Contribution to the evaluation of the biomass of medicinal and aromatic plants in Mo-rocco: Case of Globularia alypum

Abstract

Morocco is distinguished by the richness of its flora, including medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) which play an important role, particularly in rural populations. Due to pressures often associated with overexploitation, monitoring of MAPs is essential to ensure their sustainability. This study looked to explore the status of Globularia alypum in the Amsittene site of biological and ecological interest (SBEI) in Morocco. A destructive technique was adopted to quantify biomass and productivity of G. alypum at six sites with different ecological characteristics in the Amsisttene SBEI. Linear regression was used to model G. alypum biomass as a function of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Tree cover had the greatest influence on G. alypum dynamics, showing a significant effect on shrub height, leaf productivity, and total productivity, as did the cutting method, with the highest biomass estimated based on pair matching of similar individuals. NDVI was found to be an adequate indicator of G. alypum biomass, given their high correlation (0.84) with the selected model having an R2 of 0.7. The yield of extracted essential oils ranged from 3.19 to 113.43 L, from which 10 chemical compounds were identified, with ethylvanillin being the most prominent.