Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia
Mushrooming is a widespread leisure activity for a significant part of the Slovak population. From the point of view of the ecosystem services, it combines a provisioning service (mushrooms as food or delicacies) and a cultural service (mushroom picking as physical activity in nature). For urban res...
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doaj-f6219a96670d46f8ad206429ba5e87752020-11-25T01:55:07ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072020-02-0111328210.3390/f11030282f11030282Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central SlovakiaBranislav Olah0Vladimír Kunca1Igor Gallay2Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaMushrooming is a widespread leisure activity for a significant part of the Slovak population. From the point of view of the ecosystem services, it combines a provisioning service (mushrooms as food or delicacies) and a cultural service (mushroom picking as physical activity in nature). For urban residents, the forest is a refuge from the daily work routine, and mushrooming contributes significantly to improving their quality of life. For mushroom pickers living in rural areas, the occurrence and availability of mushroom harvesting sites are often even more important since it contributes to their diet or even provides an occasional income. We summarised the ecological preferences of selected ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and applied them as parameters for modelling the potential of forest stands for mushroom growing in central Slovakia. In the second step, we analysed the theoretical demand for wild mushrooms as a subsistence provisioning service for the local population with a special focus on socially disadvantaged inhabitants. The results showed that there is a spatial overlap of forest stands with a high potential for mushroom growing and the districts with the highest proportion of unemployment or of inhabitants receiving social benefits, and the best mushroom forest stands are situated within walking distance from the settlements. This supports the initial assumption that wild mushrooms may contribute to a better life for disadvantaged local communities.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/3/282ectomycorrhizal mushroomsforest standecosystem servicessubsistencesocially disadvantagedcentral slovakia |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Branislav Olah Vladimír Kunca Igor Gallay |
spellingShingle |
Branislav Olah Vladimír Kunca Igor Gallay Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia Forests ectomycorrhizal mushrooms forest stand ecosystem services subsistence socially disadvantaged central slovakia |
author_facet |
Branislav Olah Vladimír Kunca Igor Gallay |
author_sort |
Branislav Olah |
title |
Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia |
title_short |
Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia |
title_full |
Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia |
title_fullStr |
Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing the Potential of Forest Stands for Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms as A Subsistence Ecosystem Service for Socially Disadvantaged People: A Case Study from Central Slovakia |
title_sort |
assessing the potential of forest stands for ectomycorrhizal mushrooms as a subsistence ecosystem service for socially disadvantaged people: a case study from central slovakia |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Forests |
issn |
1999-4907 |
publishDate |
2020-02-01 |
description |
Mushrooming is a widespread leisure activity for a significant part of the Slovak population. From the point of view of the ecosystem services, it combines a provisioning service (mushrooms as food or delicacies) and a cultural service (mushroom picking as physical activity in nature). For urban residents, the forest is a refuge from the daily work routine, and mushrooming contributes significantly to improving their quality of life. For mushroom pickers living in rural areas, the occurrence and availability of mushroom harvesting sites are often even more important since it contributes to their diet or even provides an occasional income. We summarised the ecological preferences of selected ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and applied them as parameters for modelling the potential of forest stands for mushroom growing in central Slovakia. In the second step, we analysed the theoretical demand for wild mushrooms as a subsistence provisioning service for the local population with a special focus on socially disadvantaged inhabitants. The results showed that there is a spatial overlap of forest stands with a high potential for mushroom growing and the districts with the highest proportion of unemployment or of inhabitants receiving social benefits, and the best mushroom forest stands are situated within walking distance from the settlements. This supports the initial assumption that wild mushrooms may contribute to a better life for disadvantaged local communities. |
topic |
ectomycorrhizal mushrooms forest stand ecosystem services subsistence socially disadvantaged central slovakia |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/3/282 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT branislavolah assessingthepotentialofforeststandsforectomycorrhizalmushroomsasasubsistenceecosystemserviceforsociallydisadvantagedpeopleacasestudyfromcentralslovakia AT vladimirkunca assessingthepotentialofforeststandsforectomycorrhizalmushroomsasasubsistenceecosystemserviceforsociallydisadvantagedpeopleacasestudyfromcentralslovakia AT igorgallay assessingthepotentialofforeststandsforectomycorrhizalmushroomsasasubsistenceecosystemserviceforsociallydisadvantagedpeopleacasestudyfromcentralslovakia |
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