THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF FOREST FRUITS. A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS RESEARCHED DURING THE PERIOD OF 1978 TO 2023

Forest fruits, an important component of non-wood forest products, have significant ecological and economic importance, bringing numerous material benefits to small landowners as well as companies specialised in their commercialization. This bibliometric study analysed their economic value using data extracted from the Web of Science and processed with Excel and Vosviewer programs. The results show that, since 1978, a significant number of articles on this topic have been published annually in the fields of Forestry, Environmental Sciences, Plant Sciences, and Ecology. This is done by authors from numerous countries, most notably from China, Brazil, the USA, and India, in various journals across different domains, particularly in Forestry, Ecology, and Economics. The most represented journals are Forest Ecology and Management, Economic Botany, and Agroforestry Systems. The most frequently used keywords were conservation, forest and biodiversity. Initially, more general keywords were used, but in recent years they have focused more on food security for the population. Although there are numerous types of forest tree fruits harvested around the globe, their harvesting can have a negative impact on the environment, while the monetary advantage of harvesting them is very low, and their commercialisation is scarce. In addition to certain forest fruits used in various regions around the world (marula, almonds, uppage, Brazil nut, baobab fruits), two other categories of fruits (berries and wild cherries) are frequently harvested, processed into high-value products (jams, preserves, yogurts, juices, liqueurs), and marketed.