Non-market non-timber forest products in the Czech Republic—Their socio-economic effects and trends in forest land use

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Non-timber forest products (NTFP), mainly edible mushrooms, forest berries, and medicinal plants, are of socio-economic importance in the Czech Republic (CR). They can be picked freely by forest visitors for their own use, irrespective of forest ownership. There is a century long tradition of foraging for wild food in the Czech forests and this article presents an analysis of the trends in the apparent socio-economic importance of the collection and use of NTFP for the inhabitants in the CR over the last 20 years.Data concerning the collection and use of NTFP in the CR have been systematically analysed every year since 1994 and, thus, a unique time series, even on the European level, has been obtained. The results of the analyses demonstrate that NTFP collection is an important activity for the inhabitants of the CR. Investigations based on questionnaire surveys in representative samples of CR citizens (quota selection) show that about 3/4 of the households report collecting NTFP. On average, 10.6kg of principal NTFP (mushrooms and berries) were picked by every household annually in 1994–2013, which amounts to 39.1milkg (almost 4kg/capita), and 3100mil. Czech Crowns (CZK), in the total CR. This value corresponds to 1/6 of the timber harvest value in an average year. Nevertheless, (in recent years) the share is even higher, exceeding 20% of the timber harvest value. A comparatively small part of the population collect NTFP to save money and an even lower share sell NTFP. The data obtained in these studies aims to improve the quality of the state forestry policy focused on the optimum use of NTFP, to enhance the income from forests, to support NTFP commercial production and to raise the level of forest conservation.