Agrarian Academic Journal
doi: 10.32406/v8n4/2025/77-90/agrariacad
Impacts of climate change on ecotourism sites: case of Djebel MESSAAD forest. Impactos das mudanças climáticas em locais de ecoturismo: caso da floresta Djebel MESSAAD.
Hind Marrouche
1, Rabah Bounar2
1- Laboratory Urban City and Territory Project (PUVIT), Department of Ecology and Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University Ferhat Abbes Setif1, Algeria. E-mail: hind.marrouche@univ-setif.dz
2- Laboratory of Biodiversity and Biotechnological Techniques for the Development of Plant Resources (BTB-VRV), Department of Natural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University Mohamed BOUDIAF M’sila, Algeria. E-mail: rabah.bounar@univ-msila.dz
Abstract
This study explores the impact of climate change on the Djebel MESSAAD forest in Algeria, focusing on its consequences for vegetation and ecotourism. Since the early 1990s, the region has experienced a consistent rise in temperature and irregular rainfall patterns, leading to severe ecological degradation. The research aimed to evaluate these effects using temperature and precipitation data from 1991 to 2021 obtained via NASA Power Viewer, combined with field visits across multiple stations. The results show a marked increase in temperature (above 45°C in recent years), a fluctuating but ultimately declining rainfall trend, and clear signs of vegetation stress: fading plant colors, reduced species density, insect infestations, and plant disease outbreaks. These environmental changes have caused a decrease in tourist visits from 5,000 to 3,000 annually, especially due to the loss of scenic snow cover and green landscapes. Repressive measures such as bans on fires and forest access have further restricted tourism. To mitigate these impacts, the study recommends climate adaptation strategies including the use of native plants, sustainable infrastructure, and community-based environmental education. Overall, the findings underline the urgent need to act on climate resilience to preserve both biodiversity and the socio-economic function of this ecotourism site.
Keywords: Environmental degradation. Visitor decline. Drought impact. Temperature trends. Nature conservation. Steppe ecosystems. Recreational management.
Resumo
Este estudo explora o impacto das mudanças climáticas na floresta Djebel MESSAAD, na Argélia, com foco em suas consequências para a vegetação e o ecoturismo. Desde o início da década de 1990, a região tem experimentado um aumento consistente da temperatura e padrões irregulares de precipitação, levando a uma grave degradação ecológica. A pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar esses efeitos usando dados de temperatura e precipitação de 1991 a 2021, obtidos por meio do NASA Power Viewer, combinados com visitas de campo em diversas estações. Os resultados mostram um aumento acentuado da temperatura (acima de 45°C nos últimos anos), uma tendência flutuante, mas em última análise decrescente, de precipitação e sinais claros de estresse da vegetação: desbotamento das cores das plantas, redução da densidade de espécies, infestações de insetos e surtos de doenças em plantas. Essas mudanças ambientais causaram uma redução nas visitas turísticas de 5.000 para 3.000 anualmente, especialmente devido à perda de cobertura de neve cênica e paisagens verdes. Medidas repressivas, como a proibição de incêndios e o acesso à floresta, restringiram ainda mais o turismo. Para mitigar esses impactos, o estudo recomenda estratégias de adaptação climática, incluindo o uso de plantas nativas, infraestrutura sustentável e educação ambiental comunitária. De modo geral, as descobertas reforçam a necessidade urgente de atuar na resiliência climática para preservar a biodiversidade e a função socioeconômica deste local de ecoturismo.
Palavras-chave: Degradação ambiental. Declínio de visitantes. Impacto da seca. Tendências de temperatura. Conservação da natureza. Ecossistemas de estepe. Gestão recreativa.
Introduction
Since the 1950s, the Earth’s climate has experienced changes, primarily represented by warming due to greenhouse gases, closely related to human activity (IPCC, 2013).
The Maghreb countries have not been spared from climate change. The northwestern part of Algeria has experienced a reduction of around 40% in annual precipitation since the first half of the 1970s (UNESCO, 2010; NOUACEUR et al., 2013), accompanied by a temperature increase.
Algeria, which belongs to the MENA region, has 87% of its territory classified as desert zone. Average precipitation is about 89 mm but varies considerably in space and time, ranging from 1,600 mm in the extreme north to 12 mm in the extreme south. It is classified among the 13 African countries suffering from chronic water stress (ONM, 2020). It is among the North African countries most sensitive to climate change (SCHILLING et al., 2020).
Scientific literature around ecotourism emphasizes its importance in biodiversity preservation and territorial development (AMIMI et al., 2017; BERRIANNE; MOIZO, 2014). Indeed, several authors show the positive impacts of ecotourism practices on the economy, environment and social well-being of the local population (ARDOIN et al., 2020; CORIA; CALFUCURA, 2012; LEROUX, 2010; GMIRA; LAAJINI, 2018; LAAJINI; GMIRA, 2020). Thus, they demonstrate the need to involve local communities in tourism management and the importance of creating public-private partnerships capable of energizing local territories while respecting the environment and local community expectations (TAOUDI, 2021; GOUSAID; AZIZ, 2016).
