Search this site:

4.2 Demands for Nontimber Forest Products

In early public meetings where this Assessment was discussed, requests were made for information about nontimber forest products. Research on such products and the effects of harvesting them from forests is in its infancy. The information presented here is from two sources: (1) the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) (Cordell forthcoming) and (2) published literature about individual products. Very little quantitative information is presented here, because very little information is available.

The Gatherers--The question asked in the NSRE 2000 survey was, "During the past 12 months, did you gather mushrooms, berries, firewood or other natural products?" In the South, 31 percent of respondents reported participating in forest products gathering. Of these, 54 percent did their gathering in a forest setting. Over 96 percent did their gathering for personal use; only 2 percent did it for income. Nine percent of gatherers collected mushrooms, 47 percent picked berries, 73 percent collected firewood, 35 percent collected rocks and minerals, 43 percent gathered tree materials, and 43 percent collected herbs and flowers. Among the many miscellaneous other things gathered were insects, feathers, walnuts, arrowheads, gold, moss, pine needles, Spanish moss, water, wild honey, and seashells. Twenty-nine percent gathered on 3 or fewer days during the last 12 months; 34 percent gathered on 4 to 10 days; and about 11 percent gathered on 30 or more days.

Forty-two percent of those gathering natural products were male, 58 percent were female. Thirty percent were under age 35; 20 percent were 55 years or older. Eighty-six percent were white, 9 percent were black, 3 percent were Hispanic, 2 percent were American Indian, and the remaining less than 1 percent were Asian Americans. By income, the largest group (36 percent of gatherers) earned between $25,000 and $50,000 per year. The next largest group earned between $50,000 and $75,000 (about 17 percent). Those earning less than $15,000 per year made up just over 1 percent of all gathers in the South, indicating that subsistence is not likely a motivating factor for most forest gathering. Forty-one percent of gatherers live in rural areas and 59 percent in urban areas. These percentages differ greatly from the 80 percent-20 percent split between urban and rural residence of people in the South. Almost 12 percent of gatherers had less than a high-school education, and 59 percent had some college, including many who had earned their doctorate.

By State, percentages of residents who participated in gathering varied quite a bit. Alphabetically, percentages of State residents 16 years or older participating were: Alabama (31 percent), Arkansas (22), Florida (24), Georgia (29), Kentucky (39), Louisiana (30), Mississippi (29), North Carolina (34), Oklahoma (34), South Carolina (27), Tennessee (40), Texas (29), and Virginia (44). By State, percentages whose participation was mainly in forests were: Alabama (63 percent), Arkansas (69), Florida (56), Georgia (66), Kentucky (51), Louisiana (41), Mississippi (52), North Carolina (70), Oklahoma (41), South Carolina (43), Tennessee (55), Texas (39), and Virginia (59).

The Products--Even though little quantitative data are available, it is obvious that gathering nontimber forest products is an important use of the South's forests. Such products are used personally as well as sold. Because so little data are available on many nontimber products, this section focuses on two of the better known products, herbs and mushrooms.

Herbs-A number of herbs and other plants are gathered for personal use or sale. Some examples of plants reported to have medicinal properties are Aloe barbadensis, chamomile (Matricaria recutita), Echinecea pallida, American ginseng (P. Quinquefolium), and ginkgo biloba. It has been estimated that herbal supplement sales in retail outlets in the United States in 1997 totaled $441 million (Blumenthal and others 1998). A national survey of alternative therapies published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that expenditures for alternative therapies increased by 45 percent between 1990 and 1997 (to $27 billion in 1997). The kind of alternative therapies increasing most were herbal treatments (Eisenberg and others 1998).

Mushrooms--We present below information on the most important mushrooms collected. Most of the information about wild mushrooms was obtained from personal communication with Professor Orson K. Miller, Jr., a noted authority on southern mushrooms (Miller 1979), who provided a list of southern mushrooms favored by collectors. Wild mushrooms are described in "Edible Mushrooms of North America" (Fischer and Bessette 1992), "Mushrooms of the Great Smokies" (Hesler 1960), and "Texas Mushrooms" (Metzler and Metzler 1992).

The more prominent of edible wild mushrooms of the South include Russula aeruginea, which is a green-capped, distinctively colored mushroom with white gills that grows in hardwood forests. A close "cousin" is Russula virescens, another green-capped mushroom, similar to Russula aeruginea, except that at maturity the cap shows cracks. Lactarius volemus is a reddish brown mushroom capped with whitish gills that is 2 to 5 inches wide. These mushrooms are considered choice edible wild mushrooms. Other favored mushrooms include the Cratarellus cornucopiodes/fallax , commonly known as the "Black Trumpet" or "Horn of Plenty". They are 2 to 5 inches across, trumpet-shaped, and range from grayish to dark brown. They are highly valued for cooking. Hydnum repandum is commonly known as "Sweet Tooth". It has a pale to rich-orange cap and stalk, with pointed spines beneath the cap. A number of other wild mushrooms are collected. But the above are among the main ones.

In addition to growing wild, a number of mushrooms are cultivated. Though cultivated, however, they are important as forest products, because most must be cultivated under forest cover. Others are cultivated in cut-log production systems. Shiitake, for example, are cultivated on dead hardwood trees in warm, moist environments. Much of North Carolina has been identified as ideal for shiitake production. In addition to shiitake, consumption of other speciality forest-grown mushrooms (including morels, oyster, and boletus) has been increasing for over a decade.

Other Nontimber Forest Products-In addition to herbs and mushrooms, a wide variety of plants and parts of plants are harvested from within and on the edges of natural and disturbed forests (Chamberlain 1998). Leaves, twigs, vines, ferns, cones, fruits, bark, foliage, sap, firewood, poles, and boughs are collected. Edibles from forests include syrups, nuts, ramps, wild berries, and persimmons (Grafton, 2000). Nonedibles include charcoal, chips, shavings, sawdust, and pine straw. Generally, too little information on these and other commercial and personal products exists to fully assess their supply and demand. But it is clear from the number of pamphlets, web sites, and other emerging media that gathering, using, and selling nontimber forest products is rising across the South.

Several national organizations have been established to help maintain wild plant diversity, encourage understanding of threatened and endangered plant species, organize responsible "wildcrafting," advance the interests of the herbal industry, and organize intergovernmental cooperation in plant-land management. Government agencies also have highly significant roles in protecting vegetation and animals used as nontimber forest products. Each major public land agency (the Forest Service, Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service) has or is currently developing a forest product related policy. A joint Federal coalition for the management of wild plants has been developed to address issues related to overharvesting of wild medicinal plants on public and private land ( http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal/). Recognizing that commercial demands may cause overharvesting in the wild, the Medicinal Plant Working Group, which includes representatives from industry, government, academia, tribes, and environmental organizations, aims to create a framework for discussion and action on behalf of conservation of medicinal plants.