Agro-ecosystems
DYNAMIC is based on an international network to explore carob agro-ecosystems in Mediterranean basin. A wide range of study sites were selected to meet the objectives of the project.
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While it was named "black gold" because of the economic importance of its fruit in the island of Cyprus, a loss of interest during the last twenty years lead to a strong decrease of its distribution (cutting, charcoal). A conservation program has been set up by the forestry department because of its outstanding ecological and cultural value. -
Carob ecology in Tunisia is characterized by a high variabilty in terms of genetic diversity, type of habitat, distribution across the country, as well as its use. -
Carob trees appear mainly on the lower coastal hills. In the Nineties, carob populations drastically decreased because of anthropogenic pressures, leading to its classification in a national list of priority forest genetic resources for the conservation of threatened plant species having an important socio-economic and ecological value. -
The surface devoted to carob tree is about 15,000 ha mainly located in the eastern part of Sicily. In this area carob represents an important trait of the rural landscape and it has been proposed as an agroforestry species. -
Spain is the first producer of carob pods. Although carob trees are assumed to be exotic in this region, the occurrence of putative natural populations have been reported on limestone ranges of the western Baetic mountains, Balearic islands and Catalonia. -
Morocco, the world's second producer of carob pods, is characterized by a high diversity of carob populations (orchards and traditionnal agroforestry systems) from North to South. -
Carob (agro)ecosystems in Southern France are composed of scattered "feral" populations and stands (afforestation or ornemental purposes).