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Nontimber forests products (NTFPs) are the mainstay of rural livelihoods and local economies the world over. As such they are of interest to a wide disciplinary range of researchers and development and government agencies seeking to promote livelihoods, incomes, and ecologically sustainable practices. With the attention on the various human uses of NTFPs, their role and networks in the broader biological communities in which they are located are frequently overlooked. Harvesting of many NTFPs has effects not only at the organism and population scales, but also on co-occurring species, some of which may also be NTFPs. Thus, reduction or loss of one NTFP population or species in a specific area may have cascade effects on other NTFP species, including those used for cultural purposes. We illustrate the little appreciated importance of NTFPs in broader ecological and social systems by assessing and illustrating the importance of NTFP species as ecological or biocultural keystones in providing regulating and supporting ecological services to other species and cultural services to people. We present a number of examples where NTFP species act as keystones in ecological and cultural systems, including food, pollination and dispersal, animal health, nutrients, shelter and protection, and cultural symbolism, most of which have not been considered by NTFP researchers and practitioners. From these examples we distill six propositions regarding NTFPs and discuss the value of recognizing some NTFPs as biocultural keystones to acknowledge and highlight their roles at broader scales.

Background Indigo-dyed textiles have been central to the cultural identity of Landian Yao (literally “blue clothes Yao”) people in Southwest China for centuries, driving a significant local market for naturally dyed indigo cloth. In the past two decades, local indigo production for traditional textiles has declined for several reasons: Firstly, the younger generation of Landian Yao has shifted to using western style jeans and T-shirts. Secondly, due to its labor-intensive nature. In contrast, at a global scale, including in China, there has been a revival of interest in natural indigo use. This is due to a growing awareness in the fashion industry about human and environmental health issues related to synthetic dye production. Ironically, this new awareness comes at a time when traditional knowledge of indigo dyeing is being lost in many places in China, with weaving and use of natural dyes now limited to some remote areas. In this study, we recorded indigo dyeing processes used by Landian Yao people and documented the plant species used for indigo dyeing. Methods Field surveys were conducted to the study area from September 2015 to November 2016, supplemented by follow-up visits in July 2018 and November 2018. We interviewed 46 key informants between 36 and 82 years old who still continued traditional indigo dyeing practices. Most were elderly people. Semi-structured interviews were used. During the field study, we kept a detailed account of the methods used by Landian Yao dyers. The data were then analyzed by using utilization frequency to determine the best traditional recipe of indigo dye extraction. All the specimens of documented species were collected and deposited at the herbarium of Kunming Institute of Botany. Results Our results showed that indigo dyeing was divided into two main steps: (1) indigo pigment extraction and (2) dyeing cloth. The general procedures of indigo dye extraction included building or buying a dye vat, fermentation, removal of the leaves of indigo producing plant species, addition of lime, oxygenation, followed by collection, and the storage of the indigo paste. The procedures of dyeing cloth included preparing the dye solutions, dyeing cloth, washing, and air drying. It is notable that Landian Yao dyers formerly only performed the dyeing process on the goat days in the lunar calendar from June to October. After comparing the range of local indigo extraction methods, our results showed that the following was best of these traditional recipes: a indigo-yielding plant material to tap water ratio of 30 kg: 200 l, lime 3 kg, a fermentation time of 2–3 d, aeration by agitation for up to 60 min, and a precipitation time of 2–3 h. Our results show that 17 plant species in 11 families were recorded in the indigo dyeing process. With the exception of the indigo sources, only Dioscorea cirrhosa Lour. and Artemisia argyi H.Lév. & Vaniot were previously recorded in dyeing processes. Other species given in this paper are recorded for the first time in terms of their use in the indigo dyeing process. In the study area, Landian Yao men were in charge of indigo dye extraction, and the women were responsible for dyeing cloth. Conclusions The Landian Yao has completely mastered the traditional indigo dyeing craft and are one of the well-deserved identity blues. Indigo production from plants using traditional methods is a slow process compared to synthetic dyes and is not suitable for modern and rapid industrial production. Therefore, our study records the detailed information of traditional indigo dyeing to protect and inherit it. Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) Kuntze is the main indigo source in Landian Yao that is widely used in the world and can be commercially exploited as an indigo plant. For commercial and environment benefits, we suggest that producing natural indigo for the commercial market is a good choice.

