In a Moroccan pastoral system, we applied a novel ethnobotanical method by calculating the Cognitive Salience Index (CSI) for plants' valuation (CSIantro) and availability (CSIeco). To evaluate explicit criteria, we correlated palatability and nutritive value to CSIanthro. ANCOVAs related CSIanthro to EAH criteria (CSIeco and lifetime) and to plant occurrence on pasture types. We found EAH criteria to better predict CSIantro than explicit criteria. Apparent plants from semi-arid pastures were more valued than those from arid pastures (HSD; p?<?0.05). We introduce the criterion of reliability into EAH to explain this, and demonstrate how pastoralists adjust management decisions to resource reliability. Linking resource valuation to management decisions can thus improve our understanding of resilience mechanisms. Our study also confirms the validity of EAH for forage species and dryland environments.