Springer Plant Conservation and Biodiversity: 6 (Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation, 6)

Non-timber forest products (NTFP) hold economic and cultural signi?cance for millions of people across the globe. For instance, hundreds of millions of rural peoples currently derive a signi?cant portion of both their subsistence needs and cash income from gathered plant and animal products (Iqbal 1993; Vedeld et al. 2004). Thousands of wild NTFP are also harvested for local use in other cultural and religious activities, such as rituals, ceremonies and dances (e. g. FAO 1991). A growing body of literature has illustrated that NTFP harvest can have e- logical consequences at multiple ecological scales, and that demographic responses to harvest are heavily in?uenced by harvesting practices (see review by Ticktin 2004). However, although many NTFP are harvested from disturbed habitats and subject to multiple pressures (Cunningham 2001), few quantitative studies have addressed this issue. For example, a small number of studies have assessed the demographic effects of NTFP management practices in the context of browsing or grazing (Endress et al. 2004b; Ghimire et al. 2005), or human-induced ?re (Ticktin 2005). Nonetheless, the demographic consequences of NTFP harvest and mana- ment in the context of other disturbance factors, such as alien invasive species, have not been addressed to date.