Interactions of fire and forest structure in a relict mesic forest of north Africa

Peter Z. Fulé; Lahcen Taiqui; Derak Mchich

doi:10.1071/WF25039

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Interactions of fire and forest structure in a relict mesic forest of north Africa

Peter Z. Fulé

^A ^* , Lahcen Taiqui

^B and Derak Mchich ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.

^B Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan, Morocco.

^C Direction Régionale de l’Agence Nationale des Eaux et Forêts à Tétouan, Tétouan, Morocco.

^* Correspondence to: pete.fule@nau.edu

International Journal of Wildland Fire 34, WF25039 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF25039

Submitted: 7 March 2025 Accepted: 28 May 2025 Published: 27 June 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC)

Abstract

Background

Site-specific data about fire regimes and ecosystem attributes is valuable for developing conservation strategies.

Aims

We determined fire history linked to forest attributes in Talassemtane National Park, Morocco, which conserves rare species at the northern tip of Africa.

Methods

We sampled fire-scarred conifers at three high-elevation forest sites, along with forest measurements.

Key results

Surface fires recurred frequently at all sites (mean fire intervals 15–23 years) over the period 1879–2018, burning primarily in the late summer. Fires were not highly synchronous among sites and were not climate-driven, suggesting a pattern of human ignitions at times when burning was safe. Stands were dominated by large and old Pinus and Abies trees that had survived numerous surface fires. Sites where fires continued to the present had relatively open structure with few ladder fuels. The site where 36 years had passed since the last fire had a dense mid-storey of sprouting Quercus trees.

Conclusions

Fire regimes and forest attributes were linked with fire-quiescent periods associated with high tree density, creating ladder fuels that could support crown fire.

Implications

Maintaining frequent-fire regimes in these forests could provide benefits for reducing fuels, avoiding undesired fires under extreme conditions, and supporting adaptation to warmer climate.

Keywords: Abies marocana, climate, dendrochronology, Morocco, Pinus nigra subsp. mauretanica, Pinus pinaster, Rif Mountains.

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