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Berlinia and Isoberlinia species are ecologically and socio‐economically important in the Sudanian and Zambezian landscapes of West Africa but are increasingly threatened by overexploitation, habitat loss, and climate stress. In Côte d'Ivoire's Guineo‐Sudanian zone, they provide timber, fuelwood, food, medicinal products, and cultural services. This study asks: How do ecological conditions and human pressures, alongside local ethnoecological knowledge, influence the status, use, and conservation of Berlinia and Isoberlinia species? This study examined the ethnoecological importance, diversity, spatial distribution, and stand structure of Berlinia and Isoberlinia species to inform conservation strategies integrating Indigenous knowledge. We surveyed 72 plots (900 m2) in protected (Comoé National Park) and unprotected areas, focusing on Berlinia grandiflora and Isoberlinia doka forest stands, and collected ethnobotanical data from 514 households and 28 key informants across 18 villages. Three species were recorded (Berlinia grandiflora, Isoberlinia doka, Isoberlinia tomentosa). Stands in unprotected areas showed significant declines in density, stem diameter, and basal area, while protected areas remained comparatively intact. The demographic structure of the stands indicates that I. doka is characterised by a low proportion of large individuals, resulting from selective illegal overexploitation of the species. In contrast, B. grandiflora exhibits a regressive population dynamic, with ageing stands and relatively low levels of regeneration. Ethnobotanical surveys revealed diverse uses (23 medicinal, seven handicraft, two fuelwood, one food) and identified eight main drivers of decline, including deforestation, agriculture, unsustainable logging, bushfires, cashew cultivation, and drought. The results highlight the interplay between ecological status and socio‐economic pressures, emphasising the need for community‐based conservation strategies informed by local knowledge to ensure the long‐term sustainability of these key forest species. Species of the genera Isoberlinia and Berlinia are threatened with extinction due to the abusive exploitation of their distribution area including various forms of use. However, their availability and socio‐cultural importance are little known and/or neglected. This socio‐ecological assessment of Berlinia and Isoberlinia species in Côte d'Ivoire reveals a dynamic interplay between ecological processes and human activities. The data suggest that both B. grandiflora and I. doka exhibit signs of population regression, evidenced by poor regeneration and their stand structures.

This paper examines the socio-economic significance of forest visits and the collection of forest berries and mushrooms (FBMs) in the Czech Republic, emphasising their role in enhancing human well-being and contributing to regional economies. Over a 30-year period, data were collected on the quantities and economic values of FBMs, alongside the intensity of forest visits by the Czech population. This study incorporates a detailed analysis of time series data on FBM collection, exploring trends and fluctuations in the harvested quantities and their economic value. A Lorenz curve analysis reveals significant disparities in the distribution of economic benefits, with a small segment of the population accounting for the majority of the FBM-derived value. Additionally, the research investigates the impact of forest visitation on well-being at the regional level, highlighting the relationship between forest access, visitation intensity, and public health benefits. This study also examines visitors’ expectations, motivations, and perceptions regarding an ideal forest for visitation, providing recommendations for effective marketing strategies. Furthermore, the study explores the contribution of FBMs to net income across different regions, demonstrating substantial regional variation in their economic importance. Notably, the analysis shows that the value of FBMs represents approximately 37% of the net income generated by traditional forestry activities, underscoring its significant economic potential. The findings emphasise the potential of territorial marketing strategies to enhance well-being, particularly in economically disadvantaged regions, and advocate for sustainable forest management practices to protect these valuable resources and ensure equitable access to the benefits provided by forest ecosystems.

