Massive almond tree mortality in the central High Atlas, Morocco

Abstract

Morocco has been experiencing six consecutive years of drought due to a decline in rainfall linked to climate change and this have threatened water supplies and hit agriculture and the economy in general. The main objective of the article is to document the sudden massive death of almond trees in the central High Atlas Mountains during 2022-2025. In March-August 2022, an average of 24.7% of dead trees was identified among the 4 074 almond trees in the study area. This average has increased to 88.2% in February-August 2024. In all the 17 studied fields, the average number of dead trees has risen rapidly in 2023. The results of monitoring almond trees in the field showed that tree mortality occurred mainly between March 2023 and July 2023, and that since September 2023, 88.2% of trees became totally dead. In the study area, almond trees play very important economic and ecological roles. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly find solutions to protect the remaining almond trees, as well as to help farmers and residents to obtain knowledge, techniques and funding necessary to carry out a regional campaign to plant almond trees in areas where trees have died.

Keywords: Almond decline, tree mortality, Morocco, Drought