Abstract
Surface emission and deposition fluxes of reactive nitrogen compounds have been studied in three sites of West Africa during the year 2006, representative of dry savannas ecosystem, and part of the IDAF network: Agoufou (Mali, 15.3°N, 1.4°W), Banizoumbou (Niger, 13.3°N, 2.4°E) and Katibougou (Mali, 12.5°N, 7.3°W). Dry deposition fluxes are calculated from surface measurements of NO2, HNO3 and NH3 concentrations (from passive samplers) and simulated deposition velocities, and wet deposition fluxes are calculated from NH4 + and NO3 − concentration in samples of rain. Emission fluxes are evaluated including simulated NO biogenic emission from soils, emissions of NOx and NH3 from biomass burning and domestic fires, and volatilization of NH3 from animal excreta. From these 3 sites, the average deposition flux, attributed to dry savanna ecosystems in Sahel, is 7.5 (± 1.8) kg N ha−1 year−1, and the average emission flux is from 8.5 ± 3.8 kg N ha−1 year−1. This budget is dominated by the NH3 contribution (due to volatilization of animal excreta). Biogenic emissions from soils are the second most important contribution in emission fluxes. Total estimated deposition is 1.84 ± 0.44 Tg N year−1 and the estimated emission is 2.0 ± 0.9 Tg N year−1 for the Sahel region. Limited interannual variability (between 2002 and 2007) in precipitation is responsible for small variability in local emission sources and hence deposition fluxes.
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Acknowledgments
This work is part of the IDAF (IGAC/DEBITS/AFRICA) project. It has been supported by the “Institut National des Sciences de L’Univers” within the framework of the ORE programme (Observatoire de Recherche en Environnement). Based upon a French initiative, the AMMA project is now supported by an international scientific group including a large number of agencies, especially from France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Africa. It has been the beneficiary of a major financial contribution from the European Community’s Sixth Framework Research Programme (FP6), see www.amma-international.org.
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Delon, C. et al. (2014). Interannual Variability of the Atmospheric Nitrogen Budget in West African Dry Savannas. In: Sutton, M., Mason, K., Sheppard, L., Sverdrup, H., Haeuber, R., Hicks, W. (eds) Nitrogen Deposition, Critical Loads and Biodiversity. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7939-6_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7939-6_11
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