Plants possess a range of defenses that can be actively expressed in response to pathogens and parasites of various scales, ranging from microscopic viruses to insect herbivores. The timing of these defense responses is critical and can be the difference between being able to cope or succumbing to the challenge of a pathogen or parasite. Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and induced systemic resistance (ISR) are two forms of induced resistance; in both SAR and ISR, plant defenses are preconditioned by prior infection or treatment that results in resistance (or tolerance) against subsequent challenge by a pathogen or parasite. Great strides have been made over the past 20 yr in understanding the physiological and biochemical basis of SAR and ISR. Much of this knowledge is due to the identification of a number of chemical and biological elicitors, some of which are commercially available for use in conventional agriculture. However, the effectiveness of these elicitors to induce SAR and ISR as a practical means to control various plant diseases is just being realized. In this review, we first briefly summarize the fundamentals of ISR and SAR, for which a number of critical reviews already exist. We then examine the efficacy of SAR and ISR in published field-based studies. We place special emphasis on the benefits, drawbacks, and future considerations for the improved use of chemical and biological elicitors of induced resistance in conventional agriculture; this includes the potential to exploit genetic variability within populations of crop species to improve the utility of SAR and ISR in the field.

At present, the distribution area of Fraxinus excelsior L. in the forest ecosystems of the Volga Region is rather low and ranges from 0.01% to 2.5%. In the Middle Volga Region, using the example of the Penza region, five types of deciduous forests were identified in the composition with Fraxinus excelsior L.: oak forest aegopodium, oak forest nettle, oak forest hazel-linden, oak forest aegopodium-motley grass, oak forest carex-motley grass. In the forest phytocenoses of the Moksha River basin, the quality of Fraxinus excelsior L. is 1.5–1.7. In the forest phytocenoses of the Khoper River basin, the average quality value reaches 2.4–2.8, and in the forest tracts of the Sura river basin it is 2.8–3.2. In the western part of the study area, individuals of age class II–III (21–40, 41–60 years) predominate, in the central part—age class I (1–20 years), in the eastern part—age class V (81–100 years). This circumstance allows us to conclude that its populations in the western regions are represented by stands of different ages; the presence of young stands and middle-aged stands indicates the presence of conditions for reproduction and distribution. At the border of its range, Fraxinus excelsior L. grows in a stable population; in the western part of the Middle Volga Region, the number of species in forest stands with a predominance of Fraxinus excelsior L. is 26–30% higher than this indicator in more eastern regions. In the direction from east to west, the number of species in the composition of forest stands increases (up to 8.4), with a predominance of Fraxinus excelsior L. The number of plant associations increases in the direction from east to west. If in the east of the Penza region Fraxinus excelsior L. occurs in 6–7 plant associations, then in the west of the region—in 18–25 associations. The maximum timber stock for 100 years of Fraxinus excelsior L. stands reaches 380 m3/ha. Such a natural bioresource potential is of importance for the conduct of the national economy. Forest management in phytocenoses with the participation of this tree species is a strategic branch direction. It is expedient to restore populations of Fraxinus excelsior L. everywhere and to cultivate them in the territory of the East European Plain and especially in its south-eastern part. This is fully consistent with the principles of sustainable ecological and economic development against the background of local natural, climatic and geographical conditions. This type is necessary when solving environmental, resource-saving and economic problems in the territory under consideration.

