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Diversity and structure of woody vegetation of the Béni Bousera massif, northern Morocco: conservation interest

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Abstract

The Béni Bousera massif located in northern Morocco is characterized by an important peridotite outcrop that gave serpentine soil after alteration. This type of substrate is relatively rare and provides habitats harboring a well-differentiated flora of significant interest for biodiversity conservation. This study aimed to identify the woody vegetation communities of Béni Bousera and to assess their levels of diversity as well as their distribution according to soil type. Thus, 42 floristic surveys were carried out using the quantitative ecology method, and the plant communities were characterized by diversity indices (species richness and the Shannon and Piélou indices). The floristic surveys identified 67 woody species divided into six floristic groups (four in serpentine and two not in serpentine). They were structured according to an ecological gradient which combines environmental factors such as altitude and substrate type. Moreover, the plant communities found in serpentine had significantly higher levels of diversity and endemism than communities in the adjacent non-serpentine substrate. The results show that the Béni Bousera massif has a high ecological value and is of great interest for biodiversity conservation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Prof. M. Kadiri (Faculty of Sciences of Tetouan) and Prof. M. Ibn Tattou (Scientific Institute of Rabat) for confirming the taxonomic status of certain taxa and Mr. A. El Ouahrani for his help in revising the English language. We would also like to thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that helped improve an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Applied Botanical Laboratory, BioAgrodiversity Team, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tétouan, Morocco

    Abdeljalil EL Ghalabzouri, Jalal Kassout, Akil Khamlichi, Redouan Ajbilou & Mohammed Ater

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  1. Abdeljalil EL Ghalabzouri
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Communicated by Mohamed Ksibi.

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EL Ghalabzouri, A., Kassout, J., Khamlichi, A. et al. Diversity and structure of woody vegetation of the Béni Bousera massif, northern Morocco: conservation interest. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 8, 863–873 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-023-00398-8

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