Application of Stubble and Root Cutting in Artificial Cultivation of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs): A Study Case of Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem

The increased demand for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has led to the over-exploitation and disordered utilization of wild NTFP resources. Thus, it is important to determine how to sustainably utilize and cultivate NTFPs. Stubble and root cutting are two important methods for artificial cultivation, but little is known about their effects on the artificial cultivation of NTFP species with strong sprouting ability. Aralia elata is an important understory economic plant with high medicinal and edible values, and its wild resources are decreasing rapidly due to increasing demand. Therefore, A. elata, with its strong sprouting ability, was taken as an example to explore the effects of stubble (plant size × stubble height) and root cutting (root-cutting distance × root-cutting ratio) on its growth and sprouting ability for three years. The results showed that both stubble and root-cutting treatments could effectively facilitate the root sprouting ability of A. elata. The short stubble height treatment (6–15 cm) was the optimum stubble method for large A. elata (the mean height and basal diameter of plants were 256.65 cm and 4 cm, respectively). For small A. elata (plant basal diameter ranged from 1.5 cm to 3.4 cm), the optimal root-cutting method was 100% root-cutting ratio at a root-cutting distance of 0.25 m. However, the effects of stubble and root cutting on the growth and sprouting ability of A. elata were time-dependent, and repetitive treatment might be applied at an interval of two years to maintain its continuous growth and sprouting.