Finding a “ Disappearing ” Nontimber Forest Resource : Using Grounded Visualization to Explore Urbanization Impacts on Sweetgrass Basketmaking in Greater Mt . Pleasant , South Carolina

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Despite growing interest in urbanization and its social and ecological impacts on formerly rural areas, empirical research remains limited. Extant studies largely focus either on issues of social exclusion and enclosure or ecological change. This article uses the case of sweetgrass basketmaking in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, to explore the implications of urbanization, including gentrification, for the distribution and accessibility of sweetgrass, an economically important nontimber forest product (NTFP) for historically African American communities, in this rapidly growing area. We explore the usefulness of grounded visualization for research efforts that are examining the existence of " fringe ecologies " associated with NTFP. Our findings highlight the importance of integrated qualitative and quantitative analyses for revealing the complex social and ecological changes that accompany both urbanization and rural gentrification. No obstante el creciente interés en la urbanizací on y su impacto ecoí ogico y social enáreas que ante-riormente eran rurales, las investigaciones empíricas siguen estando limitadas. Los estudios existentes se concentran principalmente ya sea en problemas de exclusí on y limitací on social o de cambio ecoí ogico. En este artículo se usa el caso de la cestería con hierba de la virgen (sweetgrass) en Mt. Pleasant, Carolina del Sur, para explorar las consecuencias de la urbanizací on, incluyendo el envejecimiento, en la distribucí on y accesibilidad de la hierba de la virgen, un importante producto forestal no mader-able (nontimber forest product, NTFP) para las históricamente comunidades americanas africanas en está area de rápido crecimiento. Exploramos la utilidad de la visualizací on empírica en los esfuerzos de investigací on que están analizando la existencia de " ecologías marginales " asociadas con los NTFP. * We thank the sweetgrass basket makers and collectors of greater Mt. Pleasant …