Wild Edible Fruits: A Systematic Review of an Under-Researched Multifunctional NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Product)

Mallika Sardeshpande,Charlie Shackleton

doi:10.3390/f10060467

Abstract

Wild edible fruits (WEFs) are among the most widely used non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and important sources of nutrition, medicine, and income for their users. In addition to their use as food, WEF species may also yield fiber, fuel, and a range of processed products. Besides forests, WEF species also thrive in diverse environments, such as agroforestry and urban landscapes, deserts, fallows, natural lands, and plantations. Given the multifunctional, ubiquitous nature of WEFs, we conducted a systematic review on the literature specific to WEFs and highlighted links between different domains of the wider knowledge on NTFPs. We found that literature specific to WEFs was limited, and a majority of it reported ethnobotanical and taxonomic descriptions, with relatively few studies on landscape ecology, economics, and conservation of WEFs. Our review identifies priorities and emerging avenues for research and policymaking to promote sustainable WEF management and use, and subsequent biodiversity and habitat conservation. In particular, we recommend that ecosystem services, economic incentives, market innovations, and stakeholder synergies are incorporated into WEF conservation strategies.

Highlights

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) can be defined as biological products, other than high-value timber, harvested by humans from wild biodiversity in natural or human-modified environments [1].About one billion people worldwide derive livelihoods and food from forests [2], and around300 million of these people depend extensively on NTFPs [3]
Half the articles were ethnobotanical and taxonomic descriptions (Table 2), while just over a quarter focused on the species or landscape ecology of Wild edible fruits (WEFs) species
Studies in this review found that management and harvest of WEF species do not constrain genetic flow [98,99,100], but can render propagules more vulnerable in harsh environmental conditions such as low humidity and high solar radiation [101,102]

Summary

Introduction

About one billion people worldwide derive livelihoods and food from forests [2], and around. 300 million of these people depend extensively on NTFPs [3]. On average, a quarter of the rural household income in developing nations comes from NTFPs [4]. In tropical and low-income countries, NTFPs are widely used for medicine [5,6,7] and nutrition [8,9]. NTFPs improve food security worldwide [9,12,13,14,15,16], through regular, direct consumption of harvested products, as famine foods and safety nets in adverse periods, or through income earned from selling them. Trade in NTFPs allows economically weaker households to maintain financial stability, especially during circumstances of shock and vulnerability [1,17,18]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion