FOREST CONDITIONS 55 



sandstone. It extends from the ocean up to an altitude of 1300 

 metres (4265 feet), but its habitat is on the coast. The zeen 

 or Algerian oak commences to appear with the cork oak at 700 

 metres (2296 feet) altitude and seeks the richer soil in the 

 valley bottoms or on north slopes. Occasionally it is found 

 mixed with cedar. The "afares" oak commences at 1000 

 metres (3281 feet) and extends to the limit of vegetation. 

 The holm oak, which is usually found in France on calcareous 

 soil, is ordinarily* on the sandstone in Algeria but it is often in 

 mixture with cork oak, aleppo pine, and even with the cedar; 

 although it reached -1800 metres (5905 feet), it rarely forms 

 pure stands above 300 metres (984 feet). 



The aleppo pine is the most widely distributed conifer; it is 

 found on the marls and limestone from the sea to the desert 

 and exists on barren and arid soils. The maritime pine is 

 found only near the sea, at low elevations. The thuya thrives 

 at middle altitudes in the mountains. It is usually mixed with 

 aleppo pine, holm oak, or olive. It sprouts well after fires. 

 The juniper is mixed with the aleppo pine, holm oak, and thuya. 

 The cedar is found above 1300 metres (4265 feet) on both 

 limestones and sandstones. 



The undergrowth is dense and luxuriant especially in the 

 cork-oak zone, when not kept burned off by repeated fires. 

 The chief species are the cistus, lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus), 

 heather, myrtle, and arbute. On the dunes near La Calle an 

 undergrowth is formed by the kermes oak (Q. coccifera) . 



Destruction of Forests Causes. Repeated fires have in- " 

 creased the already large areas under brush or "maquis." The 

 destruction 16 of Algerian forests has been caused by fir3s, ex- 

 cessive cutting and temporary clearings, establishment of heavy 

 free use privileges or rights, decadence of open park-like forests, 

 and excessive grazing, especially by goats. The effect of these 

 abuses are less evident in the cork-oak region between Dellys 

 and Phillipeville, where the vegetative conditions are best; 

 towards the East, where stock is worked on shares, even the 

 cork oak suffers in consequence. On the littoral between Algiers 



16 Les Forets de 1'Algerie, pp. 108-116. 