Few regional or continent-wide assessments of bird use for traditional medicine have been attempted anywhere in the world. Africa has the highest known diversity of bird species used for this purpose. This study assesses the vulnerability of 354 bird species used for traditional medicine in 25 African countries, from 205 genera, 70 families, and 25 orders. The orders most represented were Passeriformes (107 species), Falconiformes (45 species), and Coraciiformes (24 species), and the families Accipitridae (37 species), Ardeidae (15 species), and Bucerotidae (12 species). The Barn owl (Tyto alba) was the most widely sold species (seven countries). The similarity of avifaunal orders traded is high (analogous to \"morphospecies\", and using Sørensen's index), which suggests opportunities for a common understanding of cultural factors driving demand. The highest similarity was between bird orders sold in markets of Benin vs. Burkina Faso (90%), but even bird orders sold in two geographically separated countries (Benin vs. South Africa and Nigeria vs. South Africa) were 87% and 81% similar, respectively. Rabinowitz's \"7 forms of rarity\" model, used to group species according to commonness or rarity, indicated that 24% of traded bird species are very common, locally abundant in several habitats, and occur over a large geographical area, but 10% are rare, occur in low numbers in specific habitats, and over a small geographical area. The order with the highest proportion of rare species was the Musophagiformes. An analysis of species mass (as a proxy for size) indicated that large and/or conspicuous species tend to be targeted by harvesters for the traditional medicine trade. Furthermore, based on cluster analyses for species groups of similar risk, vultures, hornbills, and other large avifauna, such as bustards, are most threatened by selective harvesting and should be prioritised for conservation action.

Background Historically, indigo-yielding plant species were important cash crops from Central Asia to the southern United States and Central America. Indigo-dyed textiles were widely traded along the legendary Silk Road that linked China to Europe. Today, due to the labor-intensive nature of indigo extraction at the household level, lifestyle changes and the widespread availability of commercially produced indigo paste, traditional indigo extraction methods have declined in villages. Yet Li textile weavers on Hainan Island are internationally recognized as producers of indigo-dyed textile using warp ikat techniques. In contrast, Hainan Miao weavers produce indigo-dyed textiles using batik (wax resist) techniques. The aim of this study was to document the indigenous knowledge on indigo-yielding plant species used by both Hainan Miao and Li people on Hainan Island, China. Method Ethnic uses were documented during three field surveys, through a questionnaire survey of 193 respondents, comprising 144 Hainan Miao and 49 Li traditional dyers. Mention index (QI), Availability index (AI), and Preference ranking (PR) of each indigo-yielding plant species were calculated to screen out plant resources with potential development value. Results Five indigo-yielding plant species (from four plant families and four genera) were historically used by Hainan Miao and Li dyers. However, just four species are still in use. Strobilanthes cusia was the main indigo source for Hainan Miao dyers. Li dyers also commonly use Indigofera species ( I. tinctoria and I. suffruticosa ) for indigo extraction. Wrightia laevis is less commonly used as a contemporary indigo source. Indigo extraction by steeping in water to which lime is added to increase the pH is sharing by the five indigo-yielding plant species. Strobilanthes cusia had the highest QI, AI and PR values in Hainan Miao villages. Indigofera tinctoria had the highest QI and AI values, but Indigofera suffruticosa was preferred by Li dyers. Conclusion In the process of modernization and urbanization, some Hainan Miao and Li dyers retain the traditional indigo extraction methods. We found that Strobilanthes cusia and Indigofera tinctoria have the most potential for sustainable indigo production in the future. Furthermore, this study documents the details of extraction method from Wrightia laevis for the first time and the use of Ricinus communis seeds in that process. As one of the last places globally where Wrightia laevis is still used for indigo production, the may also be a nice market among textile collectors and museums that keeps the tradition of Wrightia laevis production and use for indigo extraction alive.

