{
  "abstract": "Wild edible plants grow in natural environments with little direct human management; consequently, their productivity and quality frequently exhibit pronounced spatiotemporal variability, making stable supply difficult. This variability represents a major constraint on the exploitation of wild edible plants as local food resources, and overcoming it requires an ecological understanding of the factors affecting variation in both productivity and quality. Here, we examined the effects of human harvesting and environmental factors on the taste characteristics of young culms of Sasa kurilensis. No statistically significant differences were detected between harvested and control plots in any major taste index, including umami, bitter aftertaste, astringency, umami richness, and sweetness (measured as Brix values). In contrast, taste characteristics showed substantial variation among study plots, suggesting a strong association with local environmental conditions. Elevation and slope angle were significantly correlated with bitter aftertaste, umami, and sweetness; plots at higher elevations and on steeper slopes tended to produce plants with a less bitter aftertaste, and higher sweetness and umami. Principal component analysis integrating multiple taste indices revealed that the major axis of taste variation was significantly associated with elevation, and that harvesting treatment had no detectable effect. These results suggest that the taste characteristics of young culms in the study area are governed primarily by topographic gradients rather than by human harvesting. Although wild edible plants are important food resources in boreal and temperate forests worldwide, many are poorly managed. By quantitatively establishing relationships between taste characteristics and environmental factors in young culms, this study provides a scientific basis for determining the optimal timing, location, and selection criteria for wild edible plant harvesting, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable use strategies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "General Education, Faculty of Commerce, Otaru University of Commerce, Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan.",
    "Analytical Research Center for Experimental Sciences, Saga University, Saga, Japan.",
    "Teshio Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Horonobe, Hokkaido, Japan."
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Noboru Katayama",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1602-7497"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Noriko Ryuda"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Masasuke Ryuda"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kentaro Takagi",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1321-2841"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dqaeg887ermb2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360962",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716176",
  "id": "dqaeg887ermb2",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360962",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Bamboo"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biology and Life Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Classical Mechanics"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Cognitive Psychology"
    ],
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      "heading",
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      "heading",
      "Diet"
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    [
      "heading",
      "Food"
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      "heading",
      "Forest Ecology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Forests"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Grasses"
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    [
      "heading",
      "Mathematical and Statistical Techniques"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Mathematics"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Mechanical Stress"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Medicine and Health Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Multivariate Analysis"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Nutrition"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Organisms"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Perception"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Physical Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Physics"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Plants"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Principal Component Analysis"
    ],
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      "Psychology"
    ],
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      "Research Article"
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    [
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      "Research and Analysis Methods"
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    ],
    [
      "heading",
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    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Statistics"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Sustainability Science"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Taste"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Terrestrial Environments"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Thermal Stresses"
    ],
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      "openalex",
      "1110|Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies"
    ],
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    ],
    [
      "plos",
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    ],
    [
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception/Taste"
    ],
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    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology"
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      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Sustainability science"
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    [
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    ],
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition/Diet/Food"
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    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Physics/Classical mechanics/Mechanical stress/Thermal stresses"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Mathematical and statistical techniques/Statistical methods/Multivariate analysis/Principal component analysis"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Perception/Sensory perception/Taste"
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  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716176?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13716176",
  "pmid": "42949900",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dqaeg887ermb2.ris",
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      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:ecology",
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      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
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      "origin": "plos:nutrition",
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      "field": "physics",
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  "title": "Environmental drivers of taste characteristics in wild edible plants: Effects of topographic gradients and human harvesting evaluated using dwarf bamboo culms",
  "title_text": "Environmental drivers of taste characteristics in wild edible plants: Effects of topographic gradients and human harvesting evaluated using dwarf bamboo culms",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:23:13Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dqaeg887ermb2",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}