Impacts of orographical and anthropic factors on the natural regeneration of Cork Oak (Quercus suber) in Kroumiria, Tunisia.

Impacts of orographical and anthropic factors on the natural regeneration of Cork Oak (Quercus suber) in Kroumiria, Tunisia. Cork Oak occupies a particular place within the Mediterranean forest. In Tunisia, it is rather well represented in Kroumiria (70 000 ha), particularly in the areas of Ain Braham and Tabarka. Confined to acid environments with moderate climate, it plays a very important ecological role, supporting a rather diversified floristic and faunal assemblage. In the same way it plays a considerable socio-economic role in the life of the rural population of the area and largely contributes to the national economy through production and export of cork. Enduring a very strong anthropic pressure and an important degradation of the environment, with the direct effect of the climatic change, Cork Oak forests are unable to regenerate naturally. Thus, and according to the results of the present study, it appears that the further away the Cork Oak settlements are from human population, the more opportunities there are to find young seedlings resulting from regeneration and vice-versa. It is the same for the orographical (slope, exposure and altitude) and coverage factors which can directly or indirectly induce Cork Oak natural regeneration.