Raddadi A. auteur aut IRD Podwojewski Pascal auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access The oases in the arid the Nefzaoua region in central-western Tunisia are associated with spring mounds. Spring mounds result from an exceptional succession of geomorphological, hydrogeological and climatic conditions and processes that follow each other in a specific order. They look like small volcanoes that range from 200 m to more than 2000 m in diameter and 3-30 m in height, which centres were once occupied by a pond fed by an artesian spring. They are at the origin of each oasis's irrigation system, which radiates from the mound's foot. Due to intense irrigation of intensive date palm plantations (Phoenix dactylifera) in recent decades, all artesian springs dried out. We established a complete inventory and typology (i.e. location, dimension, and types of degradation) of all spring mounds in the Nefzaoua region. Overall, in an area of 3000 km2, 126 spring mounds of 7 types were identified, of which 112 (89%) were degraded. Due to the low salt content in spring mound sediments, they are excavated and used as a soil amendment to expand new palm plantations. Only 14 mounds (11%) are presently preserved. Their qualification as a geomorphosite could preserve them from complete destruction. specialized TUNISIE 064GEOMOR 068CLASOL 082ECOSYS 205 104806 [10 + supplementary data : 3 p.] 2022 1095-922X https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010085573 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104806 1095-922X [F B010085573] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010085573 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2022-07/010085573.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2022-07-18 2025-02-24 fdi:010085573 fre