RESEARCH TOPIC
Mushrooms, forest fruits and the hidden household economy
What retail statistics miss: foraging, sharing and household stores. Explore the different pathways of forest foods.
Explore the stories ↓
STORIES IN THIS TOPIC
The gifts beneath the trees
A basket of wild bilberries reflects both the summer and the forest around it. Marcel Riedl and colleagues linked Czech picking totals for 1994–2018 with June rainfall, July temperature and salvage felling.
The gifts beneath the trees
The value of gathered mushrooms and forest fruits was strongly concentrated in Czech surveys. About 4.5% of respondents accounted for 39.7% of the value reported for their entire households. The half reporting occasional small harvests accounted for just 4.99%.
The gifts beneath the trees
Czech surveys from 2021–2025 indicate that approximately 37.2% of respondents reported both household forest-fruit collection and purchase. Gathering and purchasing complement each other in this food category. Mushrooms have a stronger self-provisioning profile.
The gifts beneath the trees
For the 2024 reference year, a study estimates Czech household collection at 21,447 tonnes of mushrooms and 9,781 tonnes of forest fruits. Their combined indicative value reaches EUR 290.69 million, quantifying a substantial source of household food provision.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Forests
Riedl, M., Němec, M., Jarský, V., & Sloup, R. (2026). Supply, Trade and Consumption of Major Forest Foods in Czechia: Mushrooms, Forest Fruits and Game Meat. Forests, 17(7), 802. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17070802
DOI 10.3390/f17070802Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Sarvašová, Z., Riedl, M., Němec, M., Zahradník, D., Jarský, V., & Kovalčík, M. (2026). Visitation and non-wood product collection in Slovak forests in comparison with Czechia. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 10, 1792106. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1792106
DOI 10.3389/fsufs.2026.1792106Forests
Riedl, M., Němec, M., & Jarský, V. (2024). Thirty Years of Research on Ecosystem Services: The Socio-Economic Role of Forest Visits and Foraging in Enhancing Human Well-Being. Forests, 15(11), 1845. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15111845
DOI 10.3390/f15111845Forests
Riedl, M., Jarský, V., Zahradník, D., Palátová, P., Dudík, R., Meňházová, J., & Šišák, L. (2020). Analysis of Significant Factors Influencing the Amount of Collected Forest Berries in the Czech Republic. Forests, 11(10), 1114. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11101114
DOI 10.3390/f11101114Land Use Policy
Šišák, L., Riedl, M., & Dudík, R. (2016). Non-market non-timber forest products in the Czech Republic—Their socio-economic effects and trends in forest land use. Land Use Policy, 50, 390–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.10.006
DOI 10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.10.006ABOUT THE RESEARCH
This portal explains research on forest ecosystem services and economics at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. It connects everyday experience with original scientific studies.
Co-author of the featured studies
RNDr. Marcel Riedl, CSc.
Scientific guarantor
Ing. et Ing. Martin Němec, Ph.D.
