Olli Saastamoinen , Seppo Lohiniva

Picking of wild berries and edible mushrooms in the Rovaniemi region of Finnish Lapland.

Saastamoinen O., Lohiniva S. (1989). Picking of wild berries and edible mushrooms in the Rovaniemi region of Finnish Lapland. Silva Fennica vol. 23 no. 3 article id 5387. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15545

Abstract

According to 459 and 350 questionnaires sent in 1983 and in 1985, respectively, the households in the Rovaniemi region located in the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland, eagerly picked wild berries. In both years, four out of five households picked at least one species of berry. In 1983 the total amount of wild berries picked was 29.2 kg per capita. In 1985 it was 15.0 kg per capita. Three species, the lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus L.) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) made up 96% of all the wild berries picked during both years. Most of these berries were picked for the family’s own use, but many were also picked for sale. In 1983, 43% of all berries picked were sold, in 1985, 19% were sold. The cloudberry, although difficult to find, is the most important commercial species and also for household use it is the most sought after wild berry. Only very small amounts of edible mushrooms were collected, 1.0 kg per capita in 1983 and 1.3 kg in 1985.

The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.

Keywords
Vaccinium myrtillus; Vaccinium vitis-idaea; wild berries; commercial picking; mushrooms; berry picking; Rubus chamaemorus; picking for own use; edible fungi

Published in 1989

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Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15545 | Download PDF