Modeling of land use and land cover (LULC) is a very important tool, particularly in the agricultural field: it allows us to know the potential changes in land area in the future and to consider developments in order to prevent probable risks. The idea is to give a representation of probable future situations based on certain assumptions. The objective of this study is to make future predictions in land use and land cover in the watershed “9 April 1947”, and in the years 2028, 2038 and 2050. Then, the maps obtained with the climate predictions will be integrated into an agro-hydrological model to know the water yield, the sediment yield and the water balance of the studied area by 2050.The future land use and land cover (LULC) scenarios were created using a CA-Markov forecasting model. The results of the simulation of the LULC changes were considered satisfactory, as shown by the values obtained from the kappa indices for agreement (κstandard) = 0.73, kappa for lack of information (κno) = 0.76, and kappa for location at grid cell level (κlocation) = 0.80. Future scenarios modeled in LULC indicate a decrease in agricultural areas and wetlands, both of which can be seen as a warning of crop loss. There is, on the other hand, an increase in forest areas that could be an advantage for the biodiversity of the fauna and flora in the “9 April 1947” watershed.

Surface water is used for a variety of purposes, including agriculture, drinking water, and other services. Therefore, its quality is crucial for irrigation, human welfare, and health. Thus, the main objective is to improve surface water quality assessment and geochemical analysis to evaluate anthropogenic activities’ impact on surface water quality in the Oued Laou watershed, Northern Morocco. Thirteen surface water samples were characterized for 26 physicochemical and biological parameters. In this aspect, emerging techniques such as multivariate statistical approaches (MSA), water quality indices (WQI), irrigation water quality (IWQI), and Geographic Information System (GIS) were employed to identify the sources of surface water pollution, their suitability for consumption, and the distribution of surface water quality. The results showed that the major ion concentrations were reported in the following order: Ca²⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺; and HCO₃⁻ > CO₃²⁻ > Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > NO₃⁻ > F⁻ > PO₄³⁻ > NO₂⁻. It was also demonstrated that almost all parameters had concentrations lower than World Health Organization (WHO) limits, except for bicarbonate ions (HCO₃⁻) and the biochemical oxygen demand for five days (BOD₅), which exceeded the WHO limits at 120 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, the types of Ca²⁺-HCO₃⁻ (Calcium-Bicarbonate) and Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-HCO₃⁻ (Calcium-Magnesium-Bicarbonate) predominated in surface water. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates that the Oued Laou river was exposed to two forms of contamination, the first being attributed to anthropogenic activities such as agriculture, while the second reflects the water-sediment interaction. The Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), reflecting the mineralization in the study area, has classified the samples into four clusters. The Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) of the WQI indicates that 7.69% and 38.46% of the surface water represent, respectively, excellent and good quality for drinking. At the same time, the IWQI revealed that 92.30% of the water surface is good for irrigation. As a result, the combination of WQIs, PCA, IWQI, and GIS techniques is effective in providing clear information for assessing the suitability of surface water for drinking and its controlling factors and can also support decision-making in susceptible locations such as the Oued Laou river in northern Morocco.

The spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) levied on the Moroccan authorities to increase their mask production capacity, which reached up to 12 million facemask units produced per day. This increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) production and consumption is an efficient tool to address the spread of COVID-19. However, this results in more plastic and microplastic debris being added into the land and marine environments, which will harm the ecosystem, wildlife, and public health. Such a situation needs deep individual behavior observation and tracking, as well as an assessment of the potential environmental impact of this new type of waste. For this reason, we assessed the Moroccan population’s behavior regarding the use and disposal of facemasks and gloves. An exploratory survey was prepared and shared via social media and email with the population of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Casablanca-Settat regions. Additionally, we calculated the estimated number and weight of daily and weekly PPE used and generated by the studied regions. The survey showed that 70% of the respondents threw their discarded masks and gloves in house trash or trash bins after their first use, whereas nearly 30% of respondents admitted that they did not wear masks because they did not leave their homes during the lockdown, while from the 70% of facemask users, more than five million (equivalent to 40,000 kg) of facemasks would be generated and disposed of daily by the community of these regions, which presents 35% of the total engendered facemask waste in Morocco. Accordingly, the environment impact of facemasks showed that the greenhouse gas footprint is about 640 kT CO₂ eq./year for the whole of Morocco, while the energy footprint is around 60,000 GWh/year. Furthermore, an urgent multidisciplinary environmental assessment of the potential impact of PPE must be conducted among the 12 Moroccan regions. This study demonstrated the real impact of the COVID-19 PPE on human behavior and the environment and suggests a need for providing new didactic management of facemasks and gloves.