Background Traditional markets outstandingly contribute to conservation of biocultural diversity, social relations, and cultural values. These markets reflect life strategies and forms people of a region interact with their biodiversity and territories, as well as traditional ecological knowledge and management practices. To understand the factors motivating plant and mushroom management, we analyzed the resources cultural and economic values, their role in people’s subsistence, and the relation of these values with the resources spatial and temporal availability. Our study based on the supposition that traditional markets are settings of interchange of resources with the highest importance for people’s life in a region. Also, that the cultural, economic, and ecological factors influence values of the resources, and the demand on them determine pressures on the most valuable resources which, when scarce, motivate management innovation, otherwise become extinct. Methods We documented cultural, economic, and ecological aspects, as well as management techniques of wild and weedy plants and mushrooms interchanged in three traditional markets of the Pátzcuaro Lake region, in central-western Mexico. For doing that, from February 2015 to March 2018, we conducted 175 visits to markets and 89 semi-structured interviews to producers, gatherers, and sellers of wild and weedy plants and mushrooms. Based on participant observation and interviews, we identified variables related to culture, economic, and ecological aspects, as well as management regimes of resources and management systems, which were documented and used as indicators for quantitative analyses. Through principal components analyses (PCA), we determined the indexes of cultural and economic importance (ICEI), management intensity (IMI), and ecological risk (IR) of the resources studied. For conducting that, we classified plant and mushroom species according to their cultural, economic, ecological, and technological indicators, respectively. The score of the first principal component was considered as the index for each group of variables, respectively. To identify relations between cultural importance and risk, we performed linear regression analyses between ICEI and IR indexes. Results We recorded 57 species of wild and weedy plants used as food, medicine, and ornamental, and 17 species of edible mushrooms. The variables with the highest weight in the ICEI are related to the need of a resource according to people, its recognizing, the number of communities and markets offering it in markets, its explicit preference expressed by people, the effort invested in obtaining it, and the form it is interchanged. Gathering is practiced in all mushrooms and wild and weedy plants from forests and agricultural areas; 11 species in addition receive 1 or more forms of management (enhancing, selective let standing, propagation through seeds or vegetative parts, transplantation, and/or protection). The management intensity and complexity are explained by variables related to management practices and systems. Plants receiving selective management have the higher management intensity. Silvicultural management (in situ management in forests) was recorded in all species of mushrooms, as well as in more than 80% of medicinal, ceremonial and ornamental plants, and in more than 50% of the edible plants. In agricultural systems, people manage more than 90% of the edible plants recorded to be under a management regime, 25% of the managed medicinal plants, and 30.7% of the managed ceremonial and ornamental plants. In homegardens, people manage 41.6% of the medicinal plants recorded and 26.6% of the edible plants, to have them available near home. Nearly 63% of the species interchanged in the markets studied are gathered in forests without any other management form. In this group are included all mushroom species, 61.5% of ceremonial/ornamental plants, 50% of medicinal, and 33.3% of edible plants. The linear regression between ICEI an IER is significantly negative for edible species with high management intensity R 2  = 0.505 ( p  = 0.0316), because of their management. But in medicinal and ornamental plants, the risk is high if the cultural importance increases, even when management practices like transplanting and propagation in homegardens are carried out. Conclusions Traditional markets are settings of interchange of products, knowledge, and experiences, where the ongoing factors and processes motivating management innovation can be identified and documented. This approach allows documenting processes occurring at regional level but would be benefited from deeper studies at local level in communities.

There are about 800 different species of wild edible crops in India, out of which about 300 species are used mostly by the tribal and rural population of the North-eastern region alone. This region is the natural reservoir of a number of wild edible fruits. These naturally occurring fruit are not only nutritionally and medicinally rich but also thrive well under adverse climatic conditions and are resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. In spite of their potential, these fruits are unattended both at scientific and farmers level. Due to lack of proper documentation, the information about the ethno-botanical uses of these fruits have been lost at an alarming rate. Therefore, an attempt has been made during 2015–16 at to enumerate the ethno-medicinal uses and socio-economic importance of wild edible fruits of Mokokchung district of Nagaland, India. In the present study, altogether 55 wild edible fruit species belonging to 29 families have been enumerated. These fruits are used traditionally for the treatment of gastro-intestinal disorders, respiratory ailments, urogenital problems, dermatological problems, fever, cuts and wounds, diabetes, jaundice, cardiovascular problems, nutritional disorders, antidote, bone diseases, cancer, toothache, opthalmia, ENT, food poison, malaria and allergy. In addition, these fruits have also been use in the socio-economic life of the rural people as constructional timber, firewood, fodder, charcoal, fish poisoning, dyes, oil etc. Although, these fruits play an important role in the social and cultural life of rural people, but most of them are going to be extinct due to a number of factors. Therefore, there is urgent need to conserve these species for livelihood security of rural people.

