Background: Ecological processes such as seedling establishment, biotic interactions, and mortality can leave footprints on species spatial structure that can be detectable through spatial point-pattern analysis (SPPA). Being widely used in plant ecology, SPPA is increasingly carried out to describe biotic interactions and interpret pattern-process relationships. However, some aspects are still subjected to a non-negligible debate such as required sample size (in terms of the number of points and plot area), the link between the low number of points and frequently observed random (or independent) patterns, and relating patterns to processes. In this paper, an overview of SPPA is given based on rich and updated literature providing guidance for ecologists (especially beginners) on summary statistics, uni-/bi-/multivariate analysis, unmarked/marked analysis, types of marks, etc. Some ambiguities in SPPA are also discussed.Results: SPPA has a long history in plant ecology and is based on a large set of summary statistics aiming to describe species spatial patterns. Several mechanisms known to be responsible for species spatial patterns are actually investigated in different biomes and for different species. Natural processes, plant environmental conditions, and human intervention are interrelated and are key drivers of plant spatial distribution. In spite of being not recommended, small sample sizes are more common in SPPA. In some areas, periodic forest inventories and permanent plots are scarce although they are key tools for spatial data availability and plant dynamic monitoring.Conclusion: The spatial position of plants is an interesting source of information that helps to make hypotheses about processes responsible for plant spatial structures. Despite the continuous progress of SPPA, some ambiguities require further clarifications.

Ficus carica L. (Moraceae) is a plant of great importance in the traditional Arab medicine thanks to its therapeutic properties. This work was carried out in order to contribute to the ethnopharmacological knowledge of this medicinal species. We describe phytochemical compounds and ethnopharmacological properties of F. carica, species that has been used in traditional medicine for many decades. Possible trends and perspectives for future research of this plant are discussed, as well. F. carica has been found to contain several chemical constituents, mostly polyphenols and flavonoids. With its bioactive compounds, F. carica possesses a wild range of biological activities. In traditional medicine, It was reported that F. carica was applied mainly as the remedy for ulcers, indigestion and diarrhea. Some published studies have shown a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor, as well as anti-inflammatory activities. This paper reviews the main medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of this plant in order to summarize its therapeutic potential and to shed light on gaps necessitating for prospected research works.

Aim of study: Understanding small-scale patterns caused by stochastic factors or community interactions driving forest structure and diversity of Moroccan fir Abies marocana Trab.Area of study: Talassemtane fir forest, Talassemtane National Park, Rif Mountains, northern Morocco.Material and methods: Eight plots representative of the structural variability of A. marocana forests were selected, and all tree individuals with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥2 cm were mapped and measured. We performed four types of spatial point pattern analyses: (1) Univariate analyses to explore the overall trees spatial pattern, (2) bivariate analyses to assess the spatial relationship between juveniles and A. marocana adults, (3) correlation between tree sizes (dbh) and distance between points pairs using the univariate mark correlation function, and (4) random labeling analyses between dominant and suppressed Moroccan fir individuals to assess competition patterns.Main results: We found a strong spatial aggregation of fir individuals and a positive intraspecific association between juveniles and adult trees. However, there were weak but significant distance-dependent effect on tree size and density-dependent effect on suppression pattern.Research highlights: Shade-tolerance, seed dispersal and/or microsite heterogeneity might play important roles in the observed fir patterns. Our results provide a basic knowledge on within-stand Moroccan fir spatial distribution, with implications for adaptive management of these relic forests, and prompting to further research to test advanced hypotheses.Additional key words: Moroccan fir; Talassemtane National Park; Rif forest; Spatial analysis; summary statistics; facilitation; aggregation.Abbreviations used: MF (Moroccan fir); Talassemtane National Park (TNP); dbh (diameter at breast height); Univariate pair-correlation function (g(r)); Heterogeneous Poisson (HP); Bivariate pair-correlation function (g12(r)); Univariate mark correlation function (kmm(r)), Mark connection function (p12(r)).

Western Mediterranean firs are endemic and illustrate the Tertiary flora heritage in the Mediterranean basin. Due to their morphological and anatomical similarities, the classification of certain relict firs still debated especially those belonging to the Piceaster section. Moroccan fir Abies marocana is one of these taxa whose taxonomy has remained unresolved for a long time. Many authors recognized two species in the Rif Mountains A. marocana and A. tazaotana while others considered these taxa as varieties or subspecies of A. pinsapo. Recently, several biometrical and molecular studies contributed to a better understanding of their phyletic relationships. In this review, the main findings of recent studies are synthetized with the aim of shedding light on the evolution of the taxonomical position of Moroccan relict fir. The main hypotheses explaining the phylogenetic relationships between Moroccan and Spanish firs are also discussed. The results converged towards the separation of Moroccan and Spanish firs at the species level, while they did not support the distinction between A. marocana and A. tazaotana as different species.