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Closing Remarks |
It is no dream
Matsutake are growing
On the belly of the mountain
Shigetaka
Exports of matsutake from North American to Japan exemplify the greatly expanded
trade among Pacific Rim countries. As more people become involved in the North
American harvest of matsutake, western society also is learning to appreciate this
unique fungus. Development of commercial matsutake harvesting coincides
with recent efforts to diversify the products we obtain from our native forests. The potential for developing a sustainable harvest of these mushrooms is great.
The American matsutake has evolved over millennia as a component of diverse
and complex natural forest ecosystems. Managers cannot manage it in isolation
from the plant communities and ecosystems to which it is ecologically adapted.
Just as the forest invests tremendous capital in the form of
photosynthates to
maintain mycorrhizae and fuel the production of wild edible mushrooms, so
to
we must invest time and expertise to conserve this ephemeral, valuable, and
poorly understood resource. Immediate management decisions must be based on the best available information, and this
publication is our effort to summarize current knowledge. Adaptive ecosystem management relies on monitoring to
improve decisions. Expanding the knowledge base will be a good investment and
is an essential part of maintaining continuous production of the valuable matsutake
for future generations. Providing managers and harvesters with a greater under-
standing of the matsutake will enable them to develop the most appropriate regulations and optimize use of the resource for the benefit of all. |
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Acknowledgments |
| We thank the many cooperators who have provided American matsutake study
sites or collected data: Gerry Smith, Rick Abbott, Dan Segotta and Sue Powell of the
USDA Forest Service; Kathy Browning of the USDI Bureau of Land Management;
and commercial matsutake harvesters Andy Moore, Ed Strawn, Jeanne McConnell,
and Dwight Reindle. The technical reviews of Yun Wang, Eric Danell, Charlie
LeFevre, and Jim Trappe are gratefully acknowledged. Extensive consultation with
individuals cited throughout this manuscript contributed greatly to the information we
provide, although the authors assume responsibility for errors. In a broader sense,
we are indebted to the many women and men who are actively engaged in efforts to
wisely manage this valuable resource in Japan, the Americas, and elsewhere around
the world. We are honored by our association with them. |
|
English Equivalents |
| When you know: |
Multiply by: |
To find: |
| centimeters |
2.540 |
inches |
| meters |
3.281 |
feet |
| cubic meters |
35.32 |
cubic feet |
| kilometers |
0.62 |
miles |
| Celsius |
1.8, then add |
32 Fahrenheit |
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