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... The Mediterranean is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000). In addition, Mediterranean countries had an estimated forested area exceeding 85 million hectares (ha) in 2010, representing 2 percent of the world's total forested area (Berrahmouni & Christophe, 2013). However, the Mediterranean region is highly susceptible to a multitude of pressures and threats (Noce & Santini, 2018) ; especially human activities, such as logging, grazing, urbanization, forest fires, and agriculture, have altered the woodlands, resulting in areas of sparse woody vegetation known as maquis and garrigue (Valbuena & Pelayo, 2014), and these forests have also been impacted by excessive logging, fire, and overgrazing by livestock, particularly goats, leading to a significant degradation of their natural characteristics (Nias & Mooney, 2007). ...
... Moreover, the forestry industry in Morocco has played a significant role in the country's economy, making the largest economic contribution (African Developemnt Bank, 2000), as the quantity of wood extracted from the Moroccan forest reaches 10 million m 3 /year (Benzyane, 2007;Hammouyat et al., 2022) . In addition, Forest areas in Morocco cover 9 million hectares, which accounts for 12% of the national territory (Laaribya et al., 2017), This wealth is due to the uniqueness from a geographic, climatic, and ecological perspective (Berrahmouni & Christophe, 2013), the most representative forests in Morocco are Tetraclinis articulata forest with an area of 450,000 ha, Argania spinosa 450,000 ha, Quercus rotundifolia 400,000 ha and Quercus suber 400,000 ha (des Eaux & du Maroc, 1927). Nevertheless, the Moroccan forest, a significant economic and ecological heritage, continues to remain relatively unknown, and it is presently facing threats resulting from ongoing genetic deterioration (Narjisse et al., 2001) besides the desertification (Boubekraoui et al., 2023) and climate changes (Ilmen & Benjelloun, 2013) among others. ...
The primary goal of this study is to identify changes in the vegetation
cover of the geopark M’goun region of Morocco, as a sample area
to track the Moroccan vegetation status, and the crucial factors that
influenced its evolution between 1984 and 2021. The NDVI (Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index) method has been used, combined with
supervised classification manipulated with the Google Earth Engine and
through statistical analysis using R, together with field trips and Google
Earth records for supervised classification. The percentage of vegetation
density, made up of oak groves, Matorrals, red juniper, and thuja, in
addition to a highly biodiverse cover, displays a declining trend. Mediumcover
vegetation decreased by 29.5%, dense vegetation decreased
considerably by 70.9%, and low-cover vegetation saw a minimal decline
of 0.02%. As a result, dense and medium vegetation are being replaced
by bare lands or poor-quality cover formed by sparse plants and solitary
trees. In addition, precipitation increased slightly, showing an irregular
trend, with average minimum and maximum temperatures rising by
+1.7°C and +1.4°C, respectively. Furthermore, the population increased by
84.47%. Statistical analysis showed that the most important parameters
affecting medium and dense vegetation cover are temperatures
(Tmin and Tmax) and population density, as evidenced by the strong
correlation between them. In contrast, sparse vegetation cover showed
less correlation due to its heterogeneity. However, precipitation played
a minimal role in vegetation evolution. Change detection maps revealed
a significant negative impact on vegetation cover. This degradation was
localized in the southern part of the area of study, where, according to
the demographic density map, the majority of the population resides.
Deforestation continues due to the lifestyle and economic activities of
the local population. These factors, combined with climate change, are
exerting large-scale pressure on the forest throughout the geopark.
