R’mel groundwater quality as influenced by agricultural activities

La zone de R’mel est la principale zone agricole du périmètre du Loukkos. Dans cette zone, les eaux souterraines constituent une source importante pour l'approvisionnement en eau potable de la ville de Larache, pour la population rurale de la région ainsi que pour l'irrigation agricole. Il est soumis à plusieurs risques potentiels de contamination agricole. Pour mettre en évidence un potentiel impact négatif des activités agricoles sur la qualité des eaux souterraines, nous avons examiné les caractéristiques physico-chimiques de 20 puits de la zone R'mel du périmètre du Loukkos, sélectionnés au hasard en effectuant l'analyse de 4 paramètres physico-chimiques (Température, pH, sels solubles et nitrates). Les résultats montrent que 70 % des puits échantillonnés présentaient des niveaux de nitrates 3 fois supérieurs aux normes nationales pour l'eau potable, avec des valeurs d'indice de pollution par les nitrates (NPI) montrant une pollution modérée (45 %) à très élevée (35 %). Les valeurs enregistrées sont très inquiétantes et très alarmantes. Elles peuvent ainsi indiquer un risque de pollution majeure pour les nappes phréatiques, notamment pour les puits situés à proximité des agglomérations.R’mel groundwater constitutes an important source for the supply of drinking water for Larache city, and rural population of the Loukkos area as well as for agricultural irrigation. It is subject to several potential risks of contamination. In order to assess the impact of agricultural activities on groundwater quality, we examined the physico-chemical characteristics of 20 randomly selected wells of R’mel zone of Loukkos peremiter by performing the analysis for 4 physicochemical parameters (Temperature, pH, soluble salts and nitrates). The results revealed that 70% of the sampled wells had nitrate levels 3 times higher than national standard of drinking water, and Nitrate Pollution Index (NPI) values showing moderate (45%) to very high pollution (35%).Therfore, the recorded values are very worrying and very alarming. They can indicate a risk of major pollution for groundwater, especially for the wells located near agglomerations

Advanced and emerging agricultural innovations for securing food, climate and ecosystems in Moroccan oasis

In Morocco, oasis ecosystems cover 15% of country’s lands and are bright spots of rich biodiversity and multi-functionality but hot spots of land degradation, social vulnerability and water and food insecurity. Hence there is a need to shift from assessing risks and hazards in these ecosystems to effectively capture key drivers and pursue solutions and measures to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive and productive capacity. In other terms, the food-environment dilemma requires urgently revitalizing these fragile agro-ecosystems in order to re-nurture the population, to strengthen society growth and food-related value chains and bring back resilience and sustainable development. In doing so, it is imperative to enforce, develop and encourage adoption of state of the art but adapted innovations and support knowledge sharing processes and approaches that drive implementation and up/deep scaling of innovations within ecosystems and by communities. A large array of innovations and technologies is emerging pertaining to advanced biotechnology, agro-ecology, smart-irrigation management, disease monitoring, control and safety, food industry, livestock, soil security, landscape management and institutional policy and governance. The paper seeks to present an integrated view of these stock takes and how they can help in addressing simultaneously climate change and food security, spatial prioritization, closing gaps, strong interfacing of society and ecology and achieving land degradation neutrality

Effect of tillage practices on the soil carbon dioxide flux during fall and spring seasons in a Mediterranean Vertisol

In this study, we assessed the effect of conventional tillage (CT), reduced (RT) and no tillage (NT) practices on the soil CO2 flux of a Mediterranean Vertisol in semi-arid Morocco. The measurements focused on the short term (0 to 96 h) soil CO2 fluxes measured directly after tillage during the fall and spring period. Soil temperature, moisture and soil strength were measured congruently to study their effect on the soil CO2 flux magnitude. Immediately after fall tillage, the CT showed the highest CO2 flux (4.9 g m-2 h-1); RT exhibited an intermediate value (2.1 g m-2 h-1) whereas the lowest flux (0.7 g m-2 h-1) was reported under NT. After spring tillage, similar but smaller impacts of the tillage practices on soil CO2 flux were reported with fluxes ranging from 1.8 g CO2 m-2 h-1 (CT) to less than 0.1 g CO2 m-2 h-1 (NT). Soil strength was significantly correlated with soil CO2 emission; whereas surface soil temperature and moisture were low correlated to the soil CO2 flux. The intensity of rainfall events before fall and spring tillage practices could explain the seasonal CO2 flux trends. The findings promote conservation tillage and more specifically no tillage practices to reduce CO2 losses within these Mediterranean agroecosystems. (Résumé d'auteur

Effet à moyen et à long terme du Semis direct sur la matière organique, la stabilité structurale et la compaction des sols argileux au Maroc