An attempt has been made during 2012–2014 at to enumerate the ethno-medicinal evaluation and socio-economic importance of underutilized and unexploited fruits among the Garo tribe of west Garo hills district, Meghalaya, north-east India. The study was based on extensive field surveys, sample collection and interviews with the traditional healers as well as old aged men and women and survey in rural markets regarding their market demand, price and season of availability. Altogether 66 underutilized and unexploited fruits belonging to 34 families have been enumerated in this paper. The documented fruits were mostly used by the rural people to cure a number of ailments. In addition, these fruits also have socio-economic importance in the rural life of the tribal people like use as constructional timbers, firewood, charcoal, fodder, making dye, yielding oil and a number of value added products. Although, these fruits play an important role in the social and cultural life of Garo people, but these valuable species have been vanishing at very faster rate due to lack of proper documentation. Therefore, the claimed therapeutic values of these species are to be critically studied to establish their safety and effectiveness and both in situ and ex situ conservation measures should be immediately undertaken to safeguard the valuable indigenous rural resources of the world.

The present study was carried out during 2014–16 to document the wild edible fruits of central Manipur with respect to their ethno-medicinal uses and socio-economic importance among the rural people. Altogether 49 species of fruits recorded which are represented by 22 families. Among all, Rosaceae is the most used family with 10 species, followed by Moraceae and Rutaceae by 7 species, Phyllanthaceae by 4 species, Anacardiaceae, Arecaceae and Rubiaceae each by 2 species and rest all one species each. In terms of socio economic importance of these fruits, most of the wild fruits are use for construction of houses, firewood, fodder for domestic animals and charcoals in rural life. These fruits are also use to make dyes for use in traditional handicrafts and to make oils. Most of these fruits are available in the local market, in the price range of Rs. 20 to Rs. 100 per kg. In spite of these versatile uses, these fruits have not yet been properly documented. Hence, there is urgent need to document these valuable species before they become extinct.

Compound events (CEs) are weather and climate events that result from multiple hazards or drivers with the potential to cause severe socio-economic impacts. Compared with isolated hazards, the multiple hazards/drivers associated with CEs can lead to higher economic losses and death tolls. Here, we provide the first analysis of multiple multivariate CEs potentially causing high-impact floods, droughts, and fires. Using observations and reanalysis data during 1980–2014, we analyse 27 hazard pairs and provide the first spatial estimates of their occurrences on the global scale. We identify hotspots of multivariate CEs including many socio-economically important regions such as North America, Russia and western Europe. We analyse the relative importance of different multivariate CEs in six continental regions to highlight CEs posing the highest risk. Our results provide initial guidance to assess the regional risk of CE events and an observationally-based dataset to aid evaluation of climate models for simulating multivariate CEs. Compound climate events such as floods and droughts together can cause severe socio-economic impacts. Here, the authors analyse global hazard pairs from 1980–2014 and find global hotspots for the occurrence of compound events.

Cereals (maize, sorghum, millet, rice) are extremely important crops grown in Africa for human consumption. Of the various insect pests attacking cereal crops in Africa, lepidopteran stem borers are by far the most injurious. All 21 economically important stem borers of cultivated grasses in Africa are indigenous except Chilo partellus , which invaded the continent from India, and C. sacchariphagus , which has recently been found in sugarcane in Mozambique. C. partellus is competitively displacing indigenous stem borers in East and southern Africa. A parasitoid, Cotesia flavipes , was introduced from Pakistan for biological control of C. partellus and caused a 32-55% decrease in stem borer densities. This article is an attempt to summarize the status of knowledge about economically important cereal stem borers in Africa with emphasis on their distribution, pest status and yield losses, diapause, natural enemies, cultural control, host plant resistance, and biological control. Special attention is given to Busseola fusca and C. partellus , the most important pests of maize and grain sorghum.