Algeria is the largest country in Africa, characterized by great climatic and environmental diversity, and has significant tourism resources that qualify it to be a world-class tourist destination. This study examines the impact of climate change on ecotourism in the Djebel MESSAAD forest, using information obtained from multiple field visits and climate data, presented in graphs and tables.
Materials and methods
The Djebel Messaad forest has the largest forest area in the wilaya of M’sila, located in the heart of the steppe. It belongs to the domain of the south-central Algerian steppes. It is bounded to the North, South, and East by the Daïra of Boussaâda, the Daïra of Ain El Meleh, and the Daïra of Ben S’rour respectively, and to the West by the Municipality of Djebel Messaâd and the Daïra of Mdjedel; where the forest area extends over both the municipality of Djebel Messaad and Boussaâda (Figure 1).
Djebel Messaâd remains covered with Mediterranean-type forest with an altitude varying between 1200 to 1600 m and rainfall exceeding 300mm/year, with its bioclimatic stage being semi-arid with cold winters. The forest consists of Aleppo Pine and Juniper with an approximate area of 33,500 hectares. It is a degraded, open forest with low density and significant maquis. The steppe is a low, discontinuous formation, devoid of trees and shrubs, typical of the high plateaus. The grass steppe consists of Alfa (Stipa tenacissima) and (Aristida pungens). The Capacphytees steppe is characterized by white Artemisia (Artemisia herba alba), while the Crassulaceae steppe consists of species typical of wadi spreading zones (Emphorbia sp., Péganum sp.).
According to Quezel’s (1976) classification, this zone belongs to the meso-Mediterranean stage; this is a stage that corresponds to formations based on holm oak (Quercus ilex) characterized by lower density, with its altitudinal extension ranging between 1300 to 1600m. The study area is characterized by a semi-arid bioclimate with cold winters.
Figure 1 – Geographical location of the study area of the Djebel MESSAAD Forest. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
The tool used for this work consists of representing temperature and precipitation maps of the Djebel MESSAAD region using data available on the NASA Power Viewer site. This site provides detailed and free climate data, including annual, monthly, and seasonal series over different years.
The web application allows visualization of this data in the form of interactive maps and graphs. For the study, several points representing the municipalities of the region, as well as local stations, were selected, namely: Ain El Meleh, Ben Srour, Boudaif, Al-Alig, Al-Hamel, Sidi Mhamed, Slim, Tamssa, and other stations within the commune such as Abissia, Boudenzir, Ghouibat, etc.
The process begins by accessing the site to select relevant data (monthly and annual), study period (1991-2001), and data type (temperature or precipitation).
CSV files are then downloaded, opened in Excel, where the average precipitation or temperature is calculated for each station (Table 1 and Figure 2).
Table 1 – Simplified diagram of the distribution of forest formations in the Djebel MESSAAD
P and m |
Altitude |
Bioclimatic Stage |
Vegetation Stage |
|
P>560mm3>m>0 |
1500-1700 |
Sub-humid |
Dense forests of Aleppo pine and Phoenician juniper |
Supramediterranean |
300>P>5600>m>3 |
1100-1500 |
Semi-arid |
Open forests of Aleppo pine and Phoenician juniper and Alfa |
Mesomediterranean |
300>P>5600>m>3 |
900-1100 |
Semi-arid to arid superior |
Matorral with Phoenician juniper |
Mesomediterranean |
Steppe with Alfa and Artemisia |
||||
300>P>5600>m>3 |
Semi-arid to arid superior |
Degraded steppes with Alfa, Noaea mucronata, Atractylis serratuloides and Helianthemum virgatum |
Mesomediterranean |
|
Figure 2 – Spatial distribution of spontaneous vegetation along a north-south transect Djebel MESSAAD. A – Alfa grass steppe; B – Matorral (shrubland) with Aleppo pine and holm oak; C – Aleppo pine forest; D – White artemisia steppe; E – White artemisia steppe and Aleppo pine matorral; F – White artemisia matorral and alfa grass steppe; G – White artemisia matorral and alfa grass steppe; H – Alfa grass steppe. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Finally, the data is imported into ArcGIS and ArcMap to produce maps and analyze the impact of climate change on the region’s vegetation, comparing historical data with recent data to evaluate climate changes and their effects.
Results and discussion
According to Legrain (2002), climate is the set of meteorological phenomena (temperature, pressure, wind, precipitation) that characterize the state of the atmosphere and its evolution in a given place. It plays a primary role in the distribution and development of vegetation cover and soil nature.
