Non-wood product

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Bamboo is one of the most important non-wood products on earth
blueberries

Non-wood products in forestry are all products of the forest with the exception of (tree) wood, i.e. mushrooms , animals and plants or products made from them. They are mainly used as food, animal feed, medicinal plants or renewable raw materials such as construction materials .

Significance in Central Europe

Under the production conditions of the high forest in Central Europe , the economic importance of these products is very low. Often these products are not sold by forest companies because the effort is not profitable or because the free use for private consumption by everyone is stipulated by law. On the other hand, these products represent an unused economic potential, the targeted production and marketing of which can offer producers important income opportunities and employment. A large part of the non-wood products is harvested and consumed by private households without being traded in markets and thus fulfills important functions of satisfying needs at the local level.

Importance worldwide

In contrast, around 150 non-wood products are of interest to the international market, including rattan , bamboo , cork , rubber , nuts , honey , meat , fruits, mushrooms, resins , spices , oils , medicinal plants such as ginseng and those used as the basis for colorings serve. Plant fibers such as coconut are also used industrially. The commercial value is around $ 11.1 billion annually. 60% are exported from developing countries to the EU , the USA and Japan . China is a leader in world trade, but India , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and Brazil are also important producing countries in the world market.

A silviculture system that is particularly geared towards the production of non-wood products is the agroforestry of the tropics, which under certain circumstances is suitable as an instrument for the competitive sustainable management of forests .

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  1. ↑ M. Köhl: Non-wood products and forest services in an international context. In: Forest and Wood. No. 62, 2007, pp. 10-14. ISSN  0932-9315 .
  2. ↑ Beate Schulte zu Sodingen: The protection of forests under international law. Springer, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-540-43056-3 , p. 41.
  3. ^ FAO: State of the world's forests. Available online

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