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
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
