Abstract
Medicinal plant species in northwest Tunisia are subject to anthropogenic pressures and to constraints of natural conditions. These will be accentuated in the context of climate change. The objective of this work is to assess the threat factors and the potential vulnerability of these species in northwestern Tunisia. The methodological approach was based on 500 ethnobotanical surveys of a semi-structured questionnaire with collectors of medicinal plants in five forest series in northwestern Tunisia. Based on the information collected and field surveys, the vulnerability of exploited species was assessed through the calculation of the vulnerability index (Iv). A set of 19 medicinal and aromatic species in northwest Tunisia have been identified and divided into 12 families. Three species (Arbutus unedo, Mentha pulegium and Mentha ratindifolia) were assessed as very vulnerable. However, half of the studied species were found to be moderately vulnerable. The threats to medicinal and aromatic plants in the study area are due to overexploitation by the local population and their livestock. These species require appropriate management to allow exploitation and rational development along with conservation of intensively exploited species.
Keywords: Threat factors, Northwest Tunisia, Medicinal plants, Vulnerability
