TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kirchhoff, Mario
A1  - Engelmann, Lars
A1  - Zimmermann, Lutz Leroy
A1  - Seeger, Manuel
A1  - Marzolff, Irene
A1  - Aït Hssaïne, Ali
A1  - Ries, Johannes B.
T1  - Geomorphodynamics in Argan Woodlands, South Morocco
T2  - Water
N2  - The endemic argan tree (Argania spinosa) populations in South Morocco are highly degraded due to their use as a biomass resource in dry years and illegal firewood extraction. The intensification and expansion of agricultural land lead to a retreat of the wooded area, while the remaining argan open woodlands are often overgrazed. Thus, canopy-covered areas decrease while areas without vegetation cover between the argan trees increase. In total, 36 rainfall simulation experiments as well as 60 infiltration measurements were conducted to investigate the potential difference between tree-covered areas and bare intertree areas. In addition, 60 soil samples were taken under the trees and in the intertree areas parallel to the contour lines. Significant differences using a t-test were found between tree and intertree areas for the studied parameters Ksat, Kh, pH, electric conductivity, percolation stability, total C-content, total N-content, K-content, Na-content, and Mg-content. Surface runoff and soil losses were not as conclusive but showed similar trends. The results showed that argan trees influence the soil underneath significantly, while the soil in intertree areas is less protected and more degraded. It is therefore reasonable to assume further degradation of the soil when intertree areas extend further due to lack of rejuvenation of argan trees.
KW  - soil erosion
KW  - argan
KW  - South Morocco
KW  - soil degradation
KW  - tree
KW  - intertree
Y1  - 2019
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/51841
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-518410
SN  - 2073-4441
N1  - This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
VL  - 11
IS  - 10, Art. 2193
SP  - 1
EP  - 25
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -