Diversity of Medicinal and Food Plants as Non-timber Forest Products in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (China): Implications for Livelihood Improvement and Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

Diversity of Medicinal and Food Plants as Non-timber Forest Products in Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (China): Implications for Livelihood Improvement and Biodiversity Conservation. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play an important role in rural livelihoods. People living in and around forests are dependent on a variety of NTFPs for their subsistence and for income generation. This paper gives a general overview on the diversity of NTFPs in the Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve, with a focus on medicinal and food plants. Data on NTFPs use were gathered through an ethnobotanical inventory with semistructured, free-listing, and household socioeconomic interviews. Interviews were supplemented with voucher collections. Bamboo shoots were analyzed further as proxy NTPF. It was hypothesized that there is no significant difference between collection amounts of bamboo shoots and their contribution to the household income between the villages studied. A rapid vulnerability assessment (RVA) was conducted to identify vulnerable and threatened species. A total of 480 plant species (25% of recorded flora) from 117 families and 334 genera are used as NTFPs by the local people. Results revealed that there is a significant difference in the collection and contribution of bamboo shoots to household income among the villages. However, their contribution to per-capita income is very low, and they are mainly used in households. Vulnerability assessment showed that most of the medicinal species have moderate vulnerable status and that most of the food species have less vulnerable status. Some medicinal plants, such as Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, are overexploited and getting scarce. Sustainable harvest and management strategies should be implemented to prevent overexploitation of these species.

中国纳板河流域国家级自然保护区内的药用和食用非木材林产品:生计改善及生物多样性保护方面的意义. 非木材林产品在农村生活中发挥着重要作用。生活在森林之中和周围的人们的生活和收入有赖于多样的非木材林产品。本文介绍了纳板河流域国家级自然保护区非木材林产品中药用和食用植物的多样性概况。非木材林产品数据的收集采用了半结构访谈,自由列表和家庭社会经济访谈等民族植物学调查方法。采访后还采集了植物标本进行鉴定。以竹笋作为非木材林产品的代表进行了进一步的分析。我们假设竹笋的采集量及其对家庭收入的贡献在所研究的村寨之间无显著差异。采用单因素方差分析分析对零假设进行了检验。采用快速脆弱性分析方法筛选出了易危和濒危种类。共调查到当地居民利用的非木材林产品植物有117科,334属,480种(占当地记录植物种类的25%)。结果显示不同村寨之间竹笋的采集量及其对家庭收入的贡献有显著差异。但是,竹笋对人均收入的贡献很小因为采集的竹笋主要用于家庭日常生活。脆弱性分析发现大多数药用植物种类处于中等脆弱水平,大部分食用植物较低的脆弱水平。此外,结果显示有些药用植物如滇重楼已经被过度采集并且变得稀少。因此为了防止对这些种类的过度采集应该实施可持续采集及管理策略。关键词:自然资源利用,非木材林产品,快速脆弱性分析,可持续采集