| The Biology and Traditional Management of Devil's Club |
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| Investigators |
| Trevor Lantz (M.Sc. candidate), Department of Biology, University of Victoria
Professor Nancy Turner, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria
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What is the Issue? |
| MAINTENANCE AND INVESTIGATION OF A TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL PLANT |
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In recent years, the harvest of non-timber forest products has increased dramatically, especially among those plants traditionally used for their medicinal value. Increasing demand from local and international markets is resulting in increased harvest of these forest flora. Interest in Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus), in particular, has heightened dramatically among pharmaceutical companies, and the roots of the plant are often used by herbal companies as an inexpensive substitute for ginseng. Plants such as Devil's Club have traditionally been managed by First Nations groups, and these peoples have a long-term vested interest in these resources. This study aims, by working with the Hupacasath (Opetchesaht) First Nation, to collect important biological data and document the traditional ecological knowledge that is vital in order to develop sound harvesting practices that are both culturally and ecologically sensitive.
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What is our goal? |
| ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES TO TIMBER EXTRACTION.
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| The biology and traditional management of Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) - managing the harvest of a culturally important non- timber forest product for perpetuity. |
Where we currently stand. |
| Fieldwork for this project was carried out from early March to late August, 2000. In the spring, the researchers concentrated on the establishment of harvest and propagation plots. Census of these plots will be carried out in the spring of 2001. Summer fieldwork consisted of surveying Devil's Club populations and associated plant communities across Western Vancouver Island, mapping clonal fragments, and collecting over 800 growth ring samples. Since September 2000, the researchers have focused on data entry, growth ring sample processing and preliminary data analysis. Future work includes a description of Devil's Club life history, analysis of demography and of clonal expansion patterns, and preliminary analysis of harvesting and propagation experiments. It is expected that this first stage of the project will be completed by the fall of 2001. The research will aid the development of suitable harvesting practices and utilization of the resource in an ecologically and culturally appropriate manner.
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You can help this project - find out how. |
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