| Summary: | This article analyses the ways of living and the agro-sylvo-pastoral practices of 188 families in a steppe region of the Saharan Atlas in Algeria. The rural population is henceforth sedentary. The case of the District of Djelfa allows a deeper look into how these ways of living are anchored in the local environment and their potential impact on desertification. Based on field observations, oral survey and statistical analyses, this study points out that the householders in the four different environments (forest, mattoral, steppe, dunes and chott) utilize supplementation to feed their herd. Consequently, this practice increases the size of the herds and contributes to overgrazing. Similarly, the access to water is no longer traditional; while some overexploit the aquifers; most agro-pastoralists utilize tanker trucks. The adaptation of the way of inhabiting and exploitation are greatly determined by the capital of the household, which allows for compensation of local shortages. Nevertheless, these practices cause important damage and increase desertification.
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