Introduction to the monitoring of medicinal and aromatic plants in the "Stara Planina" nature park on the territory of the Knjaževac municipality

Abstract

The field research conducted within the "Stara Planina" Nature Park, in the territory of Knjaževac municipality, registered 159 medicinal and aromatic plant species classified into 54 families, with Lamiaceae, Rosaceae and Asteraceae being the families with the highest number of medicinal representatives. For all recorded species, the part of the plant that is harvested and its use according to official and traditional medicine is indicated. The conservation status according to national legislation is also provided for all species. For selected commercially significant and most represented species, distribution maps are presented. The most significant threatening factors are discussed, and the importance of understanding and applying sustainable harvesting principles to ensure the protection and conservation of wild medicinal plant populations is highlighted.

Keywords

• stara planina mt.
• medicinal plants
• monitoring
• sustainable collecting from nature