Structure élémentaire de l’arganeraie Argania spinosa L. Skeels de Tindouf (Sahara occidental algérien) / Elementary structure of the argan forest Argania spinosa L. Skeels of Tindouf (Algerian western Sahara)

The argan tree is well adapted to drought conditions in Algerian western Sahara. The argan forest of Tindouf has a structure of coppice on stumps, characterized by an average height of 4.7m. Regeneration by dense resprouts represents 43% for 1,192 inventoried trees. The mother trees of Argania spinosa have a significant potential to resprout in coppice or suckers, thus forming crowns around mounds on beds of wadis. It should be noted that 21% of the trees are damaged by illegal cutting. The average spacing between the trees is around 13m. The argan tree retains a large volume of soil input with an average of 23.6 ± 36.3m3/ stump in the form of mounds. Linear regression analysis revealed an increasing relationship between mound volume and the number of stems per stump. Thanks to its powerful root system, the argan tree accumulates additional soil and contributes to the slow mechanism of sedimentation of micro-horizons, constituting mounds around the feet of trees.