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Simple Summary: In this paper, we present the first diagnostic of the wintering birds in the wetlands of the Saïss plain and its adjacent Atlas Mountains (north–center of Morocco). The study revealed an unexpected diversity of bird species, for which we provide the population size, with their variations, over five years (2017–2018 to 2022–2023). Among these birds, we found four remarkable species: Oxyura leucocephala (endangered), Aythya ferina (vulnerable), Aythya nyroca (near-threatened) and Limosa limosa (near-threatened). In addition, we illustrated the wetland changes during the last 20 years (2003–2023), mainly the habitat loss for wintering waterbirds. Moroccan wetlands host up to half a million wintering birds and provide a stopover for tens of thousands of migrants, while they are inhabited by few nesting species. Most of this avifauna prefers to use the large coastal wetlands or reservoirs, while many species are dispersed across hundreds of small inland wetlands of various types. In this study, we monitored the wintering avifauna of 11 wetlands of the Saïss plain and its adjacent Atlas Mountains (north–center of Morocco), during six wintering seasons (2017–2018 to 2022–2023), with the objective of assessing the importance of this region as a waterbird wintering area. Using the richness of the species, we determine the bird population changes during this pentad and between the different types of wetlands (natural, human-made, and natural wetlands). During this study, we recorded 51 species, belonging to 17 families, among which exist four remarkable birds: the endangered Oxyura leucocephala, the vulnerable Aythya ferina and the near-threatened Aythya nyroca and Limosa limosa. Bird diversity is higher in human-made ecosystems than in peri-urban and natural ecosystems, while the populations' size is similar in urban and non-urban wetlands. With regard to bird conservation, these inland wetlands, mainly the small ones, are threatened by recurrent droughts and various anthropic stressors, which we describe using our observations of the two last decades (2003–2023). The loss of habitat is significant, reaching 348.5 hectares, while the impacts of reduced precipitation and temperature increase are particularly evident in the mountainous natural lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review attempts to highlight the past and current status of ecotourism in Morocco, investigate its committed as an essential sustainable product, and make recommendations to develop this sector. A deep electronic bibliographic search on Google Scholar, research engines, and databases including Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed, and Hindawi between 1970 and 2023. To accomplish this review, we used the following keywords: ‘ecotourism, geotourism, and sustainable tourism, all in relation to Morocco. Currently, the state has developed articulate projects and policies looking for the enlargement of this segment as a strong alternative pillar. Equally, ecotourism is a way to protect cultural and natural heritage. However, tourist destinations remain conquered by seaside products. While other sustainable practices remain hostile. The concentration of marketing and infrastructure in empirical-coastline cities attracts visitors to these destinations, while other regions are less visited despite their richness in natural and cultural potentials. On the other hand, we proposed to upsurge the awareness of populations toward their cultural and natural heritage as a good manner to protect them and increase their incomes, which is sufficient to develop sustainable tourism. Finally, more deep studies on the effects of ecotourism on the natural ecosystems and cultural values are urgently needed to clarify the potential of natural products counting ecosystems, and their ecological services, of cultural heritage counting prehistoric monuments, mainly in isolated regions, and of infrastructure capabilities between distant places to encourage the equitable distribution of visitors in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas may affect the richness of avian species. The abundance and diversity of urban landscapes offer breeding habitats and nesting resources for urban-adapted species. In our study, we investigated the breeding birds in urban landscapes of Fez's historical city (Morocco). We used line-transects to search for nests of breeding species, populations, and habitats counting breeding sites and predicting factors (foraging, nesting resources, and urbanization). Furthermore, four habitats counting green gardens, old city walls, urban farms, and urban forests were prospected to search for nests of breeding birds. Among 13 breeding species including 12 resident-breeders, and one breeding migrant, a total of 109 nests were documented. Five species counting Turdus merula, Sylvia atricapilla, Spilopelia senegalensis, Columba livia, and Coloeus monedula were encountered in green gardens; four species counting Athene noctua, Sturnus unicolor, Passer domesticus, and Tachymarptis melba were observed in old city walls. Falco tinnunculus, Fringilla coelebs, and Accipiter nisus occurred in urban forests; and Streptopelia decaocto in urban farms. The