Karst landscape and hydrology in Morocco: research trends and perspectives

Moroccan karst has been the subject of study over the last two decades as a system, where landforms interact with groundwater, springs and human action. The literature review gone through in this article focuses on international publications, including French journals. It shows the complexity of the karst area and its local model diversity. The regimes of the aquifers, landforms and springs were reported in most mountain terrains and the local interactions between the karst aquifer, karst springs, landforms and human action were discussed. Even the Rif Mountain presents some karst aspects, mainly in its central part, the Atlas domain is more dominated by karst. The substrate types, tectonics, altimetry, climate, and vegetation roles are important in karst dynamics. Human factors impact the landscapes and the equilibrium of the hydrokarst system via resources overuse and management. Indicators of the present-day disequilibrium were evoked (turbidity of water in karst springs, geotechnical problems, erosion of the soil, etc.). These problems will be more complex in the future due to the human density increase and probable intense human activity in the rural areas. Sustainable management is therefore a challenging priority in the karst domain.