Podcast: Protecting Morocco´s Rarest Forests by Dr. Peter Fulé

Abstract 

The high mountains of Talassemtane National Park protect some of the rarest trees and animals in Morocco and North Africa. Forest fires can have negative as well as positive effects on conserving these unique ecosystems. Research ranging from satellite images to tree-ring analysis is being applied to help forest managers protect the forest and adapt to changing climate.

Biography

Dr. Peter Fulé is a professor in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. His research is at the intersection of forests, wildfire, climate and people around the world. Pete works with students and colleagues using multiple research techniques including tree rings to assess tree growth and forest fires over many centuries. Using models of forest growth and climate, they test forest restoration treatments and simulate changes into the future. Pete has taught and done research on five continents. Currently Pete is a visiting Fulbright Scholar in Tétouan, Morocco, working with Abdelmalek Essaâdi University and Talassemtane National Park.

Bibliography

Chergui, B., Fahd, S., Santos, X., & Pausas, J.G. (2017). Socioeconomic Factors Drive Fire-Regime Variability in the Mediterranean Basin. Ecosystems, 21, 619-628.

Camarero, J. J., Sánchez-Salguero, R., Sangüesa-Barreda, G., Lechuga, V., Viñegla, B., Seco, J. I., Taïqui, L., Carreira, J. A., & Linares, J. C. (2021). Drought, axe and goats. More variable and synchronized growth forecasts worsening dieback in Moroccan Atlas cedar forests. The Science of the total environment, 765, 142752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142752

Ben-Said, M., Ghallab, A., Lamrhari, H., Carreira, J., Linares, J., & Taïqui, L. (2020). Characterizing spatial structure of Abies marocana forest through point pattern analysis. Forest Systems, 29.