Evaluation of the influence of dendrometric and ecological factors on the natural regeneration of “Cedrus Atlantica Mannetti” In Ain Antar forest, Algeria

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effect of dendrometric and ecological factors on the natural regeneration of the Atlas cedar "Cedrus atlantica Mannetti" in AinAntarforest,Algeria. This study wascarried out in 14 circular plots of 500 m2area.In order to quantify the seedlingclasses, six sub-plots of 1 m2were installed in each plot.The results of the dendrometric data showedthe presence of a "Gaussian distribution" with a dominance offruitingdiameters(37.5 and 57.5 cm).The results of ecological parameters revealedthat in high altitudes, above 1300 m, natural regeneration seemedto be relatively difficult (30% compared to low and medium altitudes). On slopes greater than 30%, seedlings of less than one year old were less present (20 % compared to the seven first plots). The role of the vegetation cover (40–0%), the litter cover (30–40%) and of the soil depth (shallow and deep) appearedto favor the survival of seedlings, especiallywhen they werestill young. The correlation analysis indicatedthat the different seedling classes became less numerous when altitude, slope and basal area increased.