Soil conditions in the “donga” soils in subhumid zone in West Africa

Abstract

Water erosion threatens large areas around the world. Donga is one of the witness of Gully erosion in northern Benin which induces serious threats to the natural habitats. This study was conducted to evaluate soil moisture content in different donga type (microdongas, mesodongas and megadongas) and its variation at different topographic level. The thermogravimetric soil moisture measurement technique was