The degradation of forest areas in Morocco: Case of Benslimane province

This article aims to shed light on the process of known degradation of the forest area of Benslimane province during the period 1990–2020 and to specify the most important human causes which contributed to it (quarries, extension of the built-up area, the impact of agricultural activities, grazing and collection of firewood), by using remote sensing techniques (spatial images for the years 1990–2000–2010–2020) to produce Land Cover maps. The following satellite images were used, Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 OLI, with a spatial precision of 30 m, the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin (SCP) in QGIS was used for atmospheric correction, and the Spectral Angle Mapping algorithm for the images’ classification. The rating evaluation of the Kappa coefficient shows the following ratios for the years 1990–2000–2010–2020 respectively ; 0.89–0.90–0.90–0.93. The results showed that the forest area of Benslimane province has declined by 11.4% or about 6,027.7 ha between 1990–2020 at the rate of 200 ha/year, which has been turned into matorral land or bare land. This forest also lost 35.2% of its vegetative density and has become much sparser, while the original grazing areas surrounding it have been reduced by 50.4%. Moreover, the area of quarries increased by 1,097.4%, the percentage of built-up area increased by 328.2%, and the agricultural area expanded by 32.7%. These results can be used as preliminary data for future studies and can help policymakers focus on the real drivers of forest degradation, in order to develop interventions to ensure the sustainability of natural resources

Impact of climate change on potential distribution of Quercus suber in the conditions of North Africa

Climate change, which is expected to continue in the future, is increasingly becoming a major concern affecting many components of the biodiversity and human society. Understanding its impacts on forest ecosystems is essential for undertaking long-term management and conservation strategies. This study was focused on modeling the potential distribution of Quercus suber in the Maamora Forest, the world’s largest lowland cork oak forest, under actual and future climate conditions and identifying the environmental factors associated with this distribution. Maximum Entropy approach was used to train a Species Distribution Model and future predictions were based on different greenhouse gas emission scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway RCPs). The results showed that the trained model was highly reliable and reflected the actual and future distributions of Maamora’s cork oak. It showed that the precipitation of the coldest and wettest quarter and the annual temperature range are the environmental factors that provide the most useful information for Q. suber distribution in the study area. The computed results of cork oak’s habitat suitability showed that predicted suitable areas are site-specific and seem to be highly dependent on climate change. The predicted changes are significant and expected to vary (decline of habitat suitability) in the future under the different emissions pathways. It indicates that climate change may reduce the suitable area for Q. suber under all the climate scenarios and the severity of projected impacts is closely linked to the magnitude of the climate change. The percent variation in habitat suitability indicates negative values for all the scenarios, ranging –23% to –100%. These regressions are projected to be more important under pessimist scenario RCP8.5. Given these results, we recommend including the future climate scenarios in the existing management strategies and highlight the usefulness of the produced predictive suitability maps under actual and future climate for the protection of this sensitive forest and its key species – cork oak, as well as for other forest species

Impact of climate change on forest resources: Case of Quercus rotundifolia, Tetraclinis articulata, Juniperus phoenicea, J. oxycedrus, J. thurifera and Pinus halepensis

Forest resources in the Ourika watershed are subject to several anthropogenic and climatic degradation factors. As for the human factor, this degradation of forest resources is explained by the bad practices exercised by the local population expressed by the cutting of live wood, carbonization, and overgrazing. In terms of the climatic factor, the decrease in the amount of rainfall and the increase in temperature contribute to the exacerbation of the degradation of these resources. In order to better understand the evolution of plant cover in a changing climate context, this study highlights an assessment of the impact of climate change on forest dynamics based on a process-based model at the forest landscape scale which makes it possible to simulate the changes according to growth, succession, disturbances (fire, wind, insects, etc), forest management, and land use change. This analysis is based on the use of the LANDIS-II model and the PnET-succession extension. Projections of the dynamics of forest communities are made using climate projections from the Japanese global circulation model adopted by Morocco (model for interdisciplinary research on climate – earth system models) and this by adopting the two climate scenarios , representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5. The results obtained highlight the spatial distribution of the ecosystems studied after 100 years with a quantitative evaluation of the total average biomass of these resources as a function of climatic disturbances. In general, the estimated total biomass will decline over the coming years under the joint effect of the climate change and the aging of forest stands, while on the other hand, the distribution of potential areas for species settlement remains independent of the effect of these climate changes

Serious phlegmonous lesion of the hand following an injury by vegetal thorn: Never forget Pasteurella multocida!

Pasteurella multocida can cause serious infections after dog or cat bite. We report here a rare case of hand infection caused by P. multocida consecutive to an injury by a thorn of the prickly pear. It caused an amputation of the distal phalanx of the thumb in a trisomic patient. It is about a 27-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital with swelling and intense pain of the left hand. He reported a sting by a thorn of prickly pear 15 days before. The patient was admitted to proceed with operative irrigation and debridement. The pus was collected for microbiological examination. Microscopic examination after Gram staining revealed small Gram-negative coccobacilli, associated to polymorphonuclear reaction. Culture have objectivated Pasteurella multocida. The isolated strain was susceptible to betalactamins. Patient was treated with ampicillin. Well-conducted antibiotics and repetitive local cares have not prevented local lesions from progressing to necrosis of the soft parts of the thumb and osteitis of the distal phalanx of the thumb. The patient underwent a necrosectomy and an amputation of the distal phalanx. Ampicillin was replaced by amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and after 15 days, progression was clinically and microbiologically favorable. In the case we report, since the patient does not report any exposure or contact with animals, the thorn prick is the source of infection. It was contaminated from the animal reservoir. Taking into account the monomicrobism of the infection, treatment with aminopenicillins was sufficient. Our propositus came to the hospital 15 days after the inoculation of the bacterium. This duration appears to be very late in relation to the acute character of pasteurellosis. This was probably the main reason why the local infection evolved towards osteoarticular complications. That's why, we should consider Pasteurella multocida in case of infection by inoculation, even in the absence of contact with the animals