Browsing by Author "Huish, Ryan D."

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    Describing Medicinal Non-Timber Forest Product Trade in Eastern Deciduous Forests of the United States
    Kruger, Steve D.; Munsell, John F.; Chamberlain, James L.; Davis, Jeanine M.; Huish, Ryan D. (MDPI, 2020-04-12)
    Eastern deciduous forests in the United States have supplied marketable non-timber forest products (NTFP) since the 18th century. However, trade is still largely informal, and the market scope and structure are not well understood. One exception is American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.). Ginseng’s legal status as a threatened species requires that buyers apply for a license and keep sales records that are submitted to a state authority. Other marketable medicinal plants collected from the same forests, known colloquially as ‘off-roots’, are not similarly tracked. To study the characteristics of off-root trade in the eastern deciduous forests of the United States, registered ginseng buyers in 15 eastern states were surveyed in 2015 and 2016 about business attributes, purchase volume, and harvest distribution for 15 off-root species selected for their economic and conservation value. Buyers voluntarily reported harvesting 47 additional NTFP species. The most frequently purchased off-root species were the roots and rhizomes of two perennial understory plants: black cohosh (Actaea racemosa L.) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.). Survey data were used to develop a buyer typology and describe the off-root market structure and material sourcing. The buyer typology included four distinct categories: side or specialty (small); seasonal venture (medium); large integrated or dedicated business (large); and dedicated bulk enterprise (regional aggregator). Market activity was mapped across the study area, demonstrating that most off-root trade is concentrated in central Appalachia, an area with extensive forests and a struggling economy. Study methods and data improve non-timber forest product market insights, are useful for forest management, and can support efforts to advance sustainable NTFP supply chains.
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    Measuring Medicinal Nontimber Forest Product Output in Eastern Deciduous Forests
    Kruger, Steven Daly (Virginia Tech, 2019-01-10)
    Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) play an important role in the lives of people who rely on forests. An absence of data on the size of harvests, their location, and the economic value of NTFPs prevents effective management and full utilization by all stakeholder groups. We set out to measure one important NTFP sector -- the medicinal plant trade in the diverse deciduous forests of the eastern United States, by surveying licensed buyers of ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) in 15 states about purchasing of other untracked species. To combat potential coverage and non-response bias we created a place-based model that predicted the probability of purchasing non-ginseng medicinals based on buyer location and used this to build more robust estimates. This viable method for estimating NTFP output is a replicable system that can be applied in other regions and for other products. We reviewed the literature and hypothesized biophysical and socioeconomic factors that might contribute to the prevalence of non-ginseng purchasing, and tested them on the respondents using multinomial logistic regression. The significant variables were used in two-step cluster analysis to categorize respondents and non-respondents in high or low production areas. Volume was assigned to non-respondents based on respondent behavior within each cluster. Both were then summed to estimate total output. The results depict trade volume and prices paid to harvesters for 11 medicinal NTFP species. There was significant variation between products. Two species, black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), accounted for 72 percent of trade volume and 77 percent of the value paid to harvesters. The total first-order value for all species estimated was 4.3 million $USD. The discrepancy between point-of-sale and retail value implies room for increasing value for all stakeholders at the base of the supply chain. Harvests for most species were concentrated in the central Appalachian coalfields. We also sought to understand what motivated or deterred participation by conducting qualitative interviews with buyers and other stakeholders. Buyers were interested in knowing the size and value of the trade, but had concerns about losing access to the resource, which was rooted in past experience with land managers and policy-makers, and conflicting discourse between stakeholders about the state of the trade and of wild populations. Many institutional deliverables are not well matched with the realities or priorities of the traditional trade. We describe potential avenues for collaboration and reciprocity, including providing market research and certifying or providing technical support for sustainably wild harvested material in addition to ongoing support for cultivation.
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    Projecting Medicinal Plant Trade Volume and Value in Deciduous Forests of the Eastern United States
    Kruger, Steve D.; Munsell, John F.; Chamberlain, James L.; Davis, Jeanine M.; Huish, Ryan D. (MDPI, 2020-01-07)
    The volume, value and distribution of the nontimber forest product (NTFP) trade in the United States are largely unknown. This is due to the lack of systematic, periodic and comprehensive market tracking programs. Trade measurement and mapping would allow market actors and stakeholders to improve market conditions, manage NTFP resources, and increase the sustainable production of raw material. This is especially true in the heavily forested and mountainous regions of the eastern United States. This study hypothesized that the tendency to purchase medicinal NTFPs in this region can be predicted using socioeconomic and environmental variables associated with habitat and trade, and those same variables can be used to build more robust estimates of trade volume. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) dealers were surveyed (n = 700), because by law they must acquire a license to legally trade in this species, and therefore report a business address. They also record purchase data. Similar data are not reported for other medicinal species sold to the same buyers, known colloquially as ‘off-roots’. Ginseng buyers were queried about trade activity in eleven commonly-harvested and previously untracked medicinal NTFP species in 15 states. Multinomial logistic regression comprised of socioeconomic and environmental predictors tied to business location was used to determine the probability that a respondent purchased off-roots. Significant predictors included location in a particular subregion, population and percentage of employment in related industries. These variables were used in a two-step cluster analysis to group respondents and nonrespondents. Modeled probabilities for off-root purchasing among respondents in each cluster were used to impute average off-root volumes for a proportion of nonrespondents in the same cluster. Respondent observations and nonrespondent estimations were summed and used to map off-root trade volume and value. Model functionality and estimates of the total volume, value and spatial distribution are discussed. The total value of the species surveyed to harvesters was 4.3 million USD. We also find that 77 percent of the trade value and 73 percent of the trade volume were represented by two species: black cohosh (Actaea racemosa L.) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canqdensis L.)