Background Fieldwork plays an important role in research projects across a variety of fields, especially in the multidisciplinary setting of natural and social science research. As is the nature of fieldwork, things do not always work out as planned, and yet this is not often written about. In response to the need for honest and transparent accounts of fieldwork, the purpose of this article is to review the methods used during fieldwork for the first author’s dissertation research on ethnoveterinary knowledge. Methods To critically review and reflect on the fieldwork methods used for an ethnoveterinary study in Mongolia, we compare the theory underpinning each method with the practical reality of implementing the method in the field. From this comparison, we draw out and discuss a number of key themes. Results Eighteen methods and approaches used for the research project are reviewed and compared. From this, we distil and further discuss the following five overarching themes: reflections on specific data collection methods (free listing, semi-structured interviews with interpreters, voucher specimen collection); assumptions around involving local people; power dynamics; gender relations; and researcher well-being. Conclusion By juxtaposing the theory and practical reality of the methods used, we highlight many potential fieldwork challenges and, within this context, offer general pointers, especially for novice female researchers doing fieldwork in foreign countries. A critical review of this type, where the experience and use of various methods, techniques, and approaches are openly shared and evaluated, is a contribution to selecting, adapting, and fine-tuning the methods best suited to a particular research context.

This study aims to: (1) clarify confusion about Lygodium circinnatum fern fiber used in Bali, Indonesia, to weave basketry for international export, variously called “grass,” “rattan,” “reed,” “vine,” or “ata”; (2) explain how since the 1970s, entrepreneurial “champions” in Bali and Lombok have transformed a small, informal sector activity into the world’s largest fern fiber basketry trade; and (3) document all stages of the L. circinnatum supply chain from wild fern harvest to retail outlets in Asia, Europe, and North America. In the late 1980s, an earlier study estimated 70–270 million L. circinnatum stems per year were required for basketry production needs. Thirty years later, demand for L. circinnatum stems supplied a global market worth over US$26.3 million (in 2020) and over a billion stems per year. L. circinnatum resource management and cultivation are required to sustain the trade at this level. Better supply chain transparency (SCT) is also needed, particularly in the USA, the major importing country for this basketry (67% of exports in 2020). Implementation of the 2000 USA Indian Arts and Crafts Enforcement would improve SCT and simultaneously benefit basket producers in both the USA and Indonesia.

1. Woody debris (WD) represents a globally significant carbon stock and its decomposition returns nutrients to the soil while providing habitat to microbes, plants and animals. Understanding what drives WD decomposition is therefore important. 2. WD decomposition rates differ greatly among species. However, the role of bark in the process remains poorly known. 3. We ask how, and how much, interspecific variation in bark functional traits related to growth and protection have afterlife effects on the decomposition of wood, partly mediated by animals. We examine the roles of bark cover and bark traits throughout the wood decomposition process. 4. Synthesis. We find that: (1) bark effects on W D decomposition are species- an wood size-specific, (2) bark can enhance coarser WD decomposition but slows twig decomposition in some species, and (3) bark acts as an environmental filter to faunal assemblages in the early stage of wood decomposition. We highlight the need to account for bark effects on WD decomposition and offer an important complementary contribution to including woody species identity effects in biogeochemical and climate-change models via species bark traits.

Despite the availability of synthetic dyes and the impact of significant religious, social, and economic change, textile weavers in more remote areas of Indonesia continue naturally dyed textile production as a living tradition. This paper documents mordant plants in Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, and nine islands in eastern Indonesia (Bali, Flores, Java, Lembata, Nusa Penida, Rai Jua, Savu, Sumba, and West Timor). These plants, such as various Symplocos species, are hyperaccumulators of aluminum compounds. Other plants used as sources of alkaline ash, of saponifiable oils and fats and for ritual purposes in the dyeing process, are also recorded.