Economic Botany最新文献

Background: The concept of physical literacy (PL) has been advocated as the need to create environments fostering sustainable engagement in PA. This study adopted ecological approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a blended PL intervention embedded into the school day to support children's PA and health.

Method: Designed as a three-arm randomized controlled trial, a total of 79 participants (59.5% girls) were randomly assigned to: the "Quantity + Quality" blended PL group combining sit-stand desks and play-based recess (SSPlay), the "Quality" group with play-based recess only (Play) or the control group. The intervention lasted for 13 weeks, and all the variables were collected at baseline, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up.

Results: SSPlay and Play group significantly improved on two of the embodied PL domains, Physical Competence (- 2.96 vs - 5.15, p < 0.05) and Knowledge and Understanding (- 2.35 vs - 2.00, p < 0.05), total errors of cognitive flexibility (24.00 vs 12.92, p < 0.05), and this difference was maintained at follow-up (p < 0.05). Whilst there was no interaction effect between groups, and time effects were found for PA and planning from baseline to post-intervention.

Conclusion: This was the first to adopt an ecological approach as an innovative strategy to provide the emergence of PA for children in Hong Kong. The blended intervention design that embedded both quantity and quality of PA into children's school day has shown promise in supporting children's all round development. PL intervention where environments are designed to increase the "Quantity + Quality" of children's everyday interactions has led to improvements in PA and health outcomes, which may provide insights for future studies to adopt cost-friendly and feasible measures for promoting children's PA in the school settings.

Trial registration: ChiCTR, ChiCTR2000035038. Registered 29 July 2020-Retrospectively registered. http://www.chictr.org.cn/hvshowproject.aspx?id=46038 .

Wild–foraged mushrooms represent a natural resource that provides economic value to foragers through both market and nonmarket recreational channels. Despite the importance of non–timber forest resources for sustainable management of forestlands, little attention has been paid to who forages for wild mushrooms, why they choose to forage, where they go, and what economic value is generated. This report draws upon survey data from 78 foragers who are certified to sell their mushrooms and 85 noncertified foraging enthusiasts. Its goal is to understand foraging patterns and values for morels (Morchella spp.) in the State of Michigan (USA). Most foragers spend fewer than 10 days each year foraging, and those who sell their morels are most likely to sell to local restaurants, pubs and bars, and informally to their friends. Certified foragers who choose to sell their morels sell for an average price of $36 per pound ($36/lb) for fresh black or yellow morels. Costs to supply fresh morels ranged widely among the 16 certified sellers who reported full cost details; over 70% of morels were supplied at costs below $30/lb, but some certified sellers incurred costs in the hundreds of dollars per pound. Recreational morel gatherers paid $43 to $335 per trip of foraging morels, with a median value of $93 per trip. Morel foragers also search for other mushrooms with oyster mushrooms (Pleurtous spp.), chanterelles (Cantharellus spp), hen–of the–woods (Grifola frondosa), and chicken–of–the–woods (Laetiporus spp) being the most popular.