Traditional knowledge of protected plant species in two Central-European landscapes

We compared two Hungarian ethnic groups’ traditional ecological knowledge on protected plant species in a Hungarian hilly (Zala county, Hungary) and a Romanian mountainous landscape (Eastern Carpathians, Romania). We used structured questionnaires with color photos of  20 selected, protected species in both landscapes. 25-25 people were interviewed. Knowledge of the species’ name, habitat, time of flowering, and population trends and the factors behind the changes in the size of population were collected. Local knowledge of protected plants was much less than expected, and it was not as elaborate as the previously documented knowledge of dominant and/or characteristic species. Furthermore local people rarely perceived changes in the abundance of the species. Our results suggest, that nature conservation will not be able to collect detailed knowledge on protected species, though local knowledge may increase the efficiency of communication between local people and conservationists.