dealing with the spatial and temporal variations in Sahelian soil water content as well as with the infiltration of water through deep soil layers of the vadose zone. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of hydrological behaviour throughout West Africa based on point, local, meso and regional scales observations. 2. Background The paradoxical increase in runoff despite drought conditions in sub-Saharan Africa was first noted in a paper by Albergel [3], analysing decadal series of runoff measurements in experimental sites of Burkina Faso. He noticed that this increase was observed in Sahelian areas, but not in the more humid Sudanian regions. The decrease in rainfall during the 1969-1983 period seems to be largely offset by the evolution of surface features in the functioning of small catchments. These changes favoured the conditions of runoff in the Sahelian basins; there are due to both the human actions and the climatic conditions. The reduction of vegetation cover and the widespread crops areas cause soil surface settling and the appearance of impervious superficial layers, as well as the extension of eroded areas. Some sahelian basins have nowadays [in 1987] the common characteristics of basins located northward, with great areas of bare soils; perennial graminaceae are replaced with annual ones, and combretaceae with prickly bush species" [3]. Albergel [3] attributed the contrasting behaviour of Sudanian (mean annual rainfall > 750 mm) and Sahelian (mean annual rainfall < 750 mm) areas to increasing bare soils and decreasing vegetation cover in Sahelian basins. This hypothesis was confirmed in 1999 by Mahé and Olivry [4] and then in 2002 by Olivry [2], who remarked that the discharge of right bank tributaries of Middle Niger River had been increasing since the beginning of the Drought (1968). Similarly, Amani and Nguetora [5] noted that runoff coefficients were increasing significantly in right bank tributaries and showed that the onset of the annual flood was occurring earlier than in previous decades. Mahé et al. [6] analysed the runoff evolution of eight right bank tributaries of the Middle Niger River and noted that the decrease in rainfall did not lead to a decrease in runoff under the Sahelian climate as commonly observed in other basins in the world. Rather, these tributaries exhibited increasing runoff coefficients and in discharges, while "Sudanian" climate tributaries suffered a decrease in discharge and in runoff coefficient [6]. 3. Material and methods This study is mainly based on two sources of data: • field measurements and observations made during the AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis) experiment at the Niger experimental site (Niger River middle stretch and Niamey square degree), and:

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International audienceLand-use changes have been significant these last decades in West Africa, particularly in the Sahel region; in this area, climatic and demographic factors have led to a rise in cropped areas in recent decades causing strong changes in the water cycle and in river regimes. This study compares the rainfall-runoff relationships for two periods (1991-1994 and 2004-2011) in two small and similar neighbouring Sahelian catchments (approx 0.1 km(2) each). This allows identification of the different hydrological consequences of land-use/land-cover change, particularly the fallow shortening and the consequent degradation of topsoil. The main land surface change is a 75% increase in crusted soil area. Runoff increased by more than 20% on average between the two periods while flood duration decreased by 50% on average. However, runoff values remained largely constant in the lower part of the northern basin due to a strong increase in in-channel infiltration

The Niger River Niamey flood of 2012: The paroxysm of the Sahelian paradox? During the 2012 monsoon, the Middle Niger River exhibited the highest flood ever registered from the beginning of its monitoring in1929. Large areas were flooded, including parts of the city of Niamey. This flooding was due to the combination of an increase in runoff coefficient observed in the Sahelian basin, linked to soil crusting, and an exceptionally high amount of rainfall. Indeed, it was the highest observed since the beginning of the drought in 1968. Due to the level of damage, policy makers should be made aware of the increase in discharges, which is increasing the risk of flooding.

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