## 5 Conclusions  
All the results presented here indicate that, as two important artificial cultivation technologies, stubble and root cutting can be applied to the sustainable management of _A. elata_. Compared with no treatment, both stubble and root-cutting treatments can effectively facilitate root sprout regeneration. When we chose stubble as the managementmethod, the large plant with short stubble height (6-15 cm) treatment was the best choice to promote the growth and sprouting ability of _A. elata_ (Figure 5a). When we conducted the root-cutting treatment, 100% root-cutting ratio at the distance of 0.25 m was the best option to promote the root sprout regeneration of small _A. elata_ plants. While managing the root-cutting of large _A. elata_, only the root-cutting ratio should be considered, and the 100% root-cutting ratio is optimum to promote the number of root sprouts at the early stage after root-cutting treatment (Figure 5b). These results indicate that after 3 years of stubble and root-cutting treatment, the effects of stubble treatment on the growth and sprouting ability of _A. elata_ vanished, while the effects of root-cutting treatment on the root sprouting ability of large _A. elata_ plants also vanished. Therefore, to maintain the promoting effects of stubble and root-cutting on the growth and sprouting ability of _A. elata_, corresponding treatments should be performed on the target _A. elata_ plant at an interval of two years. The findings of this study can be applied to the development of management rules for both wild and artificially cultivated _A. elata_ plants to improve the growth and sprouting ability of _A. elata_. Appropriate regulations for the management of _A. elata_ could help to increase the yield of NTFPs (e.g., stems, shoots, etc.) and further increase local population revenues. Moreover, the findings of this study can also provide a theoretical reference and technical support for studies on sustainable utilization and management of NTFP species all over the world.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, Q.Y. and L.Y.; methodology, Q.Y. and L.Y.; formal analysis, T.Z.; investigation, T.Z. and Y.M.; resources, J.Z.; data curation: Q.Y., L.Y. and T.Z.; writing--original draft preparation, T.Z.; writing--review and editing, Q.Y. and L.Y.; visualization, T.Z.; supervision, Q.Y. and L.Y.; project administration, Q.Y. and L.Y.; funding acquisition, Q.Y., L.Y. and J.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1808201), the National Key R & D Program of China (2016 YFC0500302), and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA28080305).  
**Data Availability Statement:** Data for this study can be made available upon reasonable request.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.  
Figure 5: Conceptional diagram of the effects of stubble test (**a**) and root cutting test (**b**) on plant growth and sprouting ability. For each experimental treatment, the arrow direction represents the optimal treatment level among all treatment levels. NB: number of new branches; BBD: new branch basal diameter; PDG: plant basal diameter growth; NRS: number of root sprouts in 2018; RSH: root sprout height in 2020; RSD: root sprout basal diameter in 2020.