Mushrooms, Trees, and Money: Value Estimates of Commercial Mushrooms and Timber in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract

Wild edible mushrooms are harvested in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, where both trees and mushrooms grow in the same landscape. Although there has been some discussion about the value of trees and mushrooms individually, little information exists about the joint production of, and value for, these two forest products. Through four case studies, the information needed to determine production and value for three wild mushroom species in different forests of the Pacific Northwest is described, and present values for several different forest management scenarios are presented. The values for timber and for mushrooms are site- and species-specific. On the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, timber is highly valued and chanterelles are a low-value product by weight; timber has a soil expectation value (SEV) 12 to 200 times higher than chanterelles. In south-central Oregon, timber and American matsutake mushrooms have the potential to have about the same SEV. In eastern Oregon, timber is worth 20 to 110 times as much as the morels that grow in the forest. Production economics is concerned with choices about how much and what to produce with what resources. The choices are influenced by changes in technical and economic circumstances. Through our description and analysis of the necessary definitions and assumptions to assess value in joint production of timber and wild mushrooms, we found that values are sensitive to assumptions about changes in forest management, yields for mushrooms and trees, and costs.

Status, Utilization and Economic Valuation of Non-timber Forest Products of Arunachal Pradesh, India

“…NTFPs play a vital role in the life of the tribal people and provide a source of cash income and support subsistence living (Peters et al 1989;Hegde et al 1996). In almost all the tropical countries, NTFP collection is a major economic activity (Chopra 1993;Sharma 1995;Alexander et al 2001;Ambrose 2003) and about 500 million people living in or near forests depend upon them for meeting their livelihood needs (Alexander et al 2002). The NTFPs often termed as minor forest products are integral part of day-to-day livelihood activities of the tribal people of India (Saxena and Farrington 2003;Sarmah 2006;Saha and Sundriyal 2013).…”

Empirical models for predicting the production of wild mushrooms in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests in the Central Pyrenees

“…The market demand has increased to the extent that the commercial value of forest fungi may equal or even surpass the value of timber [1,2,24]. Consequently, there is growing interest on the part of forest owners and managers to inventory, predict, and develop the commercial mushroom production [26].…”

Review of forests, wood products and wood biotechnology of Iran and Germany - Part III

“…Interestingly, amongst the mushrooms used in traditional folk medicine for curing specific illnesses are also toadstool species that can be toxic when consumed by humans (Guzman 2008). The most expensive mushrooms are from mycorrhizal species, for examples matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake), king bolete (Boletus edulis) and chantarelles (Cantharellus cibarius) (Yun et al 1997, Giovannetti et al 1998, Alexander et al 2002. The high prices base in the unpredictable yearly yields which are influenced by the prevailing climatic conditions and by the dependence of the fungi in fruiting on trees (Pilz and Molina 2002).…”