Plant diversity in traditional agroecosystems of North Morocco

Abstract

Questions: While globalisation favours intensive yield-maximizing agriculture with cropping practices that entail agrobiodiversity loss, extensive production systems still exist in areas of marginal lands such as in mountainous regions or islands. It is overdue to study such systems, their sustainability and ecology as potential models for decentralized environmentally balanced land-use. For that purpose, we investigated the composition of the wild arable (segetal) flora in traditional thermo- to mesomediterranean cereal-growing agroecosystems of northwestern Morocco. Study area: The Tingitane (Tangier) Peninsula in the Northwest of Morocco. Methods: A sample of 94 relevés was collected in six areas in the foreland of the Rif Mountains. Results: We found 209 species in 150 genera and 41 families, a mean of 22 species per relevé and a Shannon index of 3.04±0.06. A TWINSPAN classification revealed a high level of similarity between the areas, with the plant communities corresponding to the order Brometalia rubenti-tectorum, but also differences in species composition as a result of climatic, soil and land-use effects. Therophytes dominated, but biennial and perennial herbs indicating shallow tillage and fields under fallow were also common. Almost half of the species found were agrestal species (confined to arable fields), and almost a third were apophytes (native species occurring in fields but also in natural habitats). Twenty-nine species (14%) of the segetal flora were regional endemics and six are considered nationally rare. Although there is evidence of recent structural and floristic diversity decline, traditional agroecosystems tend to favour native species including some of particular conservation interest. Conclusions: The traditional agroecosystems of the Rif Mountains fulfil criteria of High Nature Value agriculture but, in view of recent socio-economic change, require support by policy for their maintenance. Taxonomic reference: Euro+Med PlantBase (http://www.europlusmed.org) [accessed 26 Nov 2022]. Syntaxonomic reference: EuroVegChecklist (Mucina et al. 2016). Abbreviations: TWINSPAN = Two Way Indicator Species Analysis.

Plant species composition and diversity in traditional agroforestry landscapes on Siberut Island, West Sumatra, Indonesia

“…Criteria for diversity index values are as follows: H'<1 (Low diversity), H' = 1-3 (Moderate diversity), H'>3 = High diversity (Chakkour et al 2023).…”

“…In the transect, a sub-plot with a size of 10x10 meters is created. In each plot, the data parameters collected are in the form of the height of the location every 5 meters, the number of species is calculated, the position of the individual in the plot based on from the data, a profile diagram of the agroforestry land will be obtained (Chakkour et al 2023).…”

“…Furthermore, varied conditions discovered a low diversity index on agroforestry land in Lampung, H'=0.98 (Heryandi et al 2022). The diversity index on agroforestry land varies in many other topical agroforestry places, such as Central Nepal, H'=1.21 (Pandey et al 2021) and Cameron, which were intermediate categories, H'=2.86 (Todou et al 2022), South-Cental Ethiopia, H'=2.1 (Molla et al 2023) and in Peru were low categories, H'=1.45 (Goñas et al 2022) but high in North Morocco, H'=3.04 (Chakkour et al 2023).…”

Overview of Ecological Dynamics in Morocco – Biodiversity, Water Scarcity, Climate Change, Anthropogenic Pressures, and Energy Resources – Navigating Towards Ecosolutions and Sustainable Development

“…Nonetheless, agriculture remains pivotal to the economy, contributing significantly to the GDP and employing a large workforce [33]. Traditional agroecosystems in southern oases and northwestern cereal-growing regions are vital for preserving agrodiversity and local races [34,35]. However, modernization and environmental shifts endanger these systems, risking agrodiversity loss and food security [33].…”

Foliar nutrient contents of tropical tree species under different management and climate conditions

“…There is still an incomplete understanding of how plant species control their own nutrition, as well as how management practices modify plant nutrition across the tropics (Wieder et al 2015, Jakovac et al 2021. Foliar nutrient contents are a widely used tool for understanding plant nutrition; however, comparative studies among are complex because of the heterogeneity of plant communities, soils, climate (Chakkour et al 2023) and management practices. Foliar nutrient contents in plants vary according to nutrient availability in soil, plant functional traits (growth, habits, phenology, etcetera), and climate conditions (Bai et al 2019).…”