AEOLIAN MATERIALS SAMPLER FOR MEASURING SURFACE FLUX OF SOIL NITROGEN AND CARBON DURING WIND EROSION EVENTS IN THE SAHEL, WEST AFRICA

作者：Ikazaki K^*; Shinjo H; Tanaka U; Tobita S; Funakawa S; Kosaki T

来源：Transactions of the ASABE, 2011, 54(3): 983-990.

• Carbon sequestration
• Sahel region
• Sediment catcher
• Soil fertility
• West Africa
• Wind erosion

In the Sahel, determining the effects of wind erosion on soil fertility and soil carbon balance is crucial for achieving sustainable agriculture and for carbon sequestration, respectively. We designed the Aeolian Materials Sampler (AMS) to measure the surface flux of soil nitrogen and carbon, which limit crop production as well as water in the Sahel. The AMS should not be used alone, but with the Big Spring Number Eight (BSNE) sampler, which is a quasi-isokinetic sampler. We examined the performance of the AMS in estimating the surface flux of soil nitrogen and carbon by conducting wind-tunnel and field experiments. In the former experiment, we measured the trapping efficiency of the AMS for nitrogen and carbon content in coarse organic matter (COM) and soil particles. We observed that the AMS allows estimation of the surface flux of soil nitrogen and carbon associated with the movement of COM and soil particles; wind data and empirical equations were used for the estimation. In the field experiment, we assessed the contribution of the inherent error of the AMS to the total measurement error and found that the inherent error was negligible and did not increase the total measurement error in the estimation of the surface flux of soil nitrogen and carbon. Therefore, we concluded that the combination of the AMS and the BSNE sampler could be effectively used to evaluate the effects of wind erosion on soil fertility and soil carbon balance in the Sahel.

• 出版日期2011-6