Division of Fighting Desertification and sanding
Presentation of the Division
The Combating Desertification and Silting Research Division focuses on vulnerability studies, quantification, mapping, and adaptation to the various manifestations of desertification and degradation of arid ecosystems. It is composed of permanent researchers with profiles that meet scientific requirements and meet the criteria of specialty, multidisciplinary, and complementarity. The research teams constitute the main core of the division, whose location and research themes depend on the ecosystem specificities of each region and the research requirements to provide reliable answers and decision-making tools, in line with national territorial development trends.
The LCDE division conducts research and development activities in three main areas:
- Quantification, mapping, and monitoring of wind dynamics and aeolian sand movement for protection against sand encroachment.
- Assessment and mapping of the degradation of steppe and forest ecosystems to mitigate desertification and promote regeneration and ecological recovery.
- Diagnosis, monitoring, and evaluation of rangeland quality for sustainable management.
The Assessment, Preservation, and Rehabilitation of Pastoral and Forest Resources in Arid Environments team (Arid Environment Observation Station, Msila) is primarily responsible for the observation, monitoring, and functional assessment of pastoral and forest systems; the dating of livestock systems in ecological contexts for optimal management of pastoral resources; and the detection, quantification, and mapping of land degradation and ecological decline, with a view to integrating them into national plans and strategies to combat desertification in arid environments.
The Functional Assessment of Steppe Ecosystems: Monitoring and Early Warning team (Observation and Experimentation Station in the Steppe Environment, Laghouat), whose main mission is to develop assessment procedures for steppe pastoral ecosystems and land degradation monitoring mechanisms through vegetation monitoring and agropastoral practices.
The Sand Encroachment Risk Management team (Oued Righ Biophysical Environment Station, Touggourt), whose main mission is to conduct studies related to the risk of sand encroachment in order to propose control and adaptation measures and techniques.
Word of the Division Director
In Algeria, arid and semi-arid regions cover about 80% of the territory; these fragile ecosystems—mainly steppic and Saharan—are continually subject to multiple natural and socioeconomic manifestations of drought, aridity, desertification, ecological decline, and bioresource degradation. The national socioeconomic, agricultural, industrial and energy development challenges are faced with multiple constraints, both natural and anthropogenic, which requires the adoption of a research and development approach that targets the efficiency and sustainability of land management and the preservation of its resources.
Particularly, the arid and semi-arid regions in Algeria constitute a privileged area for the breeding of more than 20 million livestock and more than 6 million inhabitants, and are also subject to significant anthropogenic pressures (overgrazing and degradation of rangelands, etc.), as well as major challenges, including the silting of linear and energy infrastructure, and recurrent droughts leading to the degradation of the vegetation cover.
It is in this context that the research division Combating Desertification and Sand Encroachment LCDE conducts its Research/Development activities, aimed at quantifying, mapping and mitigating desertification, wind erosion and combating sand encroachment. It also seeks to deepen knowledge of steppe and Saharan ecosystems threatened by climate and land use changes.
To strengthen the socioeconomic resilience of arid regions in the face of desertification, the LCDE research division conducts research, service delivery, and knowledge transfer activities and deliverables for the benefit of the user sector; training, expertise, and partner support are essential and priority tasks.
