BIOTA Maroc: Pastoral land use and vegetation dynamics – Application of ecological process analyses for spatial resource planning in the Drâa-Catchment, Southern Morocco
The ecosystems of desert fringes and high mountains belong to those forecasted to be subject to drastic climatic changes over the next decades. BIOTA-Maroc, a co-initiative of scientists at the University of Hamburg and the Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II in Rabat studied biodiversity and land use changes on the Saharan fringe of the High Atlas Mountains in Southern Morocco.
The ecological system of the south-central High Atlas region is balanced by a complex arrangement of environmental constraints and sophisticated adapted land-use strategies. Pastoral resources strongly depend on the quantity and distribution of the precipitation. In addition to this, the productivity of natural rangelands is influenced by its grazing history and the spatio-temporal distribution of grazing intensities.
BIOTA Maroc used the results of the biodiversity and land use analyses to create tools for sustainable land use and resource management under changing environmental and socio-economic conditions.
Photo: M.Finckh
- Duration: 2006-2010
- Project lead: Prof. Dr. Norbert Jürgens
- Sponsor: BMBF