The west coast of Tangier, in northern Morocco, has been affected by industrial wastewater discharge that reaches the ocean through the Boukhalef river. Therefore, the Jbila and Sidikacem beaches near to the Boukhalef river mouth have been classified as polluted for many years. With the aim of determining the COVID-19 pandemic consequences on the Tangier coastal environment, a linear model using Sentinel 3 water surface temperature (WST) has been tested in several locations. Data from April 2019 and April 2020, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic related emergency status in Morocco, were compared. The results from April 2019 showed high WST values and consequently, the poorest water quality in the sites closest to the Boukhalef river mouth. On the other hand, the results from April 2020 showed normal WST values and high water quality in the same study area. These results illustrate the usefulness of Sentinel 3 WST for the estimation of bathing water quality on the west coast of Tangier. The study shows the positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences on the coastal environment quality in the study area and indicates the importance of decreasing the industrial discharge on the west coast of Tangier. The same methodology could be used in decision-making processes and to reduce cost, time and human resources for coastal monitoring systems. We demonstrate the potential of using the Sentinel 3 data for coastal waters monitoring, as well as the need for stricter controls of pollutant discharges into the world’s rivers.

The chemical characterization of the Ghis-Nekor groundwater has become a concern of many researchers in Morocco. It is a crucial indicator for the environment situation and the socioeconomic development of this Moroccan region. Indeed, it helps decisionmakers carry out conscious and sustainable management. For this reason, 20 samples of the Ghis-Nekor aquifer were examined in terms of physicochemical parameters such as pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and total alkalinity (Alk), major cations–anions (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, HCO₃⁻, Cl⁻, ${\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$, ${\mathrm{NO}}_3^{-}$, and TDS), isotopic elements (δ¹⁸O, δ²H, and δ¹³C), and concentrations of Br and Sr anions in 2020. Furthermore, spatial data analysis with a geographic information system (GIS) using the ArcGis software (Redlands, California, USA). Indeed, static maps show significant water quality information that helps characterize the groundwater of the study area. The spatial analysis by the GIS indicates that except the EC (from 2630 to 6950 mS/cm), all the physical parameters showed standard concentration values in most of the samples. A significant concentration above the Moroccan norm of groundwater quality for sodium (Na⁺) from 264.3 to 1500 mg/L, chlorides (Cl⁻) concentrations from 408.3 to 1510 mg/L, ${\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$ from 313.1 to 999.2 mg/L, and bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) from 283.7 to 679.8 mg/L was observed, while all the points exceeded the recommended standards norm for ${\mathrm{SO}}_4^{2-}$. Most of the points met the potability standards for potassium (K⁺). In terms of the isotopic elements, the concentration values of δ¹⁸O were from −3.92‰ to –5.60‰, while the δ²H concentration values varied between −28.67‰ and −39.99‰. The analysis revealed values of carbon isotope δ¹³C ranging between −3.15‰ and −8.61‰, thus suggesting that the origin of the carbon is mineral, mainly deriving from calcite dissolution. The analysis of the bromide and strontium contents made it possible to discriminate the origin of the salinity anomalies. The Cl/Br, Br/Cl, and Sr/Ca molar ratios distinguished the areas of influence of geological setting (saliferous facies outcrops) or anthropogenic effect (wastewater). The results of the analysis shed light on factors of contamination, which are as follows: urban zones (Imzourene, Ait Youssef, and Souani) and agricultural activities. Therefore, the use of these waters could pose a risk to the health of humans and animals. Similarly, the GIS is a practical and effective tool for the Ghis-Nekor groundwater quality diagnostics and could help decisionmakers establish solutions.

Thymus capitatus is a Mediterranean endemic plant commonly known as “Zaïtra” in northern Morocco. As T. capitatus is widely used in traditional medicine and food, this present work aims to investigate the chemical compositions and biological activities of the T. capitatus leaves essential oil (TcLEO), acetonic (TcLAE), and methanolic extract (TcLME). The spectrophotometric determination demonstrated that T. capitatus is a natural source rich in phenolic contents (TPC) and flavonoid contents (TFC) and that TcLME revealed the highest TPC and TFC than TcLAE and TcLEO. The LC-MS analysis of phenolic compounds showed that paraben acid was predominant in both TcLME and TcLAE, followed by cinnamic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. GC-MS analysis of the TcLEO revealed the presence of a total of 10 compounds, which were predominated by carvacrol. The antioxidant activity by ORAC was observed to be significantly higher in TcLEO and TcLAE than in TcLME. All samples used to assess DNA degradation effectively prevented DNA oxidation and, at the same time, had a prooxidant effect. The genotoxicity test showed that the T. capitatus were devoid of any mutagenic activity. Concerning antifungal activity, all samples were able to inhibit the growth of all microorganisms tested at low concentrations. TcLAE showed higher activity than TcLME, and in general, dermatophytes were more susceptible, being Microsporum canis the most sensitive one. Overall, the results obtained from this study confirm the wide uses of T. capitatus. Furthermore, the finding results suggest that the T. capitatus essential oil and extracts can be highly useful for pharmaceutical industries.