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Non-timber forest products, or NTFPs, are all
of the botanical (plant) and mycological (mushroom
& fungus) resources and associated services
of the forest other than timber, pulpwood,
shakes, or other conventional wood products.
NTFPs offer a range of potential management
and financial opportunities through activities
focused on production from natural communities,
to the intensive propagation of native plants
for a variety of purposes. Management strategies
can help in achieving a variety of goals including
maintaining long-term ecological and economic
viability, protecting endangered ecosystems,
and restoring or reclaiming ecosystems. Many
variables influence the choice of management
strategy including resource cost and availability,
traditional uses and concerns, and the ecology
and sustainability of the native species being
considered.
The purpose of this learning object is to provide
users with an understanding of the continuum
of management practices in the NTFP sector
from little or no intervention to intensive
intervention, as well as an introduction to the
potential implications (environmental, social
and economic) of the various management approaches.
The four management approaches illustrated
here are:
- Resource Protection and Natural Harvesting (Least Intervention)
Protection and minimal
in situ management of non-timber
forest resources for long-term resource
sustainability.
- Resource Enhancement and Restoration
Improving the productivity of NTFP resources through ecosystem manipulation, including
the re-introduction of important ecological influences (i.e. fire for dry land shrubs,
forbs, grasses, and mushrooms).
- Landscaping and Land Reclamation
Use of native plants on large and small scales to meet reclamation objectives
and urban or institutional landscaping needs.
- Intensive Horticultural Production
The intensive production of high-value NTFPs such as berries, mushrooms, medicinal
herbs, and floral greens.
In “A Suggested
Decision-Making Framework for NTFP Managers”
you will find a model for considering
the viability of potential management projects.
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