Purpose The agricultural practices in south western Morocco reserve a majority of the water resources to be used for irrigation. The extent of irrigated agriculture combined with high evaporative rates, lead to the depletion of water resources and degradation of soil quality. To remedy to this problem, biochar, a pyrolysed biomass, is highly considered to improve retaining water and nutrients in soils. For this biochar research, argan shells obtained after extraction of argan oil were used as the biomass source to produce biochar. According to the best of our knowledge, no research to date has been carried out on the production and characterization of biochar produced from argan shells wastes. Methods To produce biochar, we have used a pyrolytic stove fabricated in Morocco from locally available materials. The biochar sample collected was then crushed, sieved (<2 mm) and its physical, and chemical characteristics were analysed and compared with those of other media (soil and peat). Results The physical and chemical properties of the argan shells biochar revealed a highly alkaline pH, high electrical conductivity, high content of K, Na, Mg and NaNO₃, low content of Ca, KH₂PO₄ and low content of heavy metals compared to sandy soil and peat. In addition, by increasing biochar application, the water holding capacities of biochar-sand mixtures also increased. Conclusions The use of argan shells biochar to enrich the soil will be expected to improve both nutrient and water retention especially that South Western Morocco is subject to frequent drought.

The effects of pyrolyzed agricultural waste generated from banana leaves on the development and physiological responses of Paspalum vaginatum in different water conditions were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) computations were utilized to describe the banana-waste biochar and determine the crystalline structure and functional groups. A plastic pot was used in two trials to examine the effectiveness of the studied biochar under two situations (well-watered Ww and limited-watered Lw). Seashore paspalum was cultivated in loam soil that had been modified with biochar as a single addition and a biochar compost mix. Six water scarcity scenarios were chosen (100, 80, 60, 25, 20, and 15% of water holding capacity (WHC) of the control soil). To analyze the varied responses of P. vaginatum in well-watered and limited-water environments, principal component analysis (PCA) was used. Under Ww, photosynthesis, biomass, fluorescence, and chlorophyll content increased, whereas, under Lw and control, they declined. Biochar and compost combinations enhanced the relative water content (RWC) more than biochar alone or in combination. Conversely, stomatal density in drought-stricken plants showed the reverse trend.

The endemic Moroccan species Argania spinosa is considered the most grazed tree species in its distribution area. Since grazing exerts an important effect on plant performances, we attempted to explore the impact of grazing on A. spinosa. Thus, we performed a comparative field experiment where seasonal variations of gas exchange, photochemical efficiency, relative water content, photosynthetic pigment content, and stomatal features were assessed in grazed and ungrazed trees. The net photosynthetic rate was increased in grazed trees in spring and autumn, the favorable seasons. Enhancement of photosynthetic performance may be due to the high stomatal conductance registered in grazed trees. This mechanism may compensate for the lost leaf area, in order to recover from grazing stress. In addition, grazed trees exhibit a better photochemical efficiency, use water more economically and show lower oxidative stress. However, results obtained in summer show that the compensation mechanism could be limited by summer drought. Since the key to preserving the future of forests is sustainable forest management, our results suggest that proper grazing management can be a control tool to increase plant performance and improve species resilience.

In this paper, we investigated the seasonal physiological performance and morphological adjustment of Argania spinosa growing under contrasting climatic and biogeographic conditions.Two marginal populations were selected in the main distribution area of the species, one at the Northwest and the other one at the South-west. Trees from the North showed a Mediterranean pattern in Photosynthetic performances, exhibiting maximal carbon assimilation during spring and minimum in summer. In contrast, trees from the South showed a different pattern with maximum values recorded in winter and minimum in spring. Photochemical efficiency of PSII results evidenced the absence of damage to PSII in both sites, probably due to an efficient energy dissipation processed by carotenoid pigments. We recorded increased LMA values in the South, which improves drought resistance. Increasing stomatal length and decreasing stomatal density were registered during the drought season in both populations. A. Spinosa is sensitive to changes in the length of drought stress at its Southern limit. The scarcity of rainfall leading to persistent drought has limited the distribution of the species to the banks of dry Wadis and depressions, where it finds some water compensations during summer. In the North, the summer drought severely impacted the species carbon assimilation.

Lianas are woody climbing plants and are thought to impact the hosting trees negatively. Ephedra altissima is a liana rising on the Moroccan endemic tree Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels. In this study, our objective was to investigate the impact of the liana on the Argan tree’s physiology and leaf morphology. For that purpose, we compared gas exchange, relative water content, photosynthetic pigment content, and leaf dry mass per unit area of Argan trees associated and not associated with the liana. Our study on individual leaves does not give evidence of the existence or absence of aboveground competition between the liana and the hosting tree. Indeed, photosynthetic rates may suggest that no aboveground competition is occurring. In contrast, pigment content suggests a shading effect of the liana on the hosting tree during the winter season. Otherwise, Argan associated with the liana exhibited a high Chl a/b ratio at the beginning of the dry season, suggesting a belowground competition for nutrient resources. On the other hand, WUEi results indicate that the impact of the liana on the Argan tree may go through seasons with belowground competition for water during spring. The increased LMA values registered in trees associated with the lianasuggest the existence of belowground competition for nutrient resources that persist throughout the year.

Climate warming and land degradation are reshaping Mediterranean and semi-arid ecosystems, yet their combined effects remain poorly quantified in North Africa. Using four Landsat reference epochs spanning 1984–2024, and four spectral/thermal indices (NDVI, EVI, NDMI, LST), we assessed vegetation dynamics and eco-climatic resilience of Tetraclinis articulata ecosystems in Morocco. Four study sites (Stehat, Merchouch, Tamanar, and Amskroud) distributed along a latitudinal gradient from the northern to southern limits of the species’ Moroccan range were chosen and analyzed. Results reveal a generalized decline in vegetation cover, strongly coupled with increasing land surface temperatures, with threshold-like patterns emerging above 74–75 °C that lead to a rapid reduction in NDVI. The northern site (Stehat) exhibited partial recovery, likely supported by local schist aquifers, whereas the arid southern sites (Tamanar and Amskroud) experienced near-total biomass loss and reduced climate buffering. Moisture indices limited hydrological mediation and suggest that shallow soil water availability constrains T. articulata functioning, amplifying vulnerability under recurrent warming. These findings demonstrate how local edaphic and hydrological conditions modulate the impacts of global change and provide early warning indicators of heightened vulnerability and potential threshold-like behavior in drylands. The study emphasizes the urgent need for targeted management strategies to sustain ecosystem resilience under accelerating climate stress.