In Europe and the Mediterranean, over-exploitation and destructive harvesting techniques have been identified as two critical threats affecting the sustainable harvesting of wild medicinal plant (WMP) species. However, unsustainable harvesting is not an issue everywhere and localized assessments are needed. Local knowledge has been praised for its potential for local short-term assessments. In this study, we aimed to register the known, harvested, and locally utilized WMP species and understand local knowledge of harvesters about the ecological sustainability of WMP harvesting and the perceived changes of WMP availability. This study was conducted on Lemnos island, Greece, in July and August 2018. Sixteen harvesters knowledgeable about gathering and using WMP were chosen through purposeful and snowball sampling. Successive free-lists provided insights on the taxa known, harvested, and utilized by harvesters and subsequent semi-structured interviews served to understand harvesting practices and perceived changes of WMP availability. Participant observation during seven harvesting walks allowed for additional insights and facilitated the collection of voucher specimens. In total, 144 different plant taxa were listed as useful and 81 had been harvested in the prior 4 years. Medicinal applications were mainly related to digestive and respiratory system issues. A number of favorable harvesting practices suggested a high potential towards an ecologically sustainable harvest. Although, a decreased availability for certain plant taxa and harvesting sites was reported and mainly attributed to external factors such as pollution, unusually dry weather, intentional pastureland burning or chemicals in agriculture, but also destructive harvesting by less knowledgeable harvesters. Knowledgeable harvesters of Lemnos gather and use a considerable number of WMP taxa and possess local knowledge that supports an ecologically sustainable harvest. However, certain plant taxa and areas of the island were indicated to be under pressure from harvesting, unusual climatic conditions, and agricultural practices. Our approach confirmed that local knowledge should be taken into account for assessing the sustainability of WMP harvesting.

中文翻译：

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当地有关希腊Lemnos岛可持续采集和野生药用植物种类供应的知识。

在欧洲和地中海，过度开发和破坏性收获技术已被确定为影响野生药用植物（WMP）物种可持续收获的两个关键威胁。但是，不可持续的收获并不是到处都存在的问题，需要进行局部评估。当地知识因其在当地短期评估中的潜力而受到赞扬。在这项研究中，我们旨在注册已知的，收获的和当地使用的WMP物种，并了解收割者对WMP收获的生态可持续性和WMP可用性的感知变化的本地知识。这项研究于2018年7月和8月在希腊的莱姆诺斯岛进行。通过有目的和雪球采样选择了16名了解WMP收集和使用知识的收割机。连续的免费名单提供了有关收割者已知，收割和利用的分类单元的见解，随后的半结构化访谈有助于了解收割实践和WMP可用性的感知变化。在七个收割步骤中的参与者观察可以提供更多见解，并有助于收集凭证标本。总共列出了144种不同的植物分类单位，在过去的4年中已经收获了81种。药物应用主要与消化系统和呼吸系统问题有关。许多有利的收割方法表明，在实现生态可持续收割方面潜力很大。虽然据报某些植物类群和收割地点的供应量减少，这主要归因于诸如污染，异常干燥的天气等外部因素，有意进行牧场焚烧或农业中的化学药品，但知识渊博的收割者的破坏性收割也是如此。知识丰富的Lemnos收割者收集并使用了大量的WMP分类单元，并拥有支持生态可持续收割的本地知识。但是，表明某些植物类群和岛屿上的地区正受到收获，异常气候条件和农业实践的压力。我们的方法证实，在评估WMP收获的可持续性时应考虑当地知识。但是，表明某些植物类群和岛屿上的地区正受到收获，异常气候条件和农业实践的压力。我们的方法证实，在评估WMP收获的可持续性时应考虑当地知识。但是，表明某些植物类群和岛屿上的地区正受到收获，异常气候条件和农业实践的压力。我们的方法证实，在评估WMP收获的可持续性时应考虑当地知识。