Non-Timber Forest Products and Bioeconomy: Management, Value Chains, Challenges and Opportunities

Dear Colleagues,

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) may be defined as any product or provisioning ecosystem service other than commercial timber that is produced in natural and human dominated landscapes including forests and other vegetation formations. They include fruits and nuts, hypogeous and epigeous fungi, medicinal and aromatic plants, fish and game, vegetables, resins and essential oils, wood for carving, construction and energy, as well as a range of barks and fibers, such as cork, bamboo and rattans, among a number of other multi-purpose trees, palms and grasses. They have traditionally played a key role in human well-being through their contribution to livelihoods, trade, traditions and culture, and they are experiencing increasing importance in the diversification of the formal and informal forest-based bioeconomy across the globe. Thus, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), there are more than 150 NTFPs internationally traded, in addition to a broad diversity of products of local importance. For instance, recent estimates of the total value of NTFPs in Europe amount to 2.27 billion Euro (State of Europe’s Forests 2015 Report), representing a significant proportion of the value of total roundwood removals (~10 %) that, moreover, may still be a considerable underestimation of their real value given the significant deficiencies concerning national statistics on NTFPs harvesting and trade. The production systems, management and value chains of NTFPs are framed within complex socio-ecological and socio-economic contexts at multiple scales, facing important challenges and opportunities that deserve attention to further understand the role of NTFPs in human well-being and bioeconomies, so that their full potential can be unlocked from the local to the global level in a changing world.

This Special Issue of Forests is focused on Non-Timber Forest Products, their production systems, management, value chains and their importance for well-being and bioeconomy, as well as on the challenges and opportunities concerning the diversification of the provisioning forest ecosystem services other than commercial timber and their impact on human development and well-being. Research articles may focus on any aspect explicitly dealing with NTFPs including also land-use and policy-making studies at multiple scales where NTFPs may play a key role combined with timber and other ecosystems services. Papers addressing the impact of global change on different NTFPs and value chains and their impact on future human well-being are encouraged. Excellent and thorough review papers synthesizing the state of the art of different aspects of the management, value chains and relevance of NTFPs are also welcome.

Dr. Sergio de Miguel
Prof. Dr. Charlie Shackleton
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.