Questionnaire research conducted all over Poland has shown that the harvesting of non-wood forest products helps to improve the living standards of poor families. In 2004, in the households under research, income from the sale of these products amounted to about 27% in summer season and nearly 18% per year of the total income of these families. The income from non-wood forest products was used mainly to buy food. The most frequently harvested products were mushrooms and forest fruit, followed by fuel, decorative branches and medicinal herbs.
The research concerned rowan fruit from three areas differentiated as to anthropogenic influences: the region of Olkusz (III zone of industrial damage), Kraków and, as a comparison, the region of Myślenice (I zone of industrial damage). The fruit from areas which were more polluted had a lower content of vitamin C, a bigger share of oven-dry mass, a higher content of extract, iron and lead (additionally, a higher content of zinc in the region of Olkusz) in comparison with fruit from the Myślenice region. On the basis of current standards the usefulness of the fruit was examined for consumption and medical purposes.
The results of research on spruce timber done by means of the resistograph showed significantly greater drill resistance in wet wood than in dry wood. Considerable usefulness of this device was confirmed for the purpose of determination of the range of compression wood and soft rot. The dependence between annual ring width and drill resistance turned out to be less clear. It was difficult to interpret the results in the case of incipient rot, which may affect the results of quality assessment on standing trees.