Rare Resources and Environmental Crises: Notes on Water Management Among the Aït Unzâr Pastoralists In South-Eastern Morocco

The aim of this paper is to review the classification of the southern Moroccan dialects, advancing on the general description of these varieties. Recent descriptive studies provided us with new sources on the linguistic reality of southern Morocco, shedding light on the status of dialects commonly classified as Bedouin or ‘Hilāli’ within the Maghrebi context. To do so, the paper highlights conservative and innovative features which characterize the dialects of the area, focusing mainly—but not exclusively—on the updated data for two distant localities in southern Morocco: Essaouira and its rural outskirts—the Chiadma territory (Aquermoud and Sīdi Īsḥāq)—and Tafilalt, in south-eastern Morocco. The southern dialects have been situated in an intermediary zone between pre-Hilāli and Hilāli categories for a long time. Discussing their situation may contribute to understanding what distinguishes them as a dialectal group and also the validity of the ‘Hilāli’ category in the Moroccan context.

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Land degradation and sand dynamics in a steppe region (Nâama, south-western Algeria)

Spanish Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.3232/sjss.2017.v7.n3.02 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Grandi Mohamed ◽

A. Hirche ◽

Emilia Fernández-Ondoño ◽

Francisco Martín-Peinado ◽

M. Salamani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Degradation ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Major Elements ◽

Mean Value ◽

Environmental Implications ◽

Environmental Threats ◽

South Eastern ◽

A Value ◽

Western Algeria ◽

Eastern Morocco

Land degradation is one of the most important environmental threats facing the international community. In North Africa, many semiarid and arid regions are suffering significant land degradation, which can be an impediment to sustainable development. Therefore; land degradation is monitored in a regional context for a better understanding of its causes and consequences. One of the main consequences is a notable increase in sand encroachment with negative environmental implications. For this reason, the dynamics of sands between south-eastern Morocco and the wilaya of Nâama, south-western Algeria, was studied. Sand samples gathered from six distinctive areas were subjected to physicochemical, colorimetric (redness index), morphoscopic (circularity), and geochemical analysis, and studied statistically using an analysis of variance (ANOVA), wind direction data, ternary plots and a hierarchical cluster of trace elements (K, Rb, Fe, Ti, Ca and Sr). In all areas, a clear dominance of the sand fraction appeared showing percentages ranging from 89 to 96%. Sampled areas were all carbonated, and the pH was alkaline, with close values ranging from 8.4 to 9. The mean circularity values ranged from 0.67 in Merzouga (Morocco) to 0.80 in El Aguer (Algeria). The lowest value of the redness index was noted in Merzouga with a mean value of 4. The Algerian areas showed an almost similar redness index with a value of 6 but the highest value was noted in Saadana with a value of 11. Geochemical approaches, based on ternary plots and dendrogram cluster indicating the abundance of major elements (Fe, Ca and K), were used as indicators of wind transport. Results suggested the existence of a Regional Wind Action System (RWAS) implicated in the transport of sand from south-eastern Morocco and its redistribution towards south-western Algeria. Merzouga was connected to all areas but particularly to nearby Saadana and Kasdir in the Algerian territory.

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