In Morocco, the effects of climate change coupled with the degradation of soil resources are major factors limiting socio-economic development. Among these factors, intensive plowing practiced by Moroccan farmers causes depletion of soil organic matter (OM) and affect their physical properties (structural stability, apparent density) which promotes their erosion. The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which no-till (SD) can be used to address these various challenges. The adopted methodology consists of monitoring the OM contents at different depths in two sites on soils of Central Morocco with mixed plowing practices in the medium and long term: direct seeding (SD) and conventional seeding (SC). In addition, we studied the effect of SD on two physical properties of the soil: structural stability and apparent density (Da). The results obtained showed the favorable effects of the EA system on these soil properties. Differences between the two treatments were recorded on the one hand on the soil surface after 10 and 11 years of testing (first site) and on the other hand, at depth after 32 years of testing (second site) . These differences were significant (P-value <0.05) for all parameters except Da. It is concluded that EA has improved soil quality over the medium and long term, which contributes to reducing its vulnerability to erosion. Keywords: direct sowing, organic matter, structural stability, apparent density, Central MoroccoAu Maroc, les effets des changements climatiques couplés à la dégradation des ressources en sol constituent des facteurs majeurs limitant le développement socio-économique. Parmi ces facteurs, le labour intensif pratiqué par les agriculteurs marocains provoquent l’appauvrissement des sols en matière organique (MO) et affectent leurs propriétés physiques (stabilité structurale, densité apparente) ce qui favorise leur érosion. L’objectif de ce papier est d’évaluer dans quelle mesure le semis direct (SD), peut être utilisé pour remédier à ces divers défis précités. La méthodologie adoptée consiste à suivre les teneurs en MO à différentes profondeurs dans deux sites sur des sols du Maroc Central ayant des conduites contrastées de labour sur le moyen et le long terme: semis direct (SD) et semis conventionnel (SC). En complément, nous avons étudié l’effet du SD sur deux propriétés physiques du sol à savoir : la stabilité structurale et la densité apparente (Da). Les résultats obtenus ont montré les effets favorables du système du SD sur ces propriétés du sol. Des différences entre les deux traitements ont été enregistrées, d’une part, à la surface du sol après 10 et 11 ans d’essai (premier site) et d’autre part, en profondeur après 32 ans d’essai (deuxième site). Ces différences ont été significatives (P-value <0,05) pour tous les paramètres à l’exception de la Da. On en conclut que le SD a amélioré la qualité du sol sur le moyen et le long terme, ce qui contribue à réduire sa vulnérabilité à l’érosion. Mots Clés: semis direct, matière organique, stabilité structurale, densité apparente, Maroc Centra

Modeling Soil Organic Carbon Changes under Alternative Climatic Scenarios and Soil Properties Using DNDC Model at a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Environment

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the central issues in dealing with soil fertility as well as environmental and food safety. Due to the lack of relevant data sources and methodologies, analyzing SOC dynamics has been a challenge in Morocco. During the last two decades, processbased models have been adopted as alternative and powerful tools for modeling SOC dynamics; whereas, information and knowledge on the most sensitive model inputs under different climate, and soil conditions are still very limited. For this purpose, a sensitivity analysis was conducted in the present work, using the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model based on the data collected at a semi-arid region (Merchouch station, Morocco). The objective is to identify the most influential factors affecting the DNDC-modeled SOC dynamics in a semi-arid region across different climatic and soil conditions. The results of sensitivity analysis highlighted air temperature as the main determinant of SOC. A decrease in air temperature of 4 C results in an almost 161 kg C ha?1 yr?1 increase in C sequestration rate. Initial SOC was also confirmed to be one of the most sensitive parameters for SOC. There was a 96 kg C ha?1 yr?1 increase in C sequestration rate under low initial SOC (0.005 kg C ha?1). In the DNDC, air temperature in climatic factors and initial SOC in variable soil properties had the largest impacts on SOC accumulation in Merchouch station. We can conclude that the sensitivity analysis conducted in this study within the DNDC can contribute to provide a scientific evidence of uncertainties of the selected inputs variables who can lead to uncertainties on the SOC in the study site. The information in this paper can be helpful for scientists and policy makers, who are dealing with regions of similar environmental conditions as Merchouch Station, by identifying alternative scenarios of soil carbon sequestration

Experimental and modelling study of artificial radionuclides (239Pu, 241Am and 99Tc) uptake by suspended matter in environmental waters located in the south of Spain

The interest on transfer coefficients studies have increased recently, since they are important parameters required understanding and reliably modelling the dispersion of conservative and non-conservative radionuclides in aquatic environments. The approaches, based in the implementation of the uptake kinetics of dissolved radionuclides by solid particles, are more appropriate than those based in the use of the distribution coefficients, k^. In this work, we present a series of tracing experiments to study the uptake of Pu, Am and Tc in natural aqueous suspensions from three aquatic systems (Gergal reservoir, Guadalquivir river, and the estuary of Tinto river) located in the South of Spain. The kinetic transfer coefficient for direct sorption depends on the total available surface of particles and on the concentration of active sites in the surface layer (what depends on the mineral composition, free edges, pores, coatings, etc.). In order to compare results from different environments and to fix the conditions of applicability of the derived coefficients, it is necessary to handle the particle size spectra and the mineral composition of natural occurring suspended loads. The time dependent uptake curves, covering up to a large period, are fitted to the numerical solutions calculated with different models of the uptake kinetics.ENRES