recorded nests were divided between cavities (50 nests) and trees (59 nests). In green spaces, nests were distributed among Olea europaea (17), Citrus aurantium (15), Bambusa vulgaris (11), and Eucalyptus globulus (7). In contrast, Olea oleaster and Cupressus sp. hosted only tree nests each, while Populus sp. and Washingtonia filifera hosted only one nest each. Most nests were recorded in habitats rich in nesting trees and close to water sources. On the contrary, the number of nests decreased as the surface and distance of the habitat to the urban center increased. Our data revealed the diversity, habitat use, and nesting substrates of urban breeding bird communities in Morocco and the Southern slope of the Western Palearctic. Future urban plans must integrate measures to provide suitable breeding resources such as cavities of old walls and a high diversity of urban green spaces for birds to enhance their breeding performances, thus promoting the well-being of the population via increasing biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of migration dates and wintering zones for migratory birds are key elements for the understanding of the Afro‐Palearctic migration system. From 2015 to 2022, a large‐scale survey of Turtle Doves Streptopelia turtur, a vulnerable species, was established in Northwest Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. We monitored migration dates and wintering individuals using the line‐transect method. We found that Turtle Doves arrived in the last week of March and left the North African region in mid‐October. Compared with Morocco, Doves arrived significantly earlier in Algeria and Tunisia. Moreover, Doves were discovered wintering on nine Northwest African sites, from October to February, where individuals feed in groups. We found that the occurrence probability of wintering Turtle Doves decreased significantly with increasing temperature and rainfall. Birds wintered most often close to wetlands since the overwintering probability decreased with the increasing distance from the recording area to the nearest water body. These are the first and only detailed findings on the migration phenology of the globally vulnerable Turtle Dove in north western Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Loukkos large perimeter covers an area of 256 000 ha, 147 300 ha of which are useful agricultural areas and 42 000 ha of which are currently irrigated. In this study we analysed the impact of agricultural managements on wetlands in Loukkos (Morocco), using the mapping approach of the evolution in irrigated sectors of the Loukkos perimeter. As a result, 34% of wetlands, including two Ramsar Sites were negatively impacted. The conversion of natural ecosystems to agricultural fields, the overuse of water in irrigation and the urbanization are the most factors that threaten the wetlands' surfaces. Finally, the mapping of the evolution of the irrigated sectors of the Loukkos perimeter made it possible to assess the current situation and the criticality degrees of the impacts with the estimation of the impacted areas. This mapping approach will facilitate the initiation for a more specific approach where the most sensitive and affected areas will be satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosa canina L. is a rich fruit on bioactive substances which provides them with high antioxidant potential, like phenolic acids, flavonoids, condensed tannins. The aim of this study was to estimate and characterize the phenolic content, flavonoids content, condensed tannins content obtained from rose hips fruits in five extracts (water, 50% v/v ethanol, 70% v/v ethanol, 80% v/v methanol, apple vinegar) to examine their antioxidant activity by two reliable methods: Total antioxidant activity and DPPH. Surprisingly, in our results, the highest polyphenol, flavonoids content and condensed tannins was observed in vinegar extract 55,51±1,16 mg GAE/g dw, 22,15±0,45 mg QE/g dw, 12,37±0,16 mg AAE/g dw respectively. Furthermore, the vinegar extract was the most effective to chelating the radical DPPH (IC50% = 0,336±0,005µg), and have the highest total antioxidant activity (7,88±0,19mg AAE/g dw). The current research showed that the vinegar was more effective than the methanol, ethanol, water for polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plants life cycle. However, the excessive use of this element causes serious problems in agriculture. This can disrupt the development of many important plants. Sesamum indicum or sesame represents one of the most economically important and ancient oil crops in the world. In fact, its seeds are used for many biological activities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of high levels of nitrogen on some primary and secondary metabolites and the antioxidant activity under different levels of N supply. Results analysis of our investigation showed that the excessive nitrogen supply had a serious effect on the quality of sesame seeds. In fact, N fertilizer promoted the accumulation of proteins until 57.16%, in detriment of oil and sugars that decreased with 49.43% and 16.27%, respectively. Also, total phenolic, flavonoids content, and antioxidant activity showed a significant decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]