High demand for firewood leads to overuse of walnut-fruit forests in Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

After Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1991, the importance of the primary sector for food- and energy-supply increased significantly. This has led to a discussion about the sustainability of current firewood use. We investigated firewood collection and use practices in three selected villages and analysed differences between the annual increment of woody biomass and firewood consumption for heating during winter months. The calculated individual firewood consumption is on average 3.90 kg/capita/heating day and the calculation of differences between increment and consumption shows that in minimum one village the surrounding forests are overused for firewood collection. Pressure on the forest and the overuse of preferred tree species for firewood can lead to an overuse of the resource and to a decrease in the genetic diversity of these species in the walnut-fruit forests which are considered as a biodiversity hotspot of international significance due to the diversity of woody.

Keywords

swalnut / Juglans regia / firewood consumption / overexploitation

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