To combat desertification and land degradation in arid and semi-arid zones, the government has adopted an approach of rehabilitation of pasturelands through forage plantations. This program was launched at the beginning of the 1990s and, to date, there has been no global or national study on the sustainability of the program, particularly its economic profitability. Our work’s principal objective was to perform an economic analysis of the forage plantation program across the different periods since the creation of the program until the year 2020, focusing on the economic evaluation parameters of the projects, such as mean annual net income, net present value, annuity of the net present value, profitability index and payback period, based on the data collected from the official institutions. The results showed that the forage plantation program significantly contributes to sustainable development in steppe areas.

The present study aims to characterize the demographic structure of the red juniper (Juniperus phoenicea L.) population under a semi-arid bioclimate in the Central Saharan Atlas Mountains (North Africa) to define its dynamics and predict its future status and conservation. Based on ten selected homogeneous sites, a total of 100 temporary observation plots, each covering 400 m², were surveyed. Within each plot, dendrometric variables (Total height, density) were measured to establish demographic analysis and a static life table. Data analysis revealed that the studied Juniperus phoenicea populations fall into three contrasting "ecological types": expanding populations, self-sustaining populations with natural regeneration, and declining populations. The persistence of the latter is mainly due to the species' relatively long lifespan, allowing natural renewal to be maintained and ensuring that the population size remains stable at a certain point in the future.