The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found a general decline in the consumption and gathering of wild edible 31 plants, but some studies also observe a localized increase. Using information from interviews (n = 1133) in seven 32 sites in the Iberian Peninsula and one in the Balearic Islands, we 1) identify current trends in the consumption and 33 gathering of wild edible plants (n = 56 plant-uses) and 2) analyze how cultural ecosystem services relate to such 34 trends. Our data show a generalized decrease in the consumption and gathering of wild edible plants, although 35 the trend changes significantly across plant-uses. Specifically, we found that -despite the overall decreasing 36 trend-uses of wild edible plants that simultaneously relate to foods with high cultural appreciation and the 37 recreational function of gathering remain popular. Our results signal that cultural services and values associated 38 to the gathering and consumption of some wild edible plants are important factors explaining divergent trends 39 across plant species. This finding reinforces the notion that cultural ecosystem services are deeply intertwined 40 with other categories of services which can combine in complex, non-linear ways producing a variety of 41 interdependent benefits. 42

Background The western Gironès is a district located in NE Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula). This area comprising 186.55 km 2 and 10,659 inhabitants is composed of 5 municipalities encompassing 29 villages, located in the hydrographic basins of the Ter and Llémena rivers. Methods Following the methodology based on the semi-structured interviews, we carried out 40 interviews with 57 informants, 31 were women and the remaining 26 were men, with an average age of 78.6 years. Results In the present study, data from 316 taxa (301 angiosperms, 8 gymnosperms, and 7 pteridophytes) belonging to 89 botanical families were collected. The interviewed informants referred 3776 UR of 298 taxa, 1933 (51.19%) of them corresponding to the food category, 949 (25.13%) to the medicinal ones, and 894 (23.68%) to other uses. In addition, 581 vernacular names for 306 species, subspecies, and varieties have also been collected. Conclusions These results reveal the validity of traditional knowledge in the studied area, which can be seriously threatened by the loss of its rural condition and its proximity to industrialized areas.

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