Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Livestock induces strong spatial heterogeneity of soil CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions within a semi-arid sylvo-pastoral landscape in West Africa

  • Published:
Journal of Arid Land Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the surface soils and surface water receiving animal excreta may be important components of the GHG balance of terrestrial ecosystems, but the associated processes are poorly documented in tropical environments, especially in tropical arid and semi-arid areas. A typical sylvo-pastoral landscape in the semi-arid zone of Senegal, West Africa, was investigated in this study. The study area (706 km² of managed pastoral land) was a circular zone with a radius of 15 km centered on a borehole used to water livestock. The landscape supports a stocking rate ranging from 0.11 to 0.39 tropical livestock units per hectare depending on the seasonal movements of the livestock. Six landscape units were investigated (land in the vicinity of the borehole, natural ponds, natural rangelands, forest plantations, settlements, and enclosed plots). Carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) fluxes were measured with static chambers set up at 13 sites covering the six landscape units, and the 13 sites are assumed to be representative of the spatial heterogeneity of the emissions. A total of 216 fluxes were measured during the one-year study period (May 2014 to April 2015). At the landscape level, soils and surface water emitted an average 19.8 t C-CO2 eq/(hm²•a) (CO2: 82%, N2O: 15%, and CH4: 3%), but detailed results revealed notable spatial heterogeneity of GHG emissions. CO2 fluxes ranged from 1148.2 (±91.6) mg/(m²•d) in rangelands to 97,980.2 (±14,861.7) mg/(m²•d) in surface water in the vicinity of the borehole. N2O fluxes ranged from 0.6 (±0.1) mg/(m²•d) in forest plantations to 22.6 (±10.8) mg/(m²•d) in the vicinity of the borehole. CH4 fluxes ranged from–3.2 (±0.3) mg/(m²•d) in forest plantations to 8788.5 (±2295.9) mg/(m²•d) from surface water in the vicinity of the borehole. This study identified GHG emission “hot spots” in the landscape. Emissions from the surface soils were significantly higher in the landscape units most frequently used by the animals, i.e., in the vicinity of the borehole and settlements; and emissions measured from surface water in the vicinity of the borehole and from natural ponds were on average about 10 times higher than soil emissions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahlström A, Raupach M R, Schurgers G, et al. 2015. The dominant role of semi-arid ecosystems in the trend and variability of the land CO2 sink. Science, 348(6237): 895–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ancey V, Wane A, Müller A, et al. 2008. Paying for water in the Ferlo: pastoral strategies of community water management. In: Agricultural Restructuring in the South and the East. Presses de Sciences Po, 2(46): 51–66. (in French)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bah A, Touré I, Fourage C, et al. 2010. An agent-based model to study land allocation policies and their effect on pastoral and territorial dynamics in the Ferlo (Senegal). Cahiers Agricultures, 19(2): 118–126. (in French)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bombelli A, Henry M, Castaldi S, et al. 2009. An outlook on the sub-Saharan Africa carbon balance. Biogeosciences, 6(10): 2193–2205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borges A V, Darchambeau F, Teodoru C R, et al. 2015. Globally significant greenhouse-gas emissions from African inland waters. Nature Geoscience, 8(8): 637–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boval M, Dixon R M. 2012. The importance of grasslands for animal production and other functions: a review on management and methodological progress in the tropics. Animal: An International Journal of Animal Bioscience, 6(5): 748–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brümmer C, Papen H, Wassmann R, et al. 2009. Fluxes of CH4 and CO2 from soil and termite mounds in south Sudanian savanna of Burkina Faso (West Africa). Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 23(1): GB1001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chevallier T, Hmaidi K, Kouakoua E, et al. 2015. Physical protection of soil carbon in macroaggregates does not reduce the temperature dependence of soil CO2 emissions. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 178(4): 592–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chotte J L, Diouf M N, Assigbetsé K, et al. 2012. Unexpected similar stability of soil microbial CO2 respiration in 20-year manured and in unmanured tropical soils. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 11(2): 135–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemens J, Ahlgrimm H J. 2001. Greenhouse gases from animal husbandry: mitigation options. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 60(1–3): 287–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deshmukh C, Serça D, Delon C, et al. 2014. Physical controls on CH4 emissions from a newly flooded subtropical freshwater hydroelectric reservoir: Nam Theun 2. Biogeosciences, 11(2): 3271–3317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diarisso T, Corbeels M, Andrieu N, et al. 2015. Biomass transfers and nutrient budgets of the agro-pastoral systems in a village territory in south-western Burkina Faso. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 101(3): 295–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dray S, Dufour A B. 2007. The ade4 package: implementing the duality diagram for ecologists. Journal of Statistical Software, 22(4): 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galy-Lacaux C, Delon C. 2014. Nitrogen emission and deposition budget in West and Central Africa. Environmental Research Letters, 9(12): 125002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerber P J, Steinfeld H, Henderson B, et al. 2013. Tackling Climate Change through Livestock–A Global Assessment of Emissions and Mitigation Opportunities. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guérin F, Abril G. 2007. Significance of pelagic aerobic methane oxidation in the methane and carbon budget of a tropical reservoir. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112: G03006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guérin F, Abril G, Serça D, et al. 2007. Gas transfer velocities of CO2 and CH4 in a tropical reservoir and its river downstream. Journal of Marine Systems, 66(1–4): 161–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiernaux P, Bielders C L, Valentin C, et al. 1999. Effects of livestock grazing on physical and chemical properties of sandy soils in Sahelian rangelands. Journal of Arid Environments, 41(3): 231–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. 2013. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim D G, Vargas R, Bond-Lamberty B, et al. 2012. Effects of soil rewetting and thawing on soil gas fluxes: a review of current literature and suggestions for future research. Biogeosciences, 9(7): 2459–2483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krüger J P, Beckedahl H, Gerold G, et al. 2013. Greenhouse gas emission peaks following natural rewetting of two wetlands in the southern Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, South Africa. South African Geographical Journal, 96(2): 113–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuzyakov Y, Gavrichkova O. 2010. REVIEW: Time lag between photosynthesis and carbon dioxide efflux from soil: a review of mechanisms and controls. Global Change Biology, 16(12): 3386–3406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Kelliher F M. 2007. Methane oxidation in freely and poorly drained grassland soils and effects of cattle urine application. Journal of Environmental Quality, 36(5): 1241–1247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liss P S, Slater P G. 1974. Flux of gases across the air-sea interface. Nature, 247(5438): 181–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manlay R J, Ickowicz A, Masse D, et al. 2004. Spatial carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus budget in a village of the West African savanna—II. Element flows and functioning of a mixed-farming system. Agricultural Systems, 79(1): 83–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manoli C, Ancey V, Corniaux C, et al. 2014. How do pastoral families combine livestock herds with other livelihood security means to survive? The case of the Ferlo area in Senegal. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, 4: 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez B, Gilabert M A, García-Haro F J, et al. 2011. Characterizing land condition variability in Ferlo, Senegal (2001–2009) using multi-temporal 1-km Apparent Green Cover (AGC) SPOT Vegetation data. Global and Planetary Change, 76(3–4): 152–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbow C. 2014. Biogeoscience: Africa’s greenhouse-gas budget is in the red. Nature, 508(7495): 192–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merbold L, Ardö J, Arneth A, et al. 2009. Precipitation as driver of carbon fluxes in 11 African ecosystems. Biogeosciences, 6(6): 1027–1041.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miehe S, Kluge J, Von Wehrden H, et al. 2010. Long-term degradation of Sahelian rangeland detected by 27 years of field study in Senegal. Journal of Applied Ecology, 47(3): 692–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mosier A, Wassmann R, Verchot L, et al. 2004. Methane and nitrogen oxide fluxes in tropical agricultural soils: sources, sinks and mechanisms. In: Wassmann R, Vlek P G. Tropical Agriculture in Transition—Opportunities for Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions?. Netherlands: Springer, 11–49.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ndiaye O, Diallo A, Wood S A, et al. 2014. Structural diversity of woody species in the Senegalese semi-arid zone—Ferlo. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 5(3): 416–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nori M, Switzer J, Crawford A. 2005. Herding on the Brink: Towards a Global Survey of Pastoral Communities and Conflict. Switzerland: International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyamadzawo G, Wuta M, Nyamangara J, et al. 2014. Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from cultivated seasonal wetland (dambo) soils with inorganic, organic and integrated nutrient management. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 100(2): 161–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pansu M, Gautheyrou J. 2006. Handbook of Soil Analysis: Mineralogical, Organic and Inorganic Methods. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, 995.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen S O, Blanchard M, Chadwick D, et al. 2013. Manure management for greenhouse gas mitigation. Animal: An International Journal of Animal Bioscience, 7(Suppl. 2): 266–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team. 2015. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.

