Can traditional forest management buffer forest depletion? Dynamics of Moroccan High Atlas Mountain forests using remote sensing and vegetation analysis

Abstract

1On the south shore of the western Mediterranean Basin, mountain forest ecosystems are 2 degraded, mainly due to their overexploitation. Topographic, edaphic and climatic conditions 3 create stressful growing conditions and sensitive ecosystems. Nonetheless, in these 4 ecosystems, forests remain an important resource for the subsistence of local populations. 5Historically the vulnerability of this resource has prompted mankind to establish traditional 6 control forms of forest and pastoral areas. These common resource management systems are 7 still functioning in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains under the name of agdal which refers 8 to the territory, the resources and access rules laid down by the local population in order to 9 manage the territory. 10The estimation of land cover changes was a suitable method to evaluate the effectiveness of 11 these community-based systems for forest conservation. In this paper we highlight the impact 12 of this traditional management on woodland dynamics in a mountainous area (Aït Bouguemez The results indicate that in the past 38 years, forest ecosystems have been affected by a 21 relative decrease of 20.7% of the total forest area, and 8.7% for the mean canopy cover 22 percentage. However, strong disparities in forest dynamics arose according to the agdal or 23 non-agdal status of the forest. Significant progression in canopy cover is noted in controlled 24 agdal areas but large degradation has occurred outside. Regarding the stand ecological 25 4 conditions, we observed significant differences in the stand structure, according to the 1 management mode. We suggest through this study increased recognition of customary forest 2 regulations, which may be adapted and extrapolated to other communities. However, from an 3 ecological point of view, the agdal system alone is not sufficient to reach a viable 4 management mode in the long term. 5 6

The Multiple Dimensions of Rural Forests: Lessons from a Comparative Analysis

“…Two cases highlight semi-arid rural forests in Morocco: the forest 'agdal' in the High Atlas mountains (mixed holm oak [Quercus ilex], and three species of juniper forests), a customary community-based forest management practice based on limited access to the forest on a temporal basis (Hammi et al 2010, Auclair et al 2011; and the argan (Argania spinosa) forest, a unique inhabited native forest (south-west Morocco) facing the consequences of the sudden success of argan oil in international markets (Simenel et al 2009, Genin and.…”

Mediterranean forests, land use and climate change: a social-ecological perspective

“…This situation is in most parts and could become irreversible by producing an impoverishment of soils and by leading to hillside instability. However, some still operating traditional practices concerning thuriferous juniper forests can mitigate this degradation and promote some equilibrium between forest functioning and local population livelihoods (Hammi et al 2010;Genin et al 2012). In Spain, although livestock ranching and cultivation have strongly reduced areas occupied by Juniperus thurifera, stands are still numerous and, in some regions, show a good regeneration due to conservation measures; • In France, the decline in human and livestock activities over recent decades has led to a re-colonization of some of the juniper stands by pines or oaks.…”

Using humans as sensors: An estimation-theoretic perspective

“…Remote sensing generally refers to detecting, monitoring and identifying objects on Earth using aerial sensor technology [26]. Remote sensing applications include environment monitoring, natural resource management, national security, and reports of nature disasters [1], [19]. In these applications, specific physical sensors are chosen and large scale data acquisition and processing infrastructure is built [46].…”