Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes

The Tazrout valley, embedded in the Ait Baamrane area (Moroccan Anti-Atlas), is characterized by agro-ecological conditions hardly favorable to agriculture (arid climate, rugged terrain, poor soils). For a long time, people tackled these environmental challenges through the combined and concerted ma...

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Main Authors: Majda Mourou, Antonin Adam, Clothilde Cardon, Mohamed Aderghal, Michel Vaillant, Lhassan Benalayat, Bruno Romagny
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut de Géographie Alpine 2019-01-01
Series:Revue de Géographie Alpine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rga/4877
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author Majda Mourou
Antonin Adam
Clothilde Cardon
Mohamed Aderghal
Michel Vaillant
Lhassan Benalayat
Bruno Romagny
author_facet Majda Mourou
Antonin Adam
Clothilde Cardon
Mohamed Aderghal
Michel Vaillant
Lhassan Benalayat
Bruno Romagny
author_sort Majda Mourou
collection DOAJ
description The Tazrout valley, embedded in the Ait Baamrane area (Moroccan Anti-Atlas), is characterized by agro-ecological conditions hardly favorable to agriculture (arid climate, rugged terrain, poor soils). For a long time, people tackled these environmental challenges through the combined and concerted management of agrosilvopastoral resources and of various spatial dynamics. However climatic disturbances during the 20th century have resulted in the structural transformation of agrarian systems and the destabilization of the social foundations underlying the territory's organization. The widespread planting of prickly pear (cactus) seems to go hand in hand with these changes. According to studies carried out in the region, the cactus has favoured the return of a relative ecological equilibrium; being a sign of resilience. But what about socio-economic benefits? Could the cactuses’ expansion not be a catalyst of the system’s transformation as well as an aggravating factor of social weaknesses? Based on a systemic and geo-historical approach to agrarian structures, this article seeks to understand how successive changes in (i) modes of spatial development and occupation and (ii) public policies have lead today to new vulnerabilities. In order to propose an extension to the trajectory of the territories vulnerability, an alternative scenario to the advancements, seemingly advocated by the State today, is studied.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 0035-1121
1760-7426
language English
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher Institut de Géographie Alpine
record_format Article
series Revue de Géographie Alpine
spelling doaj-art-7070ce89060e49a3b623eb14e6567cfe2025-01-10T15:54:07ZengInstitut de Géographie AlpineRevue de Géographie Alpine0035-11211760-74262019-01-01106310.4000/rga.4877Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face ChangesMajda MourouAntonin AdamClothilde CardonMohamed AderghalMichel VaillantLhassan BenalayatBruno RomagnyThe Tazrout valley, embedded in the Ait Baamrane area (Moroccan Anti-Atlas), is characterized by agro-ecological conditions hardly favorable to agriculture (arid climate, rugged terrain, poor soils). For a long time, people tackled these environmental challenges through the combined and concerted management of agrosilvopastoral resources and of various spatial dynamics. However climatic disturbances during the 20th century have resulted in the structural transformation of agrarian systems and the destabilization of the social foundations underlying the territory's organization. The widespread planting of prickly pear (cactus) seems to go hand in hand with these changes. According to studies carried out in the region, the cactus has favoured the return of a relative ecological equilibrium; being a sign of resilience. But what about socio-economic benefits? Could the cactuses’ expansion not be a catalyst of the system’s transformation as well as an aggravating factor of social weaknesses? Based on a systemic and geo-historical approach to agrarian structures, this article seeks to understand how successive changes in (i) modes of spatial development and occupation and (ii) public policies have lead today to new vulnerabilities. In order to propose an extension to the trajectory of the territories vulnerability, an alternative scenario to the advancements, seemingly advocated by the State today, is studied.https://journals.openedition.org/rga/4877landscapemobilityresiliencevulnerabilityargan treecactus
spellingShingle Majda Mourou
Antonin Adam
Clothilde Cardon
Mohamed Aderghal
Michel Vaillant
Lhassan Benalayat
Bruno Romagny
Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes
Revue de Géographie Alpine
landscape
mobility
resilience
vulnerability
argan tree
cactus
title Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes
title_full Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes
title_fullStr Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes
title_full_unstemmed Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes
title_short Prickly Pear or Argan Tree? Agrosilvopastoral Systems of a Mountain Valley in Ait Baamrane (Morocco) Face Changes
title_sort prickly pear or argan tree agrosilvopastoral systems of a mountain valley in ait baamrane morocco face changes
topic landscape
mobility
resilience
vulnerability
argan tree
cactus
url https://journals.openedition.org/rga/4877
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