Floristic Diversity of the Wetland, Sidi Boughaba Biological Reserve, Kénitra, Morocc

This study updates our current knowledge of the floristic diversity of the Sidi Boughaba biological reserve, following the climatic change in the area from sub-humid to semi-arid. Floristic analysis of the 124 relevés carried out over the 652 ha of the site using stratified sampling revealed the existence of 270 species and subspecies spread over 199 genera and 58 families, the best represented of which are the Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Poaceae. The most represented genera are: Trifolium, Medicago, Asparagus, Sonchus, Ononis, Linaria and Euphorbia. Therophytes dominate the biological spectrum. Indices of diversity, equitability and perturbation are calculated for the reserve and also for the nine phyto-sociological groupings on the site. The results show that the flora is highly diverse and evenly distributed, but that there are differences between certain plant groupings, such as mobile and consolidated grey dunes. The perturbation index indicates a high degree of degradation, which is effectively observed in the edge groups and those bordering cultivated land.