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Palm Trees in Kerkena Archipelago (Tunisia) Natural Heritage in Degradation

Received: 26 April 2019     Accepted: 23 May 2019     Published: 10 June 2019
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Abstract

In South Tunisia’s oases, palm trees are the main irrigated crop. However, in Kerkena, a Mediterranean archipelago located off the east coast of Tunisia, they represent a natural vegetation and a key element, along with the sea, in the natural landscape and the island’s economy. The palm tree is “the king tree of Kerkena” according to André Louis, because all of its constituents were used in traditional fishing techniques, especially fixed fisheries, and in the daily life of kerkenians. Yet today, this natural vegetation is in degradation because of natural and anthropogenic factors. Soil salinization and sea level rise are the main natural causes, while the change in the palm tree’s position in the island’s economy is what humans are responsible for. In this work, we will be treating the issue of palm trees degradation. Therefore, a first part will be dedicated to the natural causes of the deterioration of this natural heritage, a second will be an analysis of the anthropogenic factors, and a third will be devoted to the enhancement of this natural heritage to preserve it and restore its importance in the economy of the archipelago.

Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12
Page(s) 132-138
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Palm Trees, Fixed Fisheries, Soil Salinization, Sea Level Rise, Man’s Role

References
[1] A. Louis (1961), “The Kerkena Islands”, Study of Tunisian Ethnography and Human Geography, Doctorate thesis, publication of the Institute of Beautiful Arabic Letters (IBLA), Tunis, 3 volumes: The works 410 p, The days 447 p. and Ethnographic Documents 315 p.
[2] Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Tunisia (2007), agricultural land agency, Sfax, Integrated Project for Agricultural Development and Fisheries in the Kerkena Islands, 18 p.
[3] A. Oueslati (1995), "The islands of Tunisia"; CERES publication, 368 p.
[4] P. F. Burollet (1978), “Quaternary and recent movements in the Kerkennah Islands (eastern Tunisia)”. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, t. 286, Série D, p. 1133-1136.
[5] R. Paskoff and P. Sanlaville (1983), "The coasts of Tunisia: variation of the sea level since the Tyrrhenian"; House Mediterranean Orient, 192 p.
[6] A. Oueslati (1986), “Djerba and Kerkennah: their geomorphological evolution during the Quaternary period”. Edit. University of Tunis, Geography series, vol. 21, 210 p.
[7] A. Oueslati (1994), "The coasts of Tunisia; Research on their Quaternary evolution "; Publication of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tunis, 402 p.
[8] P. F. Burollet (1979), “Evolution of the Pelagian Sea since the Quaternary: The contributions of archeology”. Mediterranean Geology, vol. VI, n°1, pp. 309-313.
[9] A. Oueslati (2004), "Coastline and planning in Tunisia". Publication of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tunis, 526 p.
[10] A. Oueslati, R. Pascoff, H. Slim and P. Trousset (1987), "Displacement of the shore line in Tunisia according to the archeology data of the historical period"; CNRS collection Shoreline shifts in the Mediterranean, p 67-85.
[11] F. Chelbi (1995) “Underwater archeology”. Tunisia, crossroads of the ancient world, Archaeological record, 200, pp 128-133.
[12] N. Fehri (2011), “The palm grove of the Kerkena Islands, a landscape of maritime oasis in degradation: natural determinism or human responsibility?”, Pysio-Géo Physical geography, pp. 167-189.
[13] J. Despois (1955), “Eastern Tunisia: Sahel and Lower Steppe”, Collection Pays d’Outre Mer; PUF, 544 p.
[14] M. Kebaïli Tarchouna (2013), “ The archipelago of Kerkena: Organization of space and development” , doctoral thesis in geography under the direction of Professor Abdelkarim Daoud, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tunis, 340 p. University Publishing Center 2014, Tunis, 432 p.
[15] P. Tsartas (1998), "Greece: from mass tourism to alternative tourism" The Harmattan, collection Tourism and Societies, Paris, 238 p.
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    Mounira Kebaïli Tarchouna. (2019). Palm Trees in Kerkena Archipelago (Tunisia) Natural Heritage in Degradation. Earth Sciences, 8(3), 132-138. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12

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    ACS Style

    Mounira Kebaïli Tarchouna. Palm Trees in Kerkena Archipelago (Tunisia) Natural Heritage in Degradation. Earth Sci. 2019, 8(3), 132-138. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12

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    AMA Style

    Mounira Kebaïli Tarchouna. Palm Trees in Kerkena Archipelago (Tunisia) Natural Heritage in Degradation. Earth Sci. 2019;8(3):132-138. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12,
      author = {Mounira Kebaïli Tarchouna},
      title = {Palm Trees in Kerkena Archipelago (Tunisia) Natural Heritage in Degradation},
      journal = {Earth Sciences},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {132-138},
      doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20190803.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20190803.12},
      abstract = {In South Tunisia’s oases, palm trees are the main irrigated crop. However, in Kerkena, a Mediterranean archipelago located off the east coast of Tunisia, they represent a natural vegetation and a key element, along with the sea, in the natural landscape and the island’s economy. The palm tree is “the king tree of Kerkena” according to André Louis, because all of its constituents were used in traditional fishing techniques, especially fixed fisheries, and in the daily life of kerkenians. Yet today, this natural vegetation is in degradation because of natural and anthropogenic factors. Soil salinization and sea level rise are the main natural causes, while the change in the palm tree’s position in the island’s economy is what humans are responsible for. In this work, we will be treating the issue of palm trees degradation. Therefore, a first part will be dedicated to the natural causes of the deterioration of this natural heritage, a second will be an analysis of the anthropogenic factors, and a third will be devoted to the enhancement of this natural heritage to preserve it and restore its importance in the economy of the archipelago.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    T1  - Palm Trees in Kerkena Archipelago (Tunisia) Natural Heritage in Degradation
    AU  - Mounira Kebaïli Tarchouna
    Y1  - 2019/06/10
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    AB  - In South Tunisia’s oases, palm trees are the main irrigated crop. However, in Kerkena, a Mediterranean archipelago located off the east coast of Tunisia, they represent a natural vegetation and a key element, along with the sea, in the natural landscape and the island’s economy. The palm tree is “the king tree of Kerkena” according to André Louis, because all of its constituents were used in traditional fishing techniques, especially fixed fisheries, and in the daily life of kerkenians. Yet today, this natural vegetation is in degradation because of natural and anthropogenic factors. Soil salinization and sea level rise are the main natural causes, while the change in the palm tree’s position in the island’s economy is what humans are responsible for. In this work, we will be treating the issue of palm trees degradation. Therefore, a first part will be dedicated to the natural causes of the deterioration of this natural heritage, a second will be an analysis of the anthropogenic factors, and a third will be devoted to the enhancement of this natural heritage to preserve it and restore its importance in the economy of the archipelago.
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