干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The lower Algerian Sahara is experiencing an unprecedented urban growth, causing a socio-spatial upheaval and an ecological imbalance of oasis ecosystems that are embodied in the detachment of the palm trees from the urban areas. [1] This detachment actively participates in the increase of the Urban Heat Island, as well as the over-urbanization on the account of farmlands. Hence the abundance of palm groves, participates in the activation of desertification. Date palm tree plays a pivotal role in the conditioning of atmosphere and purification of air from dust particles, in addition to its enrichment with O2 molecules. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.