Assessing sustainable use of wild medicinal plants: a case study in the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (NRWNNR), Yunnan/China

Authors

  • Solveig Franziska Bucher Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Plant Biodiversity Group, Philosophenweg 16, 07743 Jena, Germany http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2303-4583
  • Abdolbaset Ghorbani University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 13, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany Uppsala University, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, EBC Norbyvägen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden Traditional Medicine & Materia Medica Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1934-9838
  • Gerhard Langenberger University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 13, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
  • Manfred Küppers University of Hohenheim, Institute of Botany, Garbenstr. 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
  • Joachim Sauerborn University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 13, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Keywords:

Non- Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), wild collection, household economics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, sustainable harvest

Abstract

Background: Commercially harvested wild medicinal plants are often subject to overharvesting. This study aims to examine the ecological requirements, collection status, harvest practices, sustainability of harvest and trade chain of five medicinal plant species and assesses the socio-economic importance of these medicinal plants for local households.

Methods: We studied the abundance of five selected medicinal plant species in the surrounding areas of five selected villages. Harvest and trade related information was recorded by interviewing plant collectors and middlemen as well as pharmacies in Germany. For the ecological analyses concerning the occurrence of plants we performed ANOVA followed by LSD Post-Hoc tests. Correlations between profit from collection of medicinal plants and income per household in the five villages were calculated with the Pearson Correlation Coefficient.

Results: The results showed that (1) harvest practices are destructive for individual plants, (2) economic contribution of plant harvest varies between villages and species and (3) the amount of cash earned is negatively related to average per capita income in the village.

Conclusion: A management plan for sustainable harvest or cultivation is recommended to ensure the future existence of the plant species as well as the sustainability of market supply.

Keywords: Non- Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), wild collection, household economics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, sustainable harvest

Author Biographies

Solveig Franziska Bucher, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Plant Biodiversity Group, Philosophenweg 16, 07743 Jena, Germany

PostDoc at the Plant Biodiversity Group

Abdolbaset Ghorbani, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 13, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany Uppsala University, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, EBC Norbyvägen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden Traditional Medicine & Materia Medica Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

PostDoc at the Evolutionary Biology Centre

Gerhard Langenberger, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 13, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Project coordinator

Manfred Küppers, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Botany, Garbenstr. 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Professor of Molecular Botany

Joachim Sauerborn, University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 13, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Professor (Emeritus)

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Published

2020-03-09

How to Cite

Bucher, S. F., Ghorbani, A., Langenberger, G., Küppers, M., & Sauerborn, J. (2020). Assessing sustainable use of wild medicinal plants: a case study in the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (NRWNNR), Yunnan/China. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 19, 1–12. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/1785

Issue

Vol. 19 (2020)

Section

Research

License

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