Aromatic,Medicinal Plants and Vulnerability of Traditional Herbal Knowledge in a Berber Community of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco

This article compliments the S18 session （transmission of traditional ecological knowledge and conservation of medicinal plants） at the 13th International Congress of Ethnobiology （ISE） in Montpellier, France （ May 2012）. The aim of the article is to provide an insight into the livelihoods of a Berber community, a village of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, of the local biodiversity and most importantly, the prevalent use of medicinal plants for primary health care. It seeks to demonstrate the value of traditional ecological and herbal knowledge for the subsistence of the community and emphasises the vital role that family and community connections play for the transmission of traditional herbal knowledge within the community.     

The limnology of Lac ďIfni (High Atlas Mountains, Morocco), an unusually productive mountain lake

• 1 Lac ?Ifni (surface area 30 ha, z_max 60 m, altitude 2300 m) lies in a catchment comprised of Precambrian igneous rocks in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Previously described as a typical ohgotrophic lake, it was also reported to have a warm layer at the base of the hypolimnion which was ascribed to phreatic water supply and drainage.
• 2 Visits to the lake made in May/June and September 1990 showed strong thermal stratification but no hypolimnial warm layer. Drainage from the lake is subterranean, through a natural rubble dam, and the water level dropped by at least 7m through the summer. The flushing rate is about 0.6 year^?1.
• 3 The upper part of the metalimnion and the lower epilimnion were strongly supersaturated with oxygen in June, and there was a pH gradient from 7 to 10.5 between the hypolimnion and the epilimnion. These features were less marked in September when planktonic gross primary productivity was estimated to be about 145mgCm^?2 h^?1. In September the hypolimnion was 38% saturated with oxygen; the areal hypolimnetic oxygen deficit between June and September was 0.073mg O₂ cm^?2 day^?1. Total dissolved phosphate concentrations were 7–14 μgl^?1.
• 4 The open water faunal assemblage consisted of Brachionus calyciflorus and Filinia lotigiseta (Rotifera), Cyclops abyssorum (Copepoda), and stunted Salmo trutta (Pisces). Trout diets were comprised principally of adult copepods and copepodites, which showed diurnal vertical migration, and of algal material apparently scraped from rock surfaces. The dry biomass density of Cyclops was at least 2gm^?2 in June and at least 4.1 gm ^?2 in September.
• 5 Tubifex tubifex (Oligochaeta) dominated the benthos below depths of 40m. Mean dry biomass density was 2.8gm^?2, but ranged from 0.6–8.1 gm^?2 between samples. About 50% of the lake bottom is below 40m depth.
• 6 The persistent oxygen supersaruration of the euphoric zone, the field estimate of primary productivity, the hypolimnetic oxygen deficit, the biomass of zooplankton and the benthic biomass together indicate that Lac ?Ifni is an unusually productive mountain lake. This high level of productivity may be sustained by nutrient addition through contamination by dust originating outside the catchment, aided by efficient nutrient recycling in the euphoric zone.

     

Snow algae of the Sierra Nevada, Spain, and High Atlas mountains of Morocco.

Snow algae (Chlorophyta) are reported from the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain and the High Atlas mountains of Morocco. Populations of the snow algae Chlamydomonas sp., coloring the snow orange-red, were collected from Pico de Veleta, Spain, while snow samples from Mt. Neltner in the High Atlas mountains, contained resting spores of an orange-green colored Chloromonas sp. Other microbes observed in snow samples include bacteria, fungi, heterotrophic euglenids, diatoms, nematodes, and heterotrophic mastigotes (flagellated protists). This is the first report of snow algae from the Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain and from the Afro-alpine environment.     

