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Forest Degradation Susceptibility and Sustainability: Case Study of Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, Atlantic High Atlas, Morocco

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Geospatial Practices in Natural Resources Management

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Abstract

The regional environmental conditions primarily regulate the ecosystem structure, wherein their relationship with sub-surface geological settings is less studied. The Moroccan argan forest (Argania Spinosa) was designated in 1998 by the Man and Biosphere (MAB) program of UNESCO as a terrestrial ecosystem of global importance and called Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve (RBA). Since 2014, UNESCO has also inscribed the RBA as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This chapter aims to show the influence of the geological substrate on biodiversity by focusing on the argan grove of the Ida OutananeMountains and the geological formations of the Atlantic High Atlas (Morocco). The ground data species diversity with local soil and geological characteristics have been recorded at various altitudinal ranges. The study showed that the lithological diversity of the main geological formations in the study area influences the distribution of the argan tree and its floral procession. The study capitalizes and promotes the multidisciplinary knowledge acquired in botany and geology within the ecosystem of the RBA.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely appreciate the constructive and detailed comments provided by the anonymous reviewers and editors, which have greatly contributed to enhancing the quality of this manuscript. Additionally, the last author, Prof. M. Abioui, gratefully acknowledges the funding provided by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I. P (FCT), under the projects UIDB/04292/2020, UIDP/04292/2020, granted to MARE, and LA/P/0069/2020, granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET. Finally, our thanks also go to the Springer proofreading team for their assistance in managing the manuscript, coordinating reviews, and preparing the final proof.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geosciences, Environment and Geomatics Laboratory (GEG), Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Ibnou Zohr University, 80000, Agadir, Morocco

    Sarrah Ezaidi, Mohamed Ait Haddou, Belkacem Kabbachi, Abdelkrim Ezaidi, Asmae Aichi & Mohamed Abioui

  2. World Resources Institute India, New Delhi, 110019, India

    Pulakesh Das

  3. MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre – Sedimentary Geology Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3030-790, Coimbra, Portugal

    Mohamed Abioui

Authors
  1. Sarrah Ezaidi
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  2. Mohamed Ait Haddou
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  3. Belkacem Kabbachi
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  4. Abdelkrim Ezaidi
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  5. Asmae Aichi
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  6. Pulakesh Das
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  7. Mohamed Abioui
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohamed Abioui .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Raja Narendra Lal Khan Women’s College, Midnapore, West Bengal, India

    Pravat Kumar Shit

  2. Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India

    Dipanwita Dutta

  3. Department of Geography, Cooch Behar College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India

    Tapan Kumar Das

  4. Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics (SIG), Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, Maharashtra, India

    Sandipan Das

  5. Department of Geography, Seacom Skill University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Gouri Sankar Bhunia

  6. Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration, World Resources Institute India, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Pulakesh Das

  7. Centre for Environment, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Guwahati), Guwahati, Assam, India

    Satiprasad Sahoo

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Ezaidi, S. et al. (2024). Forest Degradation Susceptibility and Sustainability: Case Study of Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, Atlantic High Atlas, Morocco. In: Shit, P.K., et al. Geospatial Practices in Natural Resources Management. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38004-4_23

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