Arable plant communities of ultramafic and non-ultramafic soils in Beni Bousera (North Morocco)

Chakkour, Soufian and Kassout, Jalal and Kadaoui, Khalil and El Ghalabzouri, Abdeljalil and Sahli, Abdelouahab and Kadiri, Mohamed and Ater, Mohammed (2023) Arable plant communities of ultramafic and non-ultramafic soils in Beni Bousera (North Morocco). COMMUNITY ECOLOGY, 24 (2). pp. 171-187. ISSN 1585-8553 (print); 1588-2756 (online)

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Abstract

Traditional agroecosystems play a vital role in conserving arable plant diversity, which requires the preservation of this ecological heritage. This study aims to compare the species richness, composition, Shannon diversity, and Simpson diversity of arable plant communities in traditional agroecosystems on ultramafic and non-ultramafic substrates in the Beni Bousera massif region of northern Morocco. We surveyed arable plant communities in the study area and conducted a physicochemi- cal analysis of soil composition to explore the relationship between arable plant community composition and soil properties. We observed a significant difference in floristic richness between the two soil types, with a moderate serpentine effect being highly abundant. Among the 167 identified arable plant species, Asteraceae and Poaceae were the most widespread botanical families. Therophytes were the dominant life forms at both study sites, followed by hemicryptophytes and geophytes. Non- ultramafic plant communities were generally more species-rich than the ultramafic site vegetation. We found a differentiation in arable plant communities according to substrate type, with a calcifuge-affinity community at the ultramafic site and a calcicole-affinity community at the non-ultramafic site. Our results highlight the differentiation in arable plant communities at the study sites, despite the proximity and similarity of climate and agricultural practices.

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