Current improvement of non-wood forest resource inventory and assessment procedures

Forest resource rational utilization is unfeasible without inventory and unbiased assessment of all forest values including non-wood resources regarded as valuable components of sustainable forest management both at national and international levels. The paper highlights key results of various non-wood forest resource inventory and assessment procedure development and improvement. Scientific and practical values of these studies is noted. As stressed systematic studies of non-wood vegetative forest resources at VNIILM commenced in mid-60-s of the XX century since establishment of the indirect forest utilization in 1969. Regional forest experiment stations (FES) - Kostromskaya, North Caucasus, Bashkirskaya and Tumenskaya contributed to the Institute studies. Outstanding that as other sectoral institutes joined the studies VNIILM became a coordinating center and the leading institute in this research area. It is noted that although most intensive and large-scale studies were in 80-s and early 90-s of the last century it is still ongoing now...