Dynamics in carbon exchange fluxes for a grazed semi-arid savanna ecosystem in West Africa

The main aim of this paper is to study land-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) for semi-arid savanna ecosystems of the Sahel region and its response to climatic and environmental change. A subsidiary aim is to study and quantify the seasonal dynamics in light use efficiency (epsilon) being a key variable in scaling carbon fluxes from ground observations using earth observation data. The net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE) 2010-2013 was measured using the eddy covariance technique at a grazed semi-arid savanna site in Senegal, West Africa. Night-time NEE was not related to temperature, confirming that care should be taken before applying temperature response curves for hot dry semi-arid regions when partitioning NEE into gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R-eco). Partitioning was instead done using light response curves. The values of epsilon ranged between 0.02 g carbon (C) MJ(-1) for the dry season and 2.27 g C MJ(-1) for the peak of the rainy season, and its seasonal dynamics was governed by vegetation phenology, photosynthetically active radiation, soil moisture and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The CO2 exchange fluxes were very high in comparison to other semi-arid savanna sites; half-hourly GPP and R-eco peaked at -43 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1) and 20 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1), and daily GPP and R-eco peaked at -15 g C m(-2) and 12 g C m(-2), respectively. Possible explanations for the high CO2 fluxes are a high fraction of C4 species, alleviated water stress conditions, and a strong grazing pressure that results in compensatory growth and fertilization effects. We also conclude that vegetation phenology, soil moisture, radiation, VPD and temperature were major components in determining the seasonal dynamics of CO2 fluxes. Despite the height of the peak of the growing season CO2 fluxes, the annual C budget (average NEE: -271 g C m(-2)) were similar to that in other semi-arid ecosystems because the short rainy season resulted in a short growing season. Global circulation models project a decrease in rainfall, an increase in temperature and a shorter growing season for the western Sahel region, and the productivity and the sink function of this semi-arid ecosystem may thus be lower in the future. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Caractérisation des services écosystémiques fournis par Cordyla pinnata dans la périphérie de la Forêt classée de Patako au Sénégal

Les espèces végétales autochtones permettent d’illustrer la diversité de services écosystémiques fournis par les milieux naturels. Cette étude a pour objectif de caractériser les services écosystémiques de Cordyla pinnata, une espèce autochtone typique de la zone soudanienne sénégalaise. Pour atteindre cet objectif, 97 questionnaires ont été administrés à des chefs de ménage dans la périphérie de la Forêt classée de Patako et les données ont été analysées avec des indicateurs ethnobotaniques. L’étude montre que Cordyla pinnata fournit 20 services écosystémiques appartenant à trois catégories, notamment les services d’approvisionnement, les services de régulation et les services culturels. La Valeur d’usage totale (VUt) de l’espèce est de 7,9 et les VU diffèrent en fonction des sites. Son Facteur de Consensus Informateur (FCI) est supérieur à 0,9 dans les trois catégories et ses Niveaux de Fidélité (NF) sont élevés pour la nourriture, la médecine traditionnelle, le bois, l’ombrage, la fertilisation des terres et l’héritage. Ces résultats permettent de dire que Cordyla pinnata a une grande importance dans plusieurs aspects de la vie des populations locales. Sa VU est plus élevée dans les localités éloignées de la Forêt classée de Patako où la couverture végétale naturelle est plus pauvre. Mais la majorité des services écosystémiques que l’espèce fournit sont perçus et appréciés localement, et sont compromis par la dégradation de son peuplement dans la zone. Ainsi, il conviendrait de mieux conscientiser les populations locales sur l’importance socio-économique et écologique de l’espèce afin qu’elles la préservent davantage et la restaurent dans les agro-systèmes.Local plant species allow illustrate the diversity of ecosystem services provided by natural ecosystems. The present study has the objective to characterize ecosystem services provided by Cordyla pinnata, an indigenous species of the sudanian zone of Senegal. To achieve this objective, 97 questionnaires were conducted with the head of households around Patako Classified Forest and data analysis was based on ethnobotanical indicators. This study shows that Cordyla pinnata provides 20 ecosystem services which belong to three categories : provisioning services, regulation services and cultural services. The total Use Value (UVt) of the species is 7.9 and UV differ among sites. Factor of Informant Consensus (FIC) is greater than 0.9 in all three categories and Fidelity Levels (FL) are high for food, traditional medicine, wood, shade, soil fertilization and inheritance. Results show that Cordyla pinnata is a useful species in many aspects of local people’s lives. Its UV is higher in sites distant from Patako Classified Forest were the natural vegetation is less abundant. However the majority of these ecosystem services provided by the species are locally perceived and enjoyed and is compromised by the degradation of its stand population in the area. Thus, it appropriate to make local population more conscious about the socio-economic and ecological importance of the species for them so that they the preserve it better and restore it in agro-systems

Very high CO2 exchange fluxes at the peak of the rainy season in a West African grazed semi-arid savanna ecosystem

Africa is a sink of carbon, but there are large gaps in our knowledge regarding the CO2 exchange fluxes for many African ecosystems. Here, we analyse multi-annual eddy covariance data of CO2 exchange fluxes for a grazed Sahelian semi-arid savanna ecosystem in Senegal, West Africa. The aim of the study is to investigate the high CO2 exchange fluxes measured at the peak of the rainy season at the Dahra field site: gross primary productivity and ecosystem respiration peaked at values up to −48 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 and 20 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1, respectively. Possible explanations for such high fluxes include a combination of moderately dense herbaceous C4 ground vegetation, high soil nutrient availability and a grazing pressure increasing the fluxes. Even though the peak net CO2 uptake was high, the annual budget of −229 ± 7 ± 49 g C m−2 y−1 (±random errors ± systematic errors) is comparable to that of other semi-arid savanna sites due the short length of the rainy season. An inter-comparison between the open-path and a closed-path infrared sensor indicated no systematic errors related to the instrumentation. An uncertainty analysis of long-term NEE budgets indicated that corrections for air density fluctuations were the largest error source (11.3% out of 24.3% uncertainty). Soil organic carbon data indicated a substantial increase in the soil organic carbon pool for the uppermost.20 m. These findings have large implications for the perception of the carbon sink/source of Sahelian ecosystems and its response to climate change

GNSS-R monitoring of soil moisture dynamics in areas of severe drought: example of Dahra in the Sahelian climatic zone (Senegal)

With population growth, water will increase in the following decades tremendously. The optimization of water allocation for agriculture requires accurate soil moisture (SM) monitoring. Recent Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) studies take advantage of continuously emitted navigation signals by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations to retrieve spatiotemporal soil moisture changes for soil with high clay content. It presents the advantage of sensing a whole surface around a reference GNSS antenna. This article focuses on sandy SM monitoring in the driest condition observed in the study field of Dahra, (Senegal). The area consists of 95% sand and in situ volumetric soil moisture (VSM) range from ~3% to ~5% during the dry to the rainy season. Unfortunately, the GNSS signals’ waves penetrated deep into the soil during the dry period and strongly reduced the accuracy of GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R) surface moisture measurements. However, we obtain VSM estimate at low/medium penetration depth. The correlation reaches 0.9 with VSM error lower than 0.16% for the 5–10-cm-depth probes and achieves excellent temporal monitoring to benefit from the antenna heights directly correlated to spatial resolution. The SM measurement models in our research are potentially valuable tools that contribute to the planning of sustainable agriculture, especially in countries often affected by drought