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A prized caterpillar fungus is "Himalayan Viagra" in Asia, where it is seen as a wonder drug, said Monday.
People in China and Nepal have been killed in the past by the elusive fungus "yarchagumba," known formally as Ophiocordyceps sinensis.
Although it has no scientifically proven benefits, people who know how to take care of the disease.
It is one of the world's most valuable biological commodities, providing a crucial source of income for hundreds of thousands of collectors, "said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.
In recent decades, it has become more and more expensive – it can be fetched up to three times the price of gold in Beijing, researchers say.
While many have been overcharged, the researchers wanted to find out more.
So they are interviewed about the harvesters, collectors and traders of the prized fungus.
They also published previously published scientific literature, including interviews with 800 people in Nepal, Bhutan, India and China, to understand their apparent decline.
Weather patterns, geographic factors and environmental conditions were also analyzed to create a map of production in the region.
"We've been revealing that caterpillar fungus production is declining throughout much of its range," said the report.
"While collectors are more likely to decline, they are more likely to be overharvesting, and they are likely to play a role in climate change."
– Particular temperatures –
The cone-shaped fungus is only about 11,500 feet (3,500 meters) high, and forms when the parasitic fungus lodges itself in a caterpillar, slowly killing it.
To Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) – where the soil is not permanently frozen.
"Such conditions are typically present at the margin of permafrost areas," said the PNAS report, led by Stanford University researchers.
"Bhutan, its populations are likely to have been negatively affected."
The warming trend has particularly affected Bhutan, with increasing average temperatures "(+1.1 C per decade, on average)," added the study.
Researchers also found that vegetation on the Tibetan plateau "did not shift upward in response to climate warming from 2000 to 2014," suggesting that the fungus caterpillar would not be able to simply move up the mountain to colder habitats as the climate warms.
This issue is important for the survival of the population, and it is necessary for alternative livelihood options in the communities that depend on this commodity, "warned researchers.
The fungus known in Asia as "Himalayan viagra" – seen here – has no scientifically proven benefits, but people believe it cures everything from impotence to cancer
The prized caterpillar fungus is a hot commodity across Asia – here, it is sold in the Chinese city of Gannan, in Gansu province, in June 2013
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