Crop Yields under Climate Variability and No-Tillage System in Dry Areas of Morocco

In Morocco, the intensive use of agricultural land coupled with irregular precipitation is a serious threat to the country’s food security. Conservation agriculture especially no-tillage (NT) system has shown an important result in the semi-arid regions of Morocco, but its dissemination to other, more humid, agro-ecological zones (precipita tion > 350 mm) is still low. For this purpose, a field experiment under NT system has been installed since 2004 in the Zaer Plateau (Central Morocco) to study the adaptation of this system to the irregular rainfall compared to a conventional tillage (CT). Yields (grain and biomass) of crops (wheat and lentil) under NT and CT were analyzed and compared over the years of study. The ANOVA test showed that yields over the seven years were significantly different and that both crop yields under NT system were greater than or equal to those under CT system even though lentil is more vulnerable to extreme climate events under CT and NT systems. Unlike NT, yields under CT were significantly correlated with the rainfall amount received during the crop cycle. This indicates the dependence of CT precipitation, whereas NT is more adaptable to the irregularities of the climate in the study area

Unlocking Doors: A TinyML-based Approach for real-time Face Mask Detection in Door Lock Systems

In response to the rapid spread of coronaviruses, including COVID-19 and seasonal common cold viruses, this article introduces a proposed system for enhancing door lock systems using TinyML technology for real-time face mask detection. The research project focuses on developing a machine learning model based on the YOLOv5 architecture to classify individuals based on their mask-wearing behavior correctly, incorrectly, or not at all in high-risk spaces prone to the transmission of coronaviruses, such as healthcare facilities, laboratories, and public settings. The study outlines the hardware and software tools utilized, including the Raspberry Pi 4, camera hardware, and the YOLOv5 machine learning model. The model is trained using a dataset containing three different classes and converted to a TFLite format for efficient implementation on the Raspberry Pi. Evaluation results demonstrate a mean Average Precision (mAP) of 0.99 and an inference rate of 10FPS for a 128-frame size input. This proposed system offers practical implications for enhancing door lock systems and promoting public health and safety during outbreaks of coronaviruses, including COVID-19 and other seasonal coronaviruses, providing a valuable approach to decrease the spread of these diseases and mitigate transmission risks in high-risk spaces, thereby contributing to the overall reduction of public health threats

Spatialisation des bioclimats, de l'aridité et des étages de végétation du Maroc

 The objective of this study was to compare and analyze the spatial extent and geographic location of aridity and bioclimatic zones in Morocco and their limitations using different indices used in North Africa and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region. The analysis was based on the use of data from the WORLDCLIM database, spatialization through GIS techniques, and the distribution of different plant species. Hence, the bioclimatic zones were characterized by spatial approach using Emberger pluviothermic Chart. The results showed that according to the different indices of aridity, the hyper-arid areas in Morocco represent 45 to 55% of the country. The spatial distribution of rainfall showed that 48% of Moroccan territory receives less than 100mm annually, while areas where the precipitation is more than 600mm do not exceed 6%. Arid, semi-arid and sub-humid zones potentially affected by desertification represent 42%. The comparison of different indices used showed that De Martonne aridity index seems to be satisfactory for regional studies. The derivation of the bioclimatic zones map, based on the diagram of Emberger, (Q2 and Tmin) showed the existence of five main types of climates in Morocco, ranging from humid to peraride. The per-humid bioclimatic stage is not significant and is limited to the crest of Rif mountains (<5km²). The thermal variations from "Temperate" to "Very hot" represent more than 70% of the territory. L’objectif de cet article est l’analyse comparative de l’extension spatiale et de la localisation géographique de l’aridité et des étages bioclimatiques du Maroc et de leurs limites en utilisant différents indices utilisés en Afrique du Nord et ailleurs en Méditerranée. L’analyse a été orientée vers l’utilisation des données issues de la base données WorldClim, la spatialisation moyennant les techniques SIG et l’étude de la répartition des différentes espèces végétales. Ainsi, les étages bioclimatiques ont été caractérisés moyennant une approche spatiale en utilisant le diagramme pluviothermique d’Emberger. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les zones hyperarides au Maroc représentent 45 à 55% du territoire en fonction des différents indices d’aridité. La répartition spatiale des pluies indique que 48% du territoire Marocain reçoit moins de 100mm annuellement, alors que les régions où il pleut plus de 600mm ne dépassent pas les 6%. Les zones arides, semi-arides et subhumides potentiellement concernées par la désertification sont de l’ordre de 42%. La comparaison des différents indices utilisés montre que l’indice d’aridité de De Martonne, le plus facile à calculer, reste satisfaisant pour les études à caractère régional. La dérivation de la carte des étages bioclimatiques, en se basant sur le diagramme d’Emberger, (Q2 et Tmin) montre l’existence au Maroc de 5 grands types de climats allant de humide jusqu’au peraride. L’étage perhumide n’existant que sous forme insignifiante au niveau des crêtes de la chaine du Rif (<5Km²). Les variantes thermiques allant du «Tempéré» à «Très chaud» y représentent plus que 70%.   &nbsp