Cartographie De L’aire De Répartition De L’arganier (argania Spinosa L. Skeels) Dans La Région Orientale Du Maroc Par Le G.p.s. Combiné Au S.i.g

The argan tree is a singular curiosity of Morocco either at biogeographical, ecological or forest levels. Due to its exceptional qualities, this tree is of great interest on behalf of scientists, foresters, and tourists. For the local populations, it is synonymous of life. Moreover, the international scope taken by the argan tree and its registration in the UNESCO world heritage as well as the spectacular commercial success of argan oil, made this ecosystem a subject of very particular attention at both national and international scale. The present work aims to develop an argan tree distribution map in the eastern region of Morocco by means of G.P.S. (Global Positioning System) combined to G.I.S. (Geographic Information System). The study focused on two sites, the piedmonts of western Beni-Snassen and the plain of BouAreg. Distribution of argan tree in the piedmonts of western Beni-Snassen is presented as a matorral degraded by zone. Thus, we identified four zones at this site according to the density of trees. Companion species to the argan tree in these zones were also identified. On the other hand, argans of the plain of Bou-Areg are very strongly degraded and they are represented by only two trees: the first at Kariat Arekmane and the second in Bled Arimane. Our study showed that argan tree occupies only a small area in the eastern region of Morocco and its irrational exploitation may lead to its complete disappearance in the future.