Modern surface pollen assemblages from the Middle and High Atlas,Morocco: insights into pollen representation and transport

Thirty-three modern surface samples were collected in the environmentally and climatologically contrasting regions of the Middle and High Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Samples representing forest and steppe montane environments (1935–2760 m above sea level) are clustered around study sites at Lake Tislit (High Atlas, semi-arid oro-Mediterranean bioclime) and Lake Sidi Ali and Michliffen (Middle Atlas, sub-humid montane Mediterranean bioclime). Good discrimination between regional pollen spectra is evident, with Middle Atlas samples reflecting higher arboreal cover (Cedrus and evergreen Quercus) and High Atlas samples with high abundances of non-arboreal taxa, including Artemisia and Fabaceae. These four taxa (Cedrus, evergreen Quercus, Artemisia and Fabaceae) are furthermore shown to be reliable indicators of local source vegetation within a 100 m² quadrat, taking into account threshold abundances of 7%, 20%, 4% and 10%, respectively. Deciduous Quercus, Olea and Phillyrea show long-distance pollen dispersal across both regions, contributing to non-trivial arboreal pollen (AP) values of up to 35% (typically 20–30%) in the High Atlas spectra. In the Middle Atlas, AP values of 40 to 50% occur in open sampling locations and > 60% under forest canopy cover. These insights should be taken into account when interpreting ancient pollen spectra from regional lakes and bogs for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.     

Some recent trends in infant mortality in the province of Marrakech, Morocco: a demographic transition in process

2 studies designed to appraise fecundity and mortality were carried out in Morocco in 1983 and 1984, on samples of 3,000 and 5,000 women respectively, in the city and in the province of Marrakech. Infant mortality was studied using the biometric method of J. Bourgeois-Pichat. The 1st results presented in this article highlight the absence of excess exogenous mortality among women under 30 years of age living in a provincial urban environment and among women from the city of Marrakech whose husbands were employed in service activities. 1st, this points to a link between the level of exogenous mortality and the standard of living of the population. In the city, exogenous mortality varies according to the occupation of the head of the family, an important factor in estimating its economic level. In the province one can assume that the standard of living of women from urban areas is higher than in the country. Moreover, small urban centers benefit from a larger infrastructure with easier access to medical care. 2nd, mortality has declined among young women. This result is certainly closely linked to the improvement of living conditions in Morocco over the last 2 decades. It is therefore reasonable to consider that a demographic transition is taking place, one which impacts on the level and structure of infant mortality.     

Dispersal traits and dispersal patterns in an oro-Mediterranean thorn cushion plant formation of the eastern High Atlas, Morocco

This study describes the dispersal traits and dispersal patterns of 51 perennial plant species belonging to 19 families in an oro-Mediterranean thorn cushion plant formation on the High Atlas, Morocco. Diaspore type, mass, number, antitelechoric mechanisms and dispersal time were studied with respect to growth forms, dispersal modes and spatial dispersal. Species spanned 10⁵ range of diaspore mass, which coincided with those found in other high mountain regions. Diaspore mass was significantly higher in trees and shrubs than in semi-shrubs and perennial herbs. Barochorous and zoochorous species are more likely to have heavy diaspores, whereas anemochorous and ballistic species have a medium diaspore mass and semachorous and ombro-hydrochorous species have low diaspore mass. Diaspore number was significantly higher in trees and shrubs than in semi-shrubs and perennial herbs. The barochorous, ombro-hydrochorous and zoochorous species tended to produce higher diaspore numbers than species with other dispersal modes. Bradyspory was well-developed by trees and large shrubs dispersed by biotic vectors. Synaptospermy was represented by its long dispersal component. Myxospermy was significantly associated with semi-shrubs and perennial herbs with restricted spatial dispersal. It seems that ombro-hydrochory combined with myxospermy and a high number of light seeds is an efficient mechanism that ensures successful establishment of the most typical and endemic thorn cushion plant species, such as Alyssum, Vella and Ormenis. In our study area, the highest dispersal availability was synchronized with the dry summer season (July–August) and the beginning of the rainy months (September). The dispersal peak for the wind-dispersed species, which is the most effective primary dispersal mode, occurs during the dry season, while dispersal for the biotic-dispersed species takes place throughout the year.     

