STRUCTURE ET REGENERATION DE CHENE ZEEN (QUERCUS CANARIENSIS WILLD., 1809) DE LA FORET D’OULED BECHIH (SOUK AHRAS - ALGERIE)

Abstract

The theme of our research is to describe the structural characteristics, the natural regeneration and the demographic structure of zeen oak in the Ouled Bechih forest (Souk Ahras). Data were collected by random sampling on 6 square plots of 0.09 ha. The dendrometric parameters measured were diameter at 1.3 m above ground level, total tree height and seedlings with diameter ≤ 10 cm. The diameter and height structures were fitted to the theoretical Weibull distribution using Minitab14 and XLStat 2022 software. The main results obtained indicate that mean height, mean diameter and basal area are significantly different in the 6 plots. The average density of Zeen oak trees in the Ouled Bechih forest is 157 trees/ha with a basal area of 22.65±5.53 m2/ha, the natural regeneration is average, it is 234.27%. The analysis of the diameter and height structures shows predominance of old trees with large diameters and high heights. These results constitute a database, which contributes to the improvement and sustainable management of the Zeen oak in this forest