  • Saggar S, Hedley C B, Giltrap D L, et al. 2007. Measured and modelled estimates of nitrous oxide emission and methane consumption from a sheep-grazed pasture. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 122(3): 357–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlecht E, Hiernaux P, Achard F, et al. 2004. Livestock related nutrient budgets within village territories in western Niger. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 68(3): 199–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serça D, Delmas R, Jambert C, et al. 1994. Emissions of nitrogen oxides from equatorial rain forest in central Africa. Tellus B, 46(4): 243–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serrano-Silva N, Sarria-Guzmán Y, Dendooven L, et al. 2014. Methanogenesis and methanotrophy in soil: a review. Pedosphere, 24(3): 291–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith K A, Ball T, Conen F, et al. 2003. Exchange of greenhouse gases between soil and atmosphere: interactions of soil physical factors and biological processes. European Journal of Soil Science, 54(4): 779–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song W M, Chen S P, Zhou Y D, et al. 2015. Contrasting diel hysteresis between soil autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration in a desert ecosystem under different rainfall scenarios. Scientific Reports, 5: 16779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soussana J F, Tallec T, Blanfort V. 2010. Mitigating the greenhouse gas balance of ruminant production systems through carbon sequestration in grasslands. Animal, 4(3): 334–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tagesson T, Fensholt R, Cropley F, et al. 2015a. Dynamics in carbon exchange fluxes for a grazed semi-arid savanna ecosystem in West Africa. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 205: 15–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tagesson T, Fensholt R, Guiro I, et al. 2015b. Ecosystem properties of semiarid savanna grassland in West Africa and its relationship with environmental variability. Global Change Biology, 21(1): 250–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thangarajan R, Bolan N S, Tian G, et al. 2013. Role of organic amendment application on greenhouse gas emission from soil. Science of the Total Environment, 465: 72–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton P K, Herrero M. 2015. Adapting to climate change in the mixed crop and livestock farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Climate Change, 5(9): 830–836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner M D, McPeak J G, Ayantunde A. 2014. The role of livestock mobility in the livelihood strategies of rural peoples in semi-arid West Africa. Human Ecology, 42(2): 231–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ussiri D, Lal R. 2013. Nitrous oxide sources and mitigation strategies. In: Ussiri D, Lal R. Soil Emission of Nitrous Oxide and its Mitigation. Netherlands: Springer, 243–275.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Valentini R, Arneth A, Bombelli A, et al. 2014. A full greenhouse gases budget of Africa: synthesis, uncertainties, and vulnerabilities. Biogeosciences, 11(2): 381–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang W L, Ciais P, Nemani R R, et al. 2013. Variations in atmospheric CO2 growth rates coupled with tropical temperature. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(32): 13061–13066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wanninkhof R. 1992. Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 97(C5): 7373–7382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss R F. 1974. Carbon dioxide in water and seawater: the solubility of a non-ideal gas. Marine Chemistry, 2(3): 203–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto S, Alcauskas J B, Crozier T E. 1976. Solubility of methane in distilled water and seawater. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 21(1): 78–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamulki S, Jarvis S C, Owen P. 1999. Methane emission and uptake from soils as influenced by excreta deposition from grazing animals. Journal of Environmental Quality, 28(2): 676–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yemadje P L, Guibert H, Chevallier T, et al. 2016. Effect of biomass management regimes and wetting-drying cycles on soil carbon mineralization in a Sudano-Sahelian region. Journal of Arid Environments, 127: 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the Islamic Development Bank (the Merit Scholarship Program for High Technology) and the European Union (the FP7-KBBE-2010 Animal Change Project).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIRAD-UMR Selmet, Campus International Baillarguet, Montpellier, 34398, France

