Back to forests in pre-Saharan Morocco? When prickly pear cultivation and traditional agropastoralism reduction promote argan tree regeneration

Genin, Miguel; Alifriqui, Mohamed; Fakhech, Abdessamad; Hafidi, Mohamed; Ouahmane, Lahcen; Génin, Didier

doi:10.14214/sf.1618

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Present since the eighteenth century in the traditional production system as a dietary supplement for men and cattle, the cactus has nowadays taken such vast proportions in terms of surface that it has become a dominant element of the agrarian landscape. From an environmental point of view, the available studies indicate a revival of biodiversity, presenting the prickly pear as a factor of ecological resilience (Genin et al, 2017). Addressed from a socioeconomic angle, besides the income provided to families through this crop, the spreading of prickly pears in this territory seems to have disrupted an agrarian order and a territorial organization set up by generations of farmers and cattle herders.…”

Section: Figure 1: Territory Of Ait Baamrane Within the National Terrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…23 In the territory of Sbouya, there has thus been a shift from two complementary production systems, based on scarce resources managed to ensure their sustainability and relying more or less on outside sources, to a variety of systems whose beneficiaries are little or not present on site, based on an almost unique resource, the prickly pear. The latter appears on the one hand as a local innovation particularly adapted to the context of climate change and rural exodus, contributing to the ecological resilience of the territory (Barthes et al, 2016;Genin et al, 2017). But on the other hand, it is the catalyst for major agrarian transformations of a system hitherto resilient from a socio-territorial point of view and presently threatened by various factors including economic and ecological (in the case of monoculture).…”

Section: Current Vulnerabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second corresponds to a scenario proposed by Genin et al (2017), a scenario that favors ecological resilience through the cactus and argan tree reforestation of bare lands. Based on this, we propose other elements to reduce the mentioned socio-economic and ecological vulnerabilities.…”

Section: Current Vulnerabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes

Mourou¹,

Adam²,

Clothilde³

et al. 2018

rga

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Section: Figure 1: Territory Of Ait Baamrane Within the National Terrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Current Vulnerabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes

Mourou¹,

Adam²,

Clothilde³

et al. 2018

rga

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The requirements for forage palm cultivation, such as climatic conditions, soil texture varying from sandy to clayey, and the variation between nocturnal and diurnal temperatures are all found in Northeast Brazil (Edivani et al, 2013). Genin et al (2017) evaluated the natural regeneration of argania (Argania spinosa) and palm fruit production (Opuntia fícus-indica) in the arid pre-Saharan zone of south-west Morocco. They observed that the perennial planting of palm allied with the exclusion of pasture for cattle, creates conditions favorable for forest recovery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land-use change effect on the hydro-dynamic characteristics of soil in the Brazilian semi-arid region

2020

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The search for better living conditions has led the residents of the Brazilian semi-arid region to plant forage crops, leading to a gradual decrease in the native vegetation (Caatinga) of this region. The effects caused by the replacement of Caatinga with palm, for example, have been little studied, especially with regard to the physical and hydraulic properties of the soil. The objective of this study was to compare the physical-hydraulic characteristics of a litholic neosol in two areas having different vegetation cover: one area cultivated with forage palm (O. ficus-indica) and the other covered by native Caatinga. Differences in soil structure, especially in porosity, between the natural and cultivated soils were observed to control the hydrodynamic processes, resulting in changes in water retention curves and hydraulic conductivity. Natural soil presents low values of hydraulic conductivity when compared to those of cultivated soil. This increase is probably due to soil management required for forage palm cultivation. The natural soil structure, characterized by relatively low saturated hydraulic conductivity values, presents an infiltrability that favors surface runoff. Human activities in the study area have promoted changes in the soil’s physical attributes, decreasing density and increasing porosity. Consequently, there is an increase in water infiltration into the soil and a reduction of runoff in cultivated areas, confirming results obtained in previous studies.

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“…Furthermore, it requires less water and is more drought tolerant than other tree-based adaptation options, such as growing olive trees. Recently, high economic value attributed to prickly pear fruits and seed oil has been observed as a lucrative benefit that can be achieved while promoting the recovery of native vegetation (Genin et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Private Profitability of Tree-Based Adaptation Options to Climate Change in a Dryland Area of Tunisia

2019

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Climate change exacerbates the effects of water scarcity on livelihoods. Governments can intervene by structuring incentives for agricultural adaptations so that farmers can choose the ones that create more benefits for the society as a whole. This requires consideration of a range of different benefits to different groups within the social cost-benefit analysis (CBA). We assess the social and private profitability of two alternative tree-based adaptation techniques that have received state support in the traditional barley cropping/rangeland systems in Central Tunisia: olive tree plantation, and intercropping with cactus. The results showed that society does not benefit from offering incentives for olive production. The production of irrigated olive trees without incentives is profitable for farmers and for society, while rainfed plantation is not profitable at all. However, it is possible for farmers to increase their incomes without increasing agricultural water use if they are encouraged to adopt intercropping with cactus to supplement livestock food and watering. The findings highlight scope for policies to balance between returns both for society, and for farmers, as revealed through the application of quantitative social CBA.

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Back to forests in pre-Saharan Morocco? When prickly pear cultivation and traditional agropastoralism reduction promote argan tree regeneration

Abstract: Back to forests in pre-Saharan Morocco? When prickly pear cultivation and traditional agropastoralism reduction promote argan tree regeneration.

Cited by 20 publications

References 47 publications

Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes

Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes

Land-use change effect on the hydro-dynamic characteristics of soil in the Brazilian semi-arid region

Social and Private Profitability of Tree-Based Adaptation Options to Climate Change in a Dryland Area of Tunisia

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