Introduction

Commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as an approach to rural development in tropical forest areas. However, donor investments in the development of NTFP resources have often failed to deliver the expected benefits in terms of poverty alleviation and improved conservation of natural resources. In order to ensure that NTFPs fulfil their potential contribution to sustainable development, it is important to understand the reasons for success and failure, and the conditions under which NTFP commercialization can make a positive contribution to the livelihoods of the poor.

Definitions of key terms

The term non-timber forest product (NTFP) encompasses a very wide range of forest products and marketing systems, and has been defined variously by different people (Belcher 2003). This study uses the definition provided by de Beer and McDermott (1989), which states that 'NTFPs encompass all biological materials, other than timber, which are extracted from forests for human use.' Examples of NTFPs include fruits, nuts, seeds, oils, spices, resins, gums and fibres, which contribute, in a raw or processed form, to rural livelihoods by improving food security and health. Many NTFPs are commercial products that can make a significant contribution to the cash economy of households. Individual forest products may be processed into one or more marketed products, and traded through a variety of different value chains. Commercialization is defined as the entire process from production, through collection or cultivation, to sale of a product in exchange for cash, or sometimes for barter, resulting in the product leaving the community of origin.

The original publication from which this article is excerpted (see "Original Source" below) provides a global review of the non-wood forest products provided by trees found in temperate broadleaf forests. Included in the original publication is the range of non-wood forest products that this group of tree species provides and the places are indicated where these products are harvested.

Introduction

Those portions of the Earth's surface that are characterized by having distinct warm and cold seasons are known as the temperate zones. The forests that occupy temperate zones are diverse and complex. Conifers dominate some temperate zone forests while other are covered with broad-leaved or deciduous evergreen trees. Many temperate forests are mixtures of both conifers and broad-leaved trees.

The broadleaf forests of the temperate zones are composed of representatives of many plant families and genera. While many of these families and genera are unique to temperate climates, others are found in both the temperate and tropical regions. Moreover, a few families and genera of broad-leaved trees that are characteristic of the tropics are also found in some temperate forests. While some temperate forests, such as the Fagus sylvatica forests of central Europe, are composed of a single species, others may contain mixtures of up to 140 distinct species of trees.

Species succession and tolerance

A thorough understanding of local patterns of forest succession is fundamental to the practice of positive impact forestry. Succession is the orderly and predictable replacement of plant and animal communities as conditions change over time. The key phrase is "orderly and predictable." If not for a manager's ability to predict changes in successional patterns brought about by disturbances--especially those caused by human interventions--there would be no scientific basis for managing forest ecosystems to obtain benefits.

The patterns and processes of forest succession have been the subject of many studies, and much has been written to describe how it plays out in different forest types. But for every answer that science uncovers, new questions emerge, generating many different theories about how forests change, and why. In western forests there are ecosystems that have never seen human disturbances, and studies of these areas are enormously valuable in our quest to understand succession elsewhere. In eastern forests, such is not the case; virtually every acre has suffered the impacts of human exploitation. So much so that we can only speculate about pattern and process absent human interventions. Unfortunately, forest science arrived on the scene well after most presettlement forests had been cut hard for products or cleared for agriculture, and so in the eastern forest we lack critical baseline information about how forests change when humans are not around.

Introduction

The term Agroforestry Tree Products (AFTPs) is of very recent origin (Simons and Leakey, 2004) and refers to timber and non-timber forest products that are sourced from trees cultivated outside of forests. This distinction from the term non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for non-timber extractive resources from natural systems is to distinguish between extractive resources from forests and cultivated trees in farming systems, and hopefully will avoid some of the confusion in the current literature (Belcher, 2003). Nevertheless, some products will be marketed as both NTFPs and AFTPs (depending on their origin) during the period of transition from wild resources to newly domesticated crops. Consequently, both terms are used in the following sections.

Introduction

This chapter looks at the ways in which wild edible fungi are important to people, particularly those in developing countries, and attempts to relate this information to the way in which people live. Development support is adopting new approaches towards helping poor people in developing countries. Pragmatic and practical approaches to reducing poverty seek improvements sooner rather than later. Wild edible fungi already play an important role in the lives of many people and more benefits could be achieved. A knowledge of the fungi themselves is important but will not itself lead to changes unless the choices and options defined by livelihoods are closely examined.

Wild edible fungi provide two main benefits to people they are a source of food and income. Around six percent of edible species also have medicinal properties. This contribution to human welfare is difficult to assess and has received little attention. The medicinal properties of mycorrhizal fungi have not been well investigated (Reshetnikov, Wasser and Tan, 2001).

Introduction

Mixed species cropping is the growing of two or more plant species in the same field in the same year and, at least in part, at the same time. Mixed species cropping permits an intensification of the farm system, which results in increased overall productivity and biodiversity in cropped fields (Vandermeer, 1989). Mixed species cropping has been seen as a promising technique to develop sustainable farming systems because it often has multifunctional roles and can potentially provide a number of eco-services within the farm system. Examples may include the addition and recycling of organic material, water management, protection of soil from erosion and pest or disease suppression. This functional diversity contributes to ecological processes to promote the sustainability of the whole farm system (Altieri, 1999).