SILVICULTURE OF Aleppo pine IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION: A CASE STUDY FROM MOROCCO

The study concerned the silvicultural stands of Aleppo pine in subhumid and semi-arid bioclimatic stage in Morocco. It aims at reporting the silviculture of the species, by reviewing the basic concepts and rules related to forestry actions giving attention to the clearing, pruning and thinning operations.

This study showed how Silvicultural operations can aim at meeting the objectives established by forest management. It’s also envisioned to mention the bias underlying silvicultural actions to show that it is possible to improve both the trees growth and the quality of wood for Aleppo pine forest. What can render the application of these basics effective ones is a suitable stand, the time of pruning and the nature and the intensity of thinning.

The study is based on studies already carried out present a silvicultural management model for Moroccan Aleppo pine in subhumid and semi-arid bioclimatic stages.

The main results shows that, regarding the mining wood's production and taking into account the Aleppo pine short rotation, only two thinning’s can be considered in both sub-humid and semi-arid stages. These thinning’s are of selective type with a strong intensity that enables the removal of half of the trees per hectare.