Meadow up a tree: Feeding flocks with a native ash tree in the Moroccan mountains

Abstract

The pastoral interest in Fraxinus dimorpha foliage from the High Atlas of Morocco was assessed both in terms of its role with regard to the feeding of small ruminant flocks and for its nutritive value. Observation, measurements, and interviews with 57 households revealed that ash trees are regularly pollarded, following very precise four-year cycles, during late August to November. Native ash tree stands are subject to characteristic shaping, which enables a continuous capability to provide fodder, and gives rise to characteristic sylvo-pastoral landscapes. A digestion trial was conducted in goats and sheep. Five two-year-old rams (19.5 ± 1 kg) and five two-year-old uncastrated bucks (22.2 ± 1.7 kg) were placed in individual metabolism cages over 18 days, and fed fresh ash tree leaves with a light dietary supplementation. The apparent digestibility coefficients between goats and sheep did not differ significantly for dry matter (69.5% versus 67.5%, respectively), organic matter (70.5% vs 68.3%), and Neutral Detergent Fibre (53.8% vs 52.3%), in contrast to crude protein (54.2% vs 45.3%, p < 0.001) and Acid Detergent Lignin (29.7 vs 26.4, p < 0.05). Due to a higher intake relative to metabolic weight (57.1 vs 47.7 gDM/kgBW 0.75 ), goats valorize this type of forage better than sheep. It is concluded that ash tree foliage presents considerable nutritive interest in autumn when overall range forage is scarce and lacking in quality, and, hence, constitutes a useful forage resource for feeding the small ruminant flocks found in these low-input mountain livestock farming systems. Associated traditional management practices were revealed to be both technically and ecologically efficient, and should be better taken into account by policy-makers.

Another vision of sound tree and forest management: Insights from traditional ash shaping in the Moroccan Berber mountains

“…These quantities correspond roughly to a contribution of ash foliage of 20 to 35% of the daily diet of the animals, respectively. Details concerning ash intake and nutritive value can be found in Genin et al (2016). The number of branches cut per head and per day did not show significant correlation with the number of ashes owned (n=65, r²=0.12, p>0.05).…”

“…It is typically a multi-functional tree for the local community, providing firewood, timber mainly for the roofs of houses and agricultural tools, food (spices) and medicinal products, and its leaves are used for dyeing textiles. But the most critical use is as fodder in the autumn (end of August to November), in a period when standing range forage is scarce and dry (Genin et al 2016). 5% of the total forested area.…”

“…For the purposes of this study, only data relative to tree management were mobilized here. More detailed analyses concerning the pastoral aspects of ash uses can be found in Genin et al (2016).…”

“…This is traduced, at the landscape level, by the presence of four physiognomies of ash tree stands which all have their utility, and, at the Anyhow, the pastoral function of the dimorphic ash tree constitutes the basis for management decisions relative to ash tree, particularly because its leaves present a good forage value (e.g. 70% In Vivo Dry Matter Digestibility) for small stock during the critical period of autumn (Genin et al 2016). This principal use is also reported in several other regions, and has also left its mark on the landscapes, such as those of the Pyrenean region where ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior) were always present in groves near the sheepfolds (Gibon et al 2015).…”

“…In most parts of Morocco, diversified agroforestry systems have been developed. This is particularly the case in the mountains of the High Atlas, where original traditional practices are commonly found for managing forest resources for combined fodder and timber production (Hammi et al 2010;Genin and Simenel 2011;Genin et al 2016). It would appear that the case of the very sophisticated management system associated with the use of Fraxinus dimorpha, a native ash tree spontaneously growing in some parts of the Moroccan High Atlas, has not yet been documented.…”