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<p>This article reviews the transformation of agro-pastoral systems in mountainous regions, with a focus on the <i>Aït Bouguemez</i> Valley in Morocco’s Central High Atlas. Such systems, while crucial for their ecosystem services (maintaining biodiversity, soil fertility and water resources), face significant challenges like climate change, pasture degradation, and socioeconomic shifts, which threaten traditional pastoral practices. This structured literature review combines evidence from peer-reviewed articles, technical reports from Moroccan agricultural services, and a synthesis of our previously published empirical studies conducted in Azilal province (2020–2024). These empirical studies relied on semi-structured interviews with livestock farmers, detailed flock monitoring, and multivariate statistical typology to characterize three main livestock systems: optional transhumance (S1), systematic transhumance (S2), and sedentary systems (S3), each shaped by factors such as pasture availability, flock size, and farms’ assets (arable area, capital, workforce composition, etc.). Key findings highlight ongoing rangeland degradation, declining incomes, and the resulting need for supplementary feeding and practice adjustments. Social changes, including rural depopulation and the disinterest of younger generations in herding, are eroding transmission of traditional knowledge, while expansion of cash crops (especially orchards) is reshaping land use and local dynamics. This review emphasizes adaptation strategies such as herd mobility, biodiversity conservation, animal hardiness, and collective action that enhance the resilience of agro-pastoral systems. The long-term sustainability of these systems depends on balancing traditional knowledge with technical innovations and securing appropriate institutional support.</p>

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Adaptation strategies of mountain livestock systems to global changes in the Central High Atlas, Morocco

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月3日

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  • Soufiane El Aayadi,
  • Mohammed Kamal Challioui,
  • Mohamed Taher Sraïri

摘要

This article reviews the transformation of agro-pastoral systems in mountainous regions, with a focus on the Aït Bouguemez Valley in Morocco’s Central High Atlas. Such systems, while crucial for their ecosystem services (maintaining biodiversity, soil fertility and water resources), face significant challenges like climate change, pasture degradation, and socioeconomic shifts, which threaten traditional pastoral practices. This structured literature review combines evidence from peer-reviewed articles, technical reports from Moroccan agricultural services, and a synthesis of our previously published empirical studies conducted in Azilal province (2020–2024). These empirical studies relied on semi-structured interviews with livestock farmers, detailed flock monitoring, and multivariate statistical typology to characterize three main livestock systems: optional transhumance (S1), systematic transhumance (S2), and sedentary systems (S3), each shaped by factors such as pasture availability, flock size, and farms’ assets (arable area, capital, workforce composition, etc.). Key findings highlight ongoing rangeland degradation, declining incomes, and the resulting need for supplementary feeding and practice adjustments. Social changes, including rural depopulation and the disinterest of younger generations in herding, are eroding transmission of traditional knowledge, while expansion of cash crops (especially orchards) is reshaping land use and local dynamics. This review emphasizes adaptation strategies such as herd mobility, biodiversity conservation, animal hardiness, and collective action that enhance the resilience of agro-pastoral systems. The long-term sustainability of these systems depends on balancing traditional knowledge with technical innovations and securing appropriate institutional support.