Rangeland rehabilitation using rainwater harvesting and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) transplantation in the Southeast of Morocco
2016
Homrani Bakali, A | Acherckouf, M | Maatougui, A | Mrabet, R | Slimani, M
Common grazing lands in the south east of Morocco have provided for centuries forage for livestock, but they are now highly degraded essentially due to the continuous high grazing pressure. The Moroccan government and IFAD implemented in this area an integrated project since 2008. One of the goals of this project was to demonstrate promising rehabilitation methods of rangeland. Assoul, an arid region located in the southeast of Morocco, was one of the communes in which these actions were set. Accordingly, we tried in 2012 to rehabilitate 10 ha of a degraded rangeland using micro-catchment water harvesting in contour ridges lines combined to small trapezoidal bund to establish rosemary seedlings. Over four years, results showed that mortality was of 20 per cent plus minus 11.6. Rosemary production estimated in the fourth year after the transplantation is of 429 g DM/plant (density 1333 plants per ha). This transplantation permitted also the regeneration of local vegetation. Thus, the Shannon-Weaver diversity index increased from 2.6 in 2013 to 4.3 in 2015. In addition, the rangeland production was improved from 51.3 plus minus 37.8 kg DM in 2012 to 82.9 plus minus 53.6 kg DM in 2015. Plant density and cover increased significantly compared to the baseline situation
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