    Mohamed H. Assouma, Vincent Blanfort, Philippe Lecomte, Ibra Touré, Alexandre Ickowicz & Jonathan Vayssières

  2. DP PPZS, ISRA-LNERV, BP 2057, Dakar Hann, Senegal

    Mohamed H. Assouma, Philippe Lecomte, Ibra Touré & Jonathan Vayssières

  3. Laboratoire d’Aérologie-OMP, Université Paul Sabatier, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, Toulouse, 31400, France

    Dominique Serça

  4. Geosciences Environnement Toulouse UMR 5563 & UR 234 IRD, Université Paul Sabatier, Avenue Edouard Belin 14, Toulouse, 31400, France

    Frédéric Guérin

  5. CILSS, 03 BP 7049, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    Ibra Touré

  6. AgroParisTech-UMR Eco&Sols, 2 place Viala, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, 34060, France

    Raphaël J. Manlay

  7. IRD-UMR Eco&Sols, 2 place Viala, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, 34060, France

    Martial Bernoux

Authors
  1. Mohamed H. Assouma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dominique Serça
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Frédéric Guérin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Vincent Blanfort
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Philippe Lecomte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ibra Touré
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Alexandre Ickowicz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Raphaël J. Manlay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Martial Bernoux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Jonathan Vayssières
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohamed H. Assouma.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Assouma, M.H., Serça, D., Guérin, F. et al. Livestock induces strong spatial heterogeneity of soil CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions within a semi-arid sylvo-pastoral landscape in West Africa. J. Arid Land 9, 210–221 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-017-0001-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-017-0001-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation