Environment
The Rif mountains are not part of the Atlas mountain range. According to C. Michael Hogan, there are between five and eight separate subpopulations of the endangered primate Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus. The Rif mountains are also home to the honey bee Apis mellifera major.
The Rif region receives more rainfall than any other region in Morocco, with some portions receiving upwards of 2000mm of precipitation a year. The western and central portions are more rainy and are covered in forests of Atlas Cedar, Cork Oak and Holm Oak, as well as the only remaining forests of Moroccan Fir, a subspecies of the Spanish Fir. The eastern slopes receive less rainfall, and there forests consist mainly of pines, particularly the Aleppo Pine and the Maritime Pine, as well as Tetraclinis.
Massive deforestation due to overgrazing, forest fires, and forest clearing for agriculture, particularly for the creation of cannabis plantations, has taken place over the last century. This deforestation has led to soil degradation due to the washing away of topsoil, which has aggravated the process.
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—George F. Will (b. 1941)
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