Evaluation of the contribution of forest rangelands in the forage balance in the western part of the Central Middle Atlas: Case of the forests of Azrou, Jbel Aoua South and Sidi M'guild
| Main Authors: | M.El Mderssa, H. Achiban, H.Benjelloun, O.Zennouhi, L.Nassiri, J.Ibijbijen |
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| Format: | Article Journal |
| Bahasa: | eng |
| Terbitan: |
, 2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/1441277 |
Daftar Isi:
- Abstract— Range management in Morocco is based on traditional practices where the land is used by a community for grazing by sheep. In the Atlas Mountains rangelands and forest lands are extensively used by grazing animals and even if the vegetation is abundant the cover is ongoing degradation especially in summer. The forest as a rich ecosystem where the plant community is constituted by Quercus and Cedrus sp. where overgrazing has an negative impact on the vegetation inducing degradation. The bred of sheep is Timahdit a bred which is adapted to the high mountain cold of the winter. The range is overgrazed by sheep and undergoes profound mutation with major degradation due to higher pressure by the increasing number of animals of the community which have the right to use the herbaceous cover. This study have the objective to determine the contribution of the range to meet the needs of the animals in the occidental region of the atlas mountains and determine the difference between the potential of the range and the need of the grazing sheep. The results showed that the herbaceous cover is over used by high numbers of animals. So a more rational use of the range is necessary to stop the degradation and sustain the production potential of the forest. The participatory method which includes the population in the decision making will allow better use of the range and sustain the resources and the forest by stopping degradation and a rational use of the range.