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S.O.S. Souss: argan forest destruction in Morocco

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Jesú Mellado
Jesú Mellado
Affiliation:
Estación Experimental de Zonas Aridas, General Segura, 1, 04001-Almeria, Spain
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Abstract

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The Souss Valley in Morocco still has remnants of forest dominated by the argan tree, which is endemic to the Atlantic coast of north-west Africa. The tree is valued for its edible oil and its timber and the argan forest ecosystem is rich in species. The forest has been exploited sustainably by man tor thousands of years, but modern developments have destroyed or damaged much of it, especiallyin the lowlands. The author, who worked in the region for three years, is alarmed at the rapidly increasing destruction. He makes a plea for effective protection of the remaining argan torest and for a plan for its sustainable exploitation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , April 1989 , pp. 87 - 93
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1989

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