Temperature represents a limiting factor of primary importance as it controls all metabolic phenomena and thus conditions the distribution of all species and communities of living beings in the biosphere (RAMADE, 2003).
The bar graphs show temperature variations over three periods across several stations (Figure 3):
Figure 3 – Graphical presentation of temperature: 1992- 2021. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Period (1992-2001): During this period, temperatures were relatively low in all stations: they were 43.95°C in the Abissia, Masmoudi, Sagia, and Zarga stations. They were 42.93°C in the Boudenzir, Ghouibat, Grouz, and Tebaka stations (Figure 4).
Period (2002-2011): During this period, temperatures experienced a significant increase in all stations: the Abissia, Masmoudi, Sagia, and Zarga stations recorded a temperature of about 45.49°C. The Ghouibat, Boudenzir, Grouz, and Tebaka stations recorded a slightly higher temperature of 44.86°C (Figure 5).
Period (2012-2021): Temperatures continued to increase during this period: The Abissia, Masmoudi, Sagia, and Zarga stations recorded a temperature of about 45.55°C. The Boudenzir, Ghouibat, Grouz, and Tebaka stations recorded a temperature of about 45.04°C (Figure 6).
Figure 4 – Temperature map from 1992 to 2001. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Figure 5 – Temperature map from 2002 to 2011. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Figure 6 – Temperature map from 2012 to 2021. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Scientific analysis shows an upward trend in temperatures across all stations during the different periods, indicating evident climate changes. This upward trend may be due to various factors, including global climate changes and their local impacts.
The maps show an increase in temperatures in the eastern region, corresponding to the forest cover of Djebel MESSAAD. Conversely, we observe a decrease in temperatures in the western part of the region.
Precipitation is defined as the main source of water (various forms under which solid or liquid water contained in the atmosphere is deposited on the globe’s surface: rain, fog, snow, hail…) (LEGRAIN, 2002).
The bar graphs show precipitation variations over three periods across several stations (Figure 7):
Figure 7 – Graphical presentation of precipitation: 1991-2021. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Period (1991-2001): The precipitation rate in the Boudenzir, Ghouibat, Grouz, and Tebaga stations was 236.65 mm. In the Abissia, Masmoudi, Sagia, and Zarga stations, it was 192.68 mm. During this period, precipitation was relatively low, which could indicate drier climatic conditions (Figure 8).
Period (2002-2011): The precipitation rate in the Boudenzir and Grouz stations was 323.62 mm. In the Ghouibat and Tebaka stations, it was 323.25 mm. In the Sagia and Zarga stations, it was 257.34 mm. This increase indicates temporary climate change or natural climate cycles leading to increased precipitation during this period (Figure 9).
Period (2012-2021): The precipitation rate in the Boudenzir, Ghouibat, Grouz, and Tebaka stations was 236.65 mm. In the Abissia, Masmoudi, Sagia, and Zarga stations, it was 192.68 mm. The decrease in precipitation during this period perhaps reflects a return to drier climatic conditions or natural climate fluctuations (Figure 10).
Figure 8 – precipitation from 1992 to 2001. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Figure 9 – precipitation from 2002 to 2011. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Figure 10 – precipitation from 2012 to 2021. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
The maps also indicate low precipitation in most of the Djebel MESSAAD forest cover. These changes reflect the effects of climate change on the ecosystem, where increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation leads to drought and vegetation degradation, which we currently observe.
Comparative analysis
After comparing old and recent studies, it is evident that plants in the past retained their natural shape and color, whereas modern plants have lost these characteristics, their color becoming pale. Certain species, such as pine, mastic, and juniper, have dried out, suffering from diseases and the proliferation of insects like bark beetles, which attack pines and multiply due to prolonged drought periods, leading to the destruction of some trees.
Fires have also contributed to the destruction of vast forest areas and the reduction of vegetation cover. Additionally, the degradation in the appearance of certain plants, such as alfa, has been observed due to drought and overgrazing caused by the lack of pastures resulting from drought conditions. These factors have driven some plants to migrate deeper into the forest in search of more favorable environmental conditions.
All this confirms that climate change negatively affects the vegetation cover of the Djebel MESSAAD forest.
Rising temperatures lead to an extended growing season, resulting in earlier bud break and delayed leaf senescence in many regions. While this may increase the productivity of temperate forests, it also raises plants’ water needs, leading to water stress (GHOSHI, 2023).
The increased frequency of droughts and extreme weather events places plants under stress. This stress can hinder their development and yield, making some species more vulnerable to diseases and pests. Extreme climatic conditions also heighten competition between species for water resources (JAEGER et al., 2005).
