species are included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendices. The results of this research show that the number of cultivated plants is significantly higher than previously estimated. Potential consequences of threat status on the domestication of MAP species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aframomum (Zingiberaceae) is a genus of plants native to tropical Africa that are sold on African markets as spices and traditional medicine. Not all species of Aframomum are equally abundant or widespread, and no overview exists of the specific species traded or the quality of the species identifications in publications referencing the sale of Aframomum. Through a systematic literature review, we show that 14 species of Aframomum are sold in 15 African countries. The majority of the studies were done in Nigeria and Cameroon and A. melegueta was the most frequently reported species in trade. A. kayserianum was the only commercialized species with confirmed conservation issues. Our literature review shows extensive knowledge gaps regarding the commercialization of Aframomum in Africa. Most studies did not include herbarium vouchers, or only used market-sourced plant material, which impedes the possibilities for species verifications. Additionally, most East African countries were devoid of relevant research. These gaps can be bridged by future research in East Africa and voucher collection from living material. Information on the conservation status of traded Aframomum species can be obtained by population studies on wild resources and documenting local domestication efforts, as the cultivation of marketed species tends to relieve the pressure from wild resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a study which aims to evaluate the nutritional value of two rattan species such as Calamus flagellum and Calamus floribundus in Northeast India. The study examines the shoot samples growing in Gibbon Wild Life Sanctuary in which the soft-core portion was used in the nutritional assessment. Result shows that the two rattan species has several nutritional compounds including proteins, carbohydrates, and dietary fibers.

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Along the Pastaza and Urituyacu rivers in Peru, 100 informants in four villages knew 17 different uses of the piassaba fiber palm, Aphandra natalia (Balslev and Henderson) Barfod. Human consumption of fruits, extraction of fibers for trade, and harvesting leaves for thatch were the most frequently reported uses. Twenty uses were documented previously in the literature, and eight are reported here for the first time. Knowledge concerning the use of A. natalia among villagers varied significantly with ethnicity, village, and gender, but not with education or age; Amerindian informants knew more than non-Amerindian informants, and men knew more than women, Old and young informants knew about the same numbers of uses, and those who had little formal school training knew as many as those who had attended school for a longer time. Although 44% of our informants knew about fiber extraction, trade involving Aphandra fibers was not of great economic importance in our study area. Because fiber extraction has been documented as the most important use in all previous studies of A. natalia, it was surprising to find that people in one of the studied villages did not use A. natalia for that purpose at all. In contrast to previous observations, the extraction of fibers involved the destructive felling of the palms. We recommend implementing non-destructive extraction techniques so that local communities could exploit the fiber resource in a sustainable way. Non-destructive extraction methods involve cutting leaves from standing palms instead of felling the entire tree and leaving a few leaves on each extracted palm. However, given the limited economic incentive to the extractor, market mechanisms may be the greatest barrier to implementing sustainable extraction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buriti palm is used for several purposes in Jalapão, Brazil, among which harvesting of young leaves has the greatest potential impact on palm populations. This work aimed to (i) assess buriti palm uses, (ii) identify experimentally the impacts of young-leaf harvesting on growth, survival, and leaf production of individuals, (iii) evaluate density and structure of buriti populations at different distances from a local harvester community, and (iv) quantify the fiber yield of young leaves. We conducted 21 interviews, sampled six buriti palm populations, and monitored 60 buriti individuals to evaluate the impacts of harvesting young leaves. The harvesting practices of artisans did not affect the survival, leaf production, or growth of buriti individuals. The buriti palm is abundant and has a "reverse i' population structure, indicating population regeneration. However, some signs of overexploitation were pointed out by local harvesters and observed in the field; therefore, we recommend management practices that would contribute to sustainability, such as harvesting young leaves from individuals with a large number of mature green leaves, and harvesting young leaves in sites far from the communities. Buriti é usado para inúmeras finalidades no Jalapão, dentre elas, o extravismo de foihas jovens tern o major potencial de impacto nas populações. Este trabaiho teve por objetivos (i) descrever os usos do buriti, (ii) testar irnpactos do extrativismo de foihas jovens no crescimento, sobrevivência e produção de folhas dos individuos, (iii) caractenzar a densidade e estrutura de populações em veredas a diferentes distâncias da comunidade da Mumbuca, e (iv) quantificar a produção de fibras obtidas das foihas jovens. Fizemos 21 entrevistas corn extrativistas, amostramos seis populações de buriti e monitoramos 60 individuos para aval jar os impactos do extrativisrno. O extrativismo não afetou a sobrevivência, a produçãao de folhas e nem o crescjmento dos indivíduos. As populações de buriti são abundantes e tem estrutura em formato de J invertido, o que facilita a regeneração. Sinais de superexploração foram identificados por artesãos e verificados em carnpo, por jsto, recomendamos algurnas práticas de manejo que podem contrjbujr para a sustentabjlidade do extrativismo, como coletar foihas jovens de indivíduos com rnaior número de folhas maduras e em veredas mais distantes das comunidades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of the contribution of wild edible mushrooms to rural livelihoods is acknowledged, but remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the collection of wild edible Nepalese fungi, which species are used, and what are the specific characteristics of the collectors and the collection. Data were collected using 282 structured questionnaires, interviews, and forest walks in 17 districts, environmental household accounts from 413 households in two communities, and a review of literature. A total of 228 species of wild fungi are confirmed to be used for food, and collection is most widespread among the high-mountain Tibeto-Nepalese ethnic groups, which collect an average of 18.1 kilograms (kg) fresh mushrooms per year per household, with some households collecting as much as 160 kg. We found no relation between wealth status and subsistence collection, although the commercial collectors are predominantly the poor earning up to six months of unskilled labor salary per season. Given the limited local trade and occurrence of globally marketed species, the scope for increasing contributions to rural livelihoods from collection of mushrooms, and risks in relation to this are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)