Abstract

Tensift region is known by an arid and semi-aridclimate. The city of Marrakech, experience an importanttemporal variability in rainfall and an increasing trend oftemperature during the last five decades. However, theevolution of rainfall is more contrasted by a downward trend inMarrakech, it is also distinguished by alarming clues of globalwarming, like the number of hot days and heat waves. Thispaper evaluates the effect of climate change on Vegetation cover(evaluated by NDVI) in the Tensift region, Morocco.Temperature, rainfall data, and vegetation cover were used inthis analysis. The effect of climate change on vegetation wasstudied using a linear regression analysis method, to explore therelationship between vegetation dynamics and climate factors(the trend of vegetation dynamics for the years between 1973-2019). Analysis of annual data, for the temperature andvegetation cover shows a low regression coefficient value of0.3057 and, rainfall and vegetation cover analysis showregression coefficient value of 0.7024. Monthly periods analysisshowed that the most important period is the one betweenDecember and May where the regression coefficient value is0.6568. In more details the period between March and Mayshows regression coefficient value of 0.4685, the period betweenDecember and February shows regression coefficient value of0.434, the period between September and November showsregression coefficient value of 0.0734. The study reveals that,rainfall is significantly related with vegetation cover, especiallythe period between December and May, more than thetemperature does in Tensift region.