Evaluation of the influence of dendrometric and ecological factors on the natural regeneration of “cedrus atlantica mannetti.” in Ain Antar Forest, Algeria

Abstract EN

This study aims to evaluate the effect of dendrometric and ecological factors on the natural regeneration of the Atlas cedar "Cedrus atlantica Mannetti" in Ain Antarforest, Algeria.

This study was carried out in 14 circular plots of 500 m2 area.

In order to quantify the seedling classes, six sub-plots of 1 m2 were installed in each plot.

The results of the dendrometric data showed the presence of a "Gaussian distribution" with a dominance of fruiting diameters (37.5 and 57.5 cm).

The results of ecological parameters revealed that in high altitudes, above 1300 m, natural regeneration seemed to be relatively difficult (30% compared to low and medium altitudes).

On slopes greater than 30%, seedlings of less than one year old were less present (20 % compared to the seven first plots).

The role of the vegetation cover (40– 0%), the litter cover (30–40%) and of the soil depth (shallow and deep) appeared to favor the survival of seedlings, especially when they were still young.

The correlation analysis indicated that the different seedling classes became less numerous when altitude, slope and basal area increased