Climate Change Adaptation in Non-Timber Forest Products: How Resilient are Small Shiitake Producers?

ABSTRACT This study focused on shiitake mushrooms as non-timber forestry products adapting to climate change in an area to examine the practice of sustainable forest management. Our study is relevant to Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems because the research site is located in Kunisaki Peninsula in Japan, which is conventionally prone to drought. We examined how producers have been coping with climate change by adopting low- and middle-temperature varieties of shiitake, Lentinula edodes. This survey collected qualitative and quantitative data at the field level. Qualitative data were derived from interviews with shiitake producers, cooperative staff members, government officials, and a wholesaler followed by a quantitative survey. Moreover, a workshop was organized to verify the results of the interviews. The study results indicate that producers with a higher-than-average ratio of low-temperature shiitake production tend to sell through a brand for low-temperature shiitake varieties and acquire production knowledge from a parent. Annual sales and sloping terrain also affected the ratio. Furthermore, ongoing challenges presented by climate change can alter information and knowledge exchange, which thus increases interaction beyond family members.