Climate change also alters the interactions between plants and pathogens. Rising temperatures can affect plants’ resistance to bioaggressors, increasing the risk of pest-related outbreaks. Climatic anomalies may also heighten plants’ vulnerability to air pollution.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism developed in the wake of the environmental movement that took shape in the early 1970s. Growing public interest in the environment and outdoor-oriented travel, coupled with increasing dissatisfaction with mass tourism, showed the tourism industry that there was a place for ecotourism (ORAMS, 1995; WEAVER, 1998, HONEY, 1999). The understanding and acceptance of conservation and sustainability principles by a growing portion of the population also contributed to the phenomenal evolution of the term ecotourism (ORAMS, 1995).
The recreational and leisure forest is located in Djebel MESSAAD, on national road n° 89 connecting Hamil and Aïn El Meleh, and on the road leading to downtown Djebel MESSAAD. Its area is 23 hectares. It consists of three main zones: a relaxation and walking zone, a games and leisure zone, and an entertainment and sports zone (Figure 11).
In past years, the recreational forest attracted about 5000 tourists annually, especially during the snowfall season. Currently, the number of tourists has decreased to about 3000. This decrease is due to increasing temperatures, increasing drought, and decreasing precipitation, which has led to the loss of natural vegetation cover and deterioration of trees and plants.
Consequently, even the smallest spark can now ravage vast forest areas. This is why a set of laws has been put in place to limit these risks. This includes the governor’s decision No. 2137 of 08/04/2024, prohibiting barbecues and fires in forest areas, as well as the governor’s decision No. 2138 of 08/04/2024, prohibiting the entry of vehicles and motorcycles into the forest from 01/05/2024 to 31/10/2024. These measures have contributed to reducing ecotourism in order to preserve the region’s forest cover.
Perspective and management
Forest management and development is the juxtaposition of these two words suggests a whole set of problems to solve and leads to a program of reflections that can guide our action (MARROUCHE, 2024).
Achieving the objective of sustainable management is based on ecological principles and foundations that allow better understanding of advantages and constraints. The notion of sustainable management refers to that of “sustainable development,” popularized by the Brundtland report in Bounar (2014). Which must guarantee maintenance of production, conservation, and amenities offered by the forest, rests on very sensitive, and even fragile, dynamic balances. Here again, approaches must highlight the origin of our problems.
Figure 11 – Photos of various public facilities in the Djebel MESSAAD leisure forest. Source: MARROUCHE, 2024.
Following our visit to the recreational forest to take a series of photos to identify existing gaps, we propose some solutions to address these gaps and make the recreational forest a premier tourist destination. Among the solutions we propose (Figure 12):
- Use of native plants adapted to the local environment to reduce irrigation and maintenance needs.
- Creation of natural hiking trails using sustainable materials to reduce human impact on the environment.
- Development of natural shelters for small animals such as birds.
- Installation of indicative and informative panels explaining the importance of environmental preservation and each component of the recreational forest.
- Construction of lodges using environmentally friendly materials.
- Planting shade trees that resist drought, such as coastal hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus), acacia (Acacia), and climbing bougainvillea (Bougainvillea).
- Promotion of artisanal and local products to encourage tourists to buy environmentally friendly products.
- Implementation of recycling and waste reduction programs in tourist facilities.
- Organization of ecological safaris allowing tourists to observe wildlife without disturbing it.
- Regular maintenance and safe handling of flammable materials.
- Creation of a facility affiliated with the recreational forest located across from it.
- Development of climate change adaptation strategies.
- Construction of barriers for rainwater collection.
Figure 12 – Development and orientation plan for the Djebel Messaad recreational forest (BAALI, 2017).
Conclusion
Climate change has evident negative effects on the tourism environment of the Djebel MESSAAD forest. It has led to a decrease in tourist numbers due to the loss of the natural landscape of vegetation cover that represented an attraction for the region. The absence of snowfall, formerly one of the main tourist attractions, has reduced opportunities for winter activities that attracted tourists during cold seasons. Additionally, repressive laws aimed at protecting forest cover impose additional restrictions on ecological tourism, thus reducing tourist numbers.
The results obtained effectively demonstrate that climate change factors (T, P) are responsible for the degradation of the Djebel MESSAAD forest.
The installation of tourist areas promotes the development of the entire zone and reduces anthropogenic pressure on the biological potential of Djebel MESSAAD.
Climate change and unforeseen events will make ecological tourism management increasingly difficult. Acting quickly to adapt the tourism environment to climate change will be much less costly than the resulting damages.
To this end, the state must work to manage the conservative mentalities of mountain dwellers in order to successfully carry out tourism development projects with the aim of hoping for positive impacts on the territory and population.
Conflicts of interest
There was no conflicts of interest among the authors.
Authors’ contributions
Hind Marrouche – original idea, reading and interpretation of references, writing, corrections, and text revision; Rabah Bounar – supervision and revision.
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Received on May 4, 2025
Returned for adjustments on June 23, 2025
Received with adjustments on June 25, 2025
Accepted on August 27, 2025