Identification and ecology of NWFP species

Abstract

In Europe the multifunctional sustainable forest management paradigm is generally accepted. It aims at optimizing the provision of multiple goods and services which are demanded by society, while maintaining the equilibrium of the forest ecosystem. The need for meeting multifunctional demands as well as increasing the potential for commercialising a large set of different products and services has been recognised by the European Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform. In order to optimise the production of a range of products and services forest management requires tools to quantify the production possibilities of wood and various non-wood forest products and the impacts of forest management and changing environmental conditions (including climate-induced and emerging biotic and abiotic threats) in their provision. The provision of such information will facilitate the transition from timber oriented to multifunctional forest management. However, within European forest research, development and innovation have mainly focussed on timber production. While there is a lack of detailed information in Europe about the ecology or economics of non-wood forest products so it is not possible to model or devise management systems to promote a specialized treatment and production of selected products (e.g. truffles, resin, nuts, Christmas trees) and a sustainable co-production of nonwood forest products, timber and ecosystem services in the context of climate change. In several countries, statistics on NWFP and models are available but this knowledge is poorly utilized and disseminated and is not readily accessible across Europe.