Climate Variability and Environmental Stress in the Sudan-Sahel Zone of West Africa

Mertz, Ole; D’haen, Sarah; Maïga, Abdou; Moussa, Ibrahim Bouzou; Barbier, Bruno; Diouf, Assane; Diallo, Drissa; Da, Evariste Dapola; Dabi, Daniel

doi:10.1007/s13280-011-0231-8

Cited by 65 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Numerous studies [7,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] have assessed future trends of climate change in the region. Most of these studies either utilized the CMIP3 archive or worked on the large scale without giving finer basin scale information that are important for hydrological change evaluations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Hydro-Climatic Projections with Bias-Correction in Sahelian Niger Basin, West Africa

Oyerinde

Hountondji

Lawin

et al. 2017

Climate

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Climate simulations in West Africa have been attributed with large uncertainties. Global climate projections are not consistent with changes in observations at the regional or local level of the Niger basin, making management of hydrological projects in the basin uncertain. This study evaluates the potential of using the quantile mapping bias correction to improve the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) outputs for use in hydrological impact studies. Rainfall and temperature projections from 8 CMIP5 Global Climate Models (GCM) were bias corrected using the quantile mapping approach. Impacts of climate change was evaluated with bias corrected rainfall, temperature and potential evapotranspiration (PET). The IHACRES hydrological model was adapted to the Niger basin and used to simulate impacts of climate change on discharge under present and future conditions. Bias correction with quantile mapping significantly improved the accuracy of rainfall and temperature simulations compared to observations. The mean of six efficiency coefficients used for monthly rainfall comparisons of 8 GCMs to the observed ranged from 0.69 to 0.91 and 0.84 to 0.96 before and after bias correction, respectively. The range of the standard deviations of the efficiency coefficients among the 8 GCMs rainfall data were significantly reduced from 0.05–0.14 (before bias correction) to 0.01–0.03 (after bias correction). Increasing annual rainfall, temperature, PET and river discharge were projected for most of the GCMs used in this study under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. These results will help improving projections and contribute to the development of sustainable climate change adaptation strategies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Hydro-Climatic Projections with Bias-Correction in Sahelian Niger Basin, West Africa

Oyerinde

Hountondji

Lawin

et al. 2017

Climate

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“…In addition to natural variability, socio-economic and political factors, such as population growth, social conflict and low economic development, put pressure on cropping systems [8,9]. It is of primary importance to monitor land use change [10][11][12] and to develop an in-depth understanding of the detailed spatial patterns and the temporal dynamics of cropland [13]. Early warning systems e.g., the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS-NET) and the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), for food security require accurate and up-to-date spatial information about the cropland to monitor food production [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cropland Mapping over Sahelian and Sudanian Agrosystems: A Knowledge-Based Approach Using PROBA-V Time Series at 100-m

2016

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Abstract:Early warning systems for food security require accurate and up-to-date information on the location of major crops in order to prevent hazards. A recent systematic analysis of existing cropland maps identified priority areas for cropland mapping and highlighted a major need for the Sahelian and Sudanian agrosystems. This paper proposes a knowledge-based approach to map cropland in the Sahelian and Sudanian agrosystems that benefits from the 100-m spatial resolution of the recent PROBA-V sensor. The methodology uses five temporal features characterizing crop development throughout the vegetative season to optimize cropland discrimination. A feature importance analysis validates the efficiency of using a diversity of temporal features. The fully-automated method offers the first cropland map at 100-m using the PROBA-V sensor with an overall accuracy of 84% and an F-score for the cropland class of 74%. The improvements observed compared to existing cropland products are related to the hectometric resolution, to the methodology and to the quality of the labeling layer from which reliable training samples were automatically extracted. Classification errors are mainly explained by data availability and landscape fragmentation. Further improvements are expected with the upcoming enhanced cloud screening of the PROBA-V sensor.

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“…The results of this participatory assessment, where local communities have prioritize their species and evaluate their current status, should transmit the voices and African dry territories are among the most threatened and least studied agroforestry systems, and there is an urgent need to support the development of sustainable management and conservation policies (Blackie et al, 2014). The Sahel has experienced dramatic environmental changes during the last four decades, including the droughts during the 1970s and 1980s, the causes and effects of which are still under debate (Herrmann et al, 2005;Hiernaux et al, 2009;Lézine et al, 2011;Mertz et al, 2012;Nutini et al, 2013). Despite a recent trend of increasing rainfall over the last decade, the prevailing view is that a decline in annual rainfall has been the main driver of climate change at the regional level, operating in synergy with other factors, such as population trends, land management strategies, management of local natural resources and public policies (Mbow et al, 2008;Epule et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation of food tree species in Niger: towards a participatory approach in rural communities

et al. 2016

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Aim of study: Indigenous woody species play an important role as a complement on the diet of rural populations in Niger, especially in periods of food scarcity. However, these species are nowadays overexploited and management programmes are necessary to conserve them. In order to design a conservation programme for edible woody species, this paper presents a sociological analysis about the use of edible woody species and their products during shortage periods in Niger.Area of study: Four villages in two distinct agro-ecological regions were selected to conduct structured enquiries based on focus group discussions and surveys with key informants.Material and Methods: Perceptions of the conservation status of these species were identified; as well the factors affecting food values, perceptions, management and collection practices.Main results: Results show that B. senegalensis was a staple food in the driest areas, and M. crassifolia was used for fodder and human consumption in the most critical situations. The local communities related the drivers of species conservation status specific to the agro-ecological regions, and gender and ethnic differences were also identified.Research highlights: Understanding these factors constitutes a first step towards adaptive management strategies for the conservation of woody food species in rural communities of Niger.

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Climate Variability and Environmental Stress in the Sudan-Sahel Zone of West Africa

Cited by 65 publications

References 28 publications

Improving Hydro-Climatic Projections with Bias-Correction in Sahelian Niger Basin, West Africa

Improving Hydro-Climatic Projections with Bias-Correction in Sahelian Niger Basin, West Africa

Cropland Mapping over Sahelian and Sudanian Agrosystems: A Knowledge-Based Approach Using PROBA-V Time Series at 100-m

Conservation of food tree species in Niger: towards a participatory approach in rural communities

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