Ecosystem services in salt lakes: An ethnobotanic case study of halophytes from Algeria / Services écosystémiques des lacs salés: étude de cas ethnobotanique des plantes halophytes d’Algérie

Abstract

Ecosystem services are well recognized in wetlands ; however, less attention is given to the services provided in salty wetland habitats. There are numerous salt lakes of international importance located in the northern Sahara region of Algeria. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted among the local population surrounding Chott Merouane. This survey was implemented to determine plant diversity and possible ecosystem services and improve conservation in these sensitive wetland habitats. Chott Merouane is a Ramsar site located in the southeast of Algeria in the Mediterranean bioclimatic Sahara. Based on a literature review of halophytic plants in the study area. The botanical inventory identified 22 plant species belonging to 20 genera and 16 families. Amongst these plants, Amaranthaceae, Zygophyllaceae, Nitrariaceae and Asteraceae dominated. A total of 48 participants were randomly selected and interviewed from three villages. The semi-directed interviews revealed that 77% of the plant species were used for traditional medicine, 65% for fodder, 41% for wood-fuel, 14% for crafts and 5% for food and other uses. The three endemic species identified (Tetraena geslinii (Coss.) Beier & Thulin, Limoniastrum guyonianum Boiss. and Euphorbia guyoniana Boiss. & Reut.) had the highest values of relative frequency of citation and use value. Local knowledge was unevenly distributed and showed significant differences by gender and education level. This study highlights the importance of provisioning and cultural ecosystem values attributed to plants in salty wetlands and demonstrates the importance of ethno-botanical studies as a basic tool to contribute to the management and conservation of wetland plant resources in salty wetland environments.