Relationship between species composition and growth environment in the arid zone of southwest Morocco

Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration volume 5, Article number: 44 (2020) Cite this article

Abstract

Wild plants growing in arid environments are attracting attention as they are a new pool of resources. However, there is a concern that the rate of desertification will increase due to excessive use of plant resources in arid environments. The aim of this study was to show the distribution of wild plants and examine the management and utilization of plant resources in southwest Morocco. The intention is to use the results of this study to devise a plant resource use plan that considers regional characteristics. According to the results, the plant species Argania spinosa and Artemisia herba-alba dominate in southwest Morocco, with one of these species dominating at low elevations and the other dominating at high elevations (above approximately 1000 m.a.s.l.). Since these plants are the dominant species in the region, the risk of losing these species due to resource utilization is relatively low. On the other hand, other plant species in the region are much less abundant, so it is important to consider the conservation—including the sustainability—of those species if they are to be used as resources.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by JST/JICA, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (JPMJSA1506).

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by JST/JICA, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (JPMJSA1506).

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Affiliations

  1. University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Kiyokazu Kawada & Hiroko Isoda

  2. IAV Hassan II, 10112, Rabat, Morocco

    Charradi Youssef, Mohamed El Fadili & Mohammed Yessef

  3. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Yoshiharu Fujii

Authors
  1. Kiyokazu Kawada
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  2. Charradi Youssef
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  3. Mohamed El Fadili
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  4. Mohammed Yessef
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  5. Yoshiharu Fujii
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  6. Hiroko Isoda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiyokazu Kawada.

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We declare that there is no conflict of interest for this research.

Additional information

This paper was selected from the Tunisia-Japan Symposium on Science, Society and Technology (TJASSST 2019), Sousse, Tunisia.

Communicated by Armando da Costa Duarte, Chief Editor.

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Kawada, K., Youssef, C., El Fadili, M. et al. Relationship between species composition and growth environment in the arid zone of southwest Morocco. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 5, 44 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-020-00177-9

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Keywords

  • Plant resources
  • Species composition
  • Argania spinosa
  • Artemisia herba-alba
  • Distribution
  • Community analysis