Article

The stands of Fraxinus dimorpha (Oleaceae) in the Western Ksour Mountains (South West Algeria): phytocenotic diversity, structural dynamics and conservation prospectives. – Fraxinus dimorpha is a threatened species appearing on the IUCN red list. It structures a valuable preforest heritage in the Western Ksour Mountains (Algeria), both for its ecological and social value. Thus, the aim of this first study is to contribute to the knowledge of the floristic diversity and the structural dynamics of Fraxinus dimorpha stands in this area. The floristic diversity’s analysis of Fraxinus dimorpha preforests in western Ksour Mountains has revealed the existence of 188 specific and subspecific taxa belonging to 40 families and 145 genera. The biogeographic spectrum indicates the dominance of Mediterranean taxa with 95 species. 30 endemic species have been identified of which 19 are Algerian-Moroccan ones. The Analysis of biological types indicated the dominance of therophytes over the other life forms (69 taxa, or 36.70%). The study of structural dynamics (diametric classes) showed the dominance of perches (42%), little wood (37%) and medium wood (21%).