Forest and pastoral areas change: A case study of northern Morocco (1984- 2014)

Land cover and land use change has become a central component in current strategies for managing natural resources and in environmental change monitoring. This study aims to investigate the trend evolution of forest and pastoral areas in Rif Mountain, between 1984 and 2014, on Landsat imageries using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The forest and pastoral areas declined from about 4548 km² in 1984 to about 3588 km² by 2014, while the non-forest and non-pastoral areas increased by some 7,7% from
7912 km² in 1984 to about 8872 km² by 2014. Deforestation, expansion of agricultural lands, increase of rural population, overgrazing have been identified as the main factors that contribute to the forest and pastoral areas degradation. To ensure the sustainability of pastoral and forest resources, management and protection actions should be undertaken.