Believers and Beaters: A Case Study of Supernatural Beliefs and Child Rearing in the Bahama Islands

The research described in this article tests the hypothesis that caretakers who fear the supernatural will inflict more pain on the children in their charge than will those caretakers who do not fear the supernatural. The hypothesis is drawn from a larger body of theory which states that child training practices influence adult personality, including beliefs in the supernatural—these beliefs in turn influence the training of children. In order to test the hypothesis it was necessary to find a group of people whose adults differ from each other in theirbeliefs in the supernatural and whose children receive differential training. The village of Congo Town, located on Andros Island in the Bahamas, provides such a group of people. In the course of ethnographic fieldwork carried out in 1968 in this village, twenty caretakers were interviewed about the training given to their forty-eight children and grandchildren, as well as about their beliefs in the supernatural. Differences both in beliefs in the supernatural and in child training practices exist. Three specific hypotheses are derived from the major hypothesis described above. Each of these hypotheses is found to be supported by data gathered in Congo Town. Since each of the derived hypotheses receives support, it is concluded that the major hypothesis is confirmed.     

The Relationship between Local Species Richness and Species Pool: A Case Study from the High Mountains of the Greater Caucasus

The causes of linear relationships between local species richness and the size of the actual species pool in closed subalpine meadow communities and open plant communities of the alpine stony substrate (the Greater Caucasus Mountains) were analyzed using a computer simulation model. The results demonstrated that this relationship is insufficient evidence for the variation of local species richness among communities is wholly or partly determined by regional processes (the species-pool hypothesis). A relatively proportional ratio between these variables can also arise where local species richness and the size of the species pool both depend on local processes, or where local species richness is determined by local factors alone while the size of the species pool is determined by both local and regional factors.     

Toarcian carbon isotope shifts and nutrient changes from the Northern margin of Gondwana (High Atlas, Morocco, Jurassic): Palaeoenvironmental implications

The Early Toarcian is marked by a global perturbation of the carbon cycle and major marine biological changes. These coincide with a general decrease in calcium carbonate production and an increase in organic carbon burial, and culminate in the so-called Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. It is believed that the environmental crisis was triggered by the activity of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province. In order to further document the Early Toarcian palaeoenvironmental perturbations, carbon isotope, total organic matter, calcareous nannofossils and phosphorus content of the Amellago section in the High Atlas rift basin of Morocco were investigated. This section is extremely expanded compared to the well-studied European sections. Its position along the northern margin of the Gondwana continent is of critical importance because it enables an assessment of changes of river nutrient input into the western Tethyan realm. The carbon isotope curve shows two negative excursions of equal thickness and amplitude, at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary and at the transition from the Polymorphum to the Levisoni Zone. This confirms the supra-regional nature of these shifts and highlights the possible condensation of the first “boundary” shift in European sections. Phosphorus content is used to trace palaeo-nutrient changes and shows that the two negative carbon isotope shifts are associated with increased nutrient levels, confirming that these episodes are related to enhanced continental weathering, probably due to elevated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the High Atlas Basin, the increase in nutrient levels at the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary is moreover likely to be the main factor responsible for the coeval demise of the Saharan carbonate platform. A middle Toarcian event, centered on the boundary between the Bifrons and Gradata Zones, characterized by a positive carbon isotope excursion and nutrient level rise, is documented in the Amellago section.     

Agricultural property,matrimonial structures,and reproductive behaviour of the Guedmiwa Berbers (Azegour Valley,Marrakech, Morocco)

This study concerns the Guedmiwa Berber population living in the Azegour Valley, at an altitude of 2000m on the northern slopes of the western range of the Haut-Atlas mountains. The reproductive behaviour of 506 Guedmiwa Berber families shows a rather elevated fertility which seems influenced at the same time by the socio-familial organisation and by the economic resources at the disposition of the family.     

Market Integration, Livelihood Transitions and Environmental Change in Areas of Low Agricultural Productivity: A Case Study from Morocco

Rural areas of the developing world have become increasingly integrated into the world economy through both production and consumption during the last decades. This growing integration shapes the development of communities and influences their relationship to the natural environment. Where livelihoods are constrained by resource limitations and the productivity of labor in farm activities is low, it may result in a shift to nonfarm activities, which may under some conditions improve wellbeing and relieve pressure on natural resources. The possibility of such a “win-win” development pathway has important implications for development and environmental policy. In this article we use original qualitative and quantitative data to examine environmental and social changes during the last half century in a rural area of Morocco, seeking evidence of such a pathway. While our case study supports the hypothesis that nonfarm diversification in a context of resource scarcity allowed people to improve their material living conditions, the effects of economic integration and nonfarm diversification on the environment were mixed.     

The Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis): an expanding species in the Middle Atlas wetlands,Morocco

The present study investigates the population trends of Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis (Podicipedidae: Podicidae) over 5 years (2009–2013) in three Middle Atlas wetlands (Aguelmam Afennourir, Dayet Aoua and Dayet Ifrah). Using generalized linear models with a Poisson distribution, we demonstrated that the number of Black-necked Grebe breeding pairs has varied significantly and positively over the 5 years and between the three study wetlands. The annual population growth rate of the three colonies was 0.48 (±0.01). This positive trend is consistent with the current Least Concern conservation status of the IUCN Red List. Further more detailed studies are, however, needed to improve our understanding on the mechanisms driving the population increase in this part of North Africa. This remains a prerequisite for proper population conservation and management.     

Climate Control on Tree Growth at the Upper and Lower Treelines: A Case Study in the Qilian Mountains,Tibetan Plateau

It is generally hypothesized that tree growth at the upper treeline is normally controlled by temperature while that at the lower treeline is precipitation limited. However, uniform patterns of inter-annual ring-width variations along altitudinal gradients are also observed in some situations. How changing elevation influences tree growth in the cold and arid Qilian Mountains, on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, is of considerable interest because of the sensitivity of the region’s local climate to different atmospheric circulation patterns. Here, a network of four Qilian juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) ring-width chronologies was developed from trees distributed on a typical mountain slope at elevations ranging from 3000 to 3520 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The statistical characteristics of the four tree-ring chronologies show no significant correlation with increasing elevation. All the sampled tree growth was controlled by a common climatic signal (local precipitation) across the investigated altitudinal gradient (520 m). During the common reliable period, covering the past 450 years, the four chronologies have exhibited coherent growth patterns in both the high- and low-frequency domains. These results contradict the notion of contrasting climate growth controls at higher and lower elevations, and specifically the assumption that inter-annual tree-growth variability is controlled by temperature at the upper treeline. It should be stressed that these results relate to the relatively arid conditions at the sampling sites in the Qilian Mountains.     

Weed Diversity and Uses: a Case Study from Tea Plantations in Northern Thailand

Based on concerns that useful weed diversity in agroecosystems as well as associated traditional knowledge may be declining due to agricultural intensification and indiscriminate eradication of weeds, we studied weed diversity and use by local ethnic groups in tea plantations in northern Thailand under different agricultural intensities and landscape complexities, namely agroforestry, organic, and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) based conventional system. In each system, we sampled five tea plantations using belt-transects of 25 m². Use data were collected through interviews with specialist informants. We recorded 214 weed species (gamma-diversity) of which 66 were useful. Agroforestry system had the highest alpha- and beta-weed diversity, suggesting that the low agricultural intensity and high landscape complexity in this system is associated with higher weed diversity in tea plantations. The common weed species were clearly different in the three systems and only a small fraction (22 species) of widespread weeds was shared among them, resulting in low weed similarity between systems. The 66 useful species of weeds were mostly for food and medicine. Uses of some weeds were shared between systems. Many of the useful weeds are invasive species, suggesting that they are prevalent and inexpensive plant resources for rural people and could represent alternative resources in the future. Because the occurrence of invasive weeds may affect the natural habitats of the native flora, integrating the exploitation of weeds into weed management strategies may reduce the weed population while sustaining agrobiodiversity and conserving associated traditional knowledge in the long term.