TRADITIONAL SELECTIVE HARVESTING EFFECTS ON OCCURRENCE AND REPRODUCTIVE GROWTH OF GUNDELIA-TOURNFORTII IN ISRAEL GRASSLANDS

Gundelia tournfortii is a perennial herb with a rosette and thickened root, growing in grasslands. In the Middle East, its leaf bases are us ed as a vegetable. Harvesting is by clipping the rosette at its base, and stripping the leaves from the leaf bases. In the last 20 years cli pping and gathering has become more widespread, and a commercial trade has developed. The aim of this study was to discover whether, as a re sult of the rise in demand, the density and distribution potential of this edible plant are liable to come under threat. The percentage of f lowering plants in the non-harvested areas was found to be significant ly higher than that in the harvested areas. As a result the Nature Res erves Authority has adopted our recommendation to regard this plant as a protected species.