Figure 1.
Sampling sites in the matorrals of Djebel Fellaoucene (Tlemcen, Western Algeria) (Google Earth, 2022. Edited).
Table 1.
General characteristics of sampling sites in the study area.
| Site | Exposure | GPS coordinates | Slope (%) | Substrate | Anthropogenic activities | Dominant species |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Al-Natour | South | 35° 2′32.60»N 1°37′39.54»O Al: 450 m | < 25 | calcareous | Overgrazing (sheep and goats), Logging, Opening of trails, Tourism, Medicinal plant collection, Deforestation. | Sclérophylles and thermophiles: Pistacia lentiscus L., Quercus Ilex L., Quercus coccifera L., Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast., Cistus monspeliensis L., Calicotome intermedia (Salzm. ex C. Presl) Boiss. ex Rchb.f., Chamaerops humilis L., Ulex parviflorus Pourr., Ampelodesmos mauritanicus (Poir.) T. Durand & Schinz |
| 2. Ain El Kabira | Southeast | 35° 1′33.09»N 1°40′28.73»O Al: 740 m | 20 to 25 | siliceous | Overgrazing (cattle), Fires. | |
| 3. Karkoum Sidi Boumediene | South | 35° 0′32.02»N 1°40′43.39»O Al: 750 m | 03 to 10 | siliceous | Overgrazing (cattle), Fires. | |
| 4. Ouled Chaaban | North | 35° 0′58.99»N 1°42′0.75»O Al: 685 m | 10 to 15 | calcareous | Overgrazing (sheep and goats), Logging, Opening of trails, Tourism, Medicinal plant collection, Deforestation. | |
| 5. Peak of Fellaoucene | North | 35° 0′32.04»N 1°41′21.02»O Al: 1130 m | 03 to 15 | siliceous | Overgrazing (cattle), Logging, Opening of trails, Tourism, Medicinal plant collection, Fires, Deforestation | |
| 6. El Hyadra | North | 35° 0′49.54»N 1°41′2.81»O Al: 930 m | 05 to 15 | siliceous | Overgrazing (cattle), Logging, Opening of trails, Tourism, Medicinal plant collection, Fires, Deforestation | |
| 7. Ras Al-Taher | Northwest, Southeast | 35° 0′27.04»N 1°38′18.96»O Al: 500 m | 10 to 20 | calcareous | Overgrazing (sheep and goats), Logging, Opening of trails, Medicinal plant collection, Deforestation | |
| 8. Ain Manchar | South | 35° 0′0.81»N 1°41′30.89»O Al: 780 m | < 25 | siliceous | Overgrazing (cattle), Fires |
Table 2.
Analysis results of soil chemical properties.
| SITE | Average of soil chemical properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H (%) | OM (%) | pH | CON (ms) | C (%) | CaCO3 (%) | |
| Al-Natour | 11.25 | 8.95 | 7.76 | 0.19 | 5.19 | 7.56 |
| Ain El Kabira | 14.78 | 9.07 | 7.67 | 0.16 | 5.26 | 1.26 |
| Karkoum S.B | 9.63 | 5.30 | 7.57 | 0.14 | 3.08 | 0.61 |
| Ouled Chaaban | 18.70 | 12.23 | 7.79 | 0.20 | 7.09 | 78.43 |
| S. Fellaoucene | 22.83 | 17.47 | 7.49 | 0.23 | 10.13 | 0.63 |
| El Hyadra | 23.24 | 7.40 | 7.59 | 0.27 | 4.30 | 2.93 |
| Ras Al-Taher | 14.99 | 10.45 | 7.77 | 0.19 | 6.07 | 37.49 |
| Ain Manchar | 11.69 | 7.02 | 7.61 | 0.15 | 4.08 | 1.00 |
Table 3.
Results of soil microbial properties in the study area.
| SITE | Soil microbial analyses | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basal respiration (μgC-CO2/h/g) | Bacterial biomass (μgC mic/g) | qCO2 (μgC-CO2/h/g) | |
| Al-Natour | 0.14 | 0.03 | 4.64 |
| Ain El Kabira | 0.38 | 0.08 | 4.91 |
| Karkoum S.B | 0.43 | 0.09 | 4.85 |
| Ouled Chaaban | 0.13 | 0.03 | 4.64 |
| S. Fellaoucene | 0.14 | 0.03 | 4.50 |
| El Hyadra | 0.14 | 0.03 | 4.56 |
| Ras Al-Taher | 0.13 | 0.02 | 4.64 |
| Ain Manchar | 0.42 | 0.09 | 4.86 |
Table 4.
Values of the PCA axis 1 of soil chemical and microbial properties.
| Positive side of axis 1 | Negative side of axis 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Value (+) | Variable | Value (–) |
| Moisture | 4.48 | Basal respiration | 3.53 |
| Organic matter | 2.82 | Microbial biomass | 3.49 |
| Conductivity | 3.61 | ||
Table 5.
Values of the PCA axis 2 of soil chemical and microbial properties.
| Positive side of axis 2 | Negative side of axis 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Value (+) | Variable | Value (–) |
| Moisture | 0.69 | ||
| CaCO3 (%) | 2.53 | Organic matter | 0.61 |
Figure 2.
PCA of soil chemical and microbial properties in the study area “MOI: moisture, OM: organic matter, pH: potential of hydrogen, CON: conductivity, C: organic carbon, CaCO3: total calcium, Mb: Microbial biomass, BR: Basal respiration, qCO2: Metabolic quotient”.
Table 6.
Value of axis 1 of the ACP of the chemical and microbial properties of the soils of each station.
| Positive side of axis 1 | Negative side of axis 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample | Value (+) | Sample | Value (−) |
| Spl.4f | 3.93 | Spl.2a | 3.37 |
| Spl.5a | 3.51 | Spl.3b | 4.10 |
| Spl.5f | 3.57 | Spl.3g | 3.47 |
| Spl.5j | 3.60 | Spl.8a | 3.46 |
Figure 3.
Analysis by PCA of soil chemical and microbial properties in each site.
Table 7.
Value of Axis 2 of the ACP of the chemical and microbial properties of the soils of each station.
| Positive side of axis 2 | Negative side of axis 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Samples | Value (+) | Samples | Value (−) |
| Spl.1c | 2.30 | Spl.5f | 2.28 |
| Spl.4f | 3.08 | Spl.5i | 3.07 |
| Spl.6d | 2.25 | Spl.5j | 2.77 |
Figure 4.
Main factors of correlation between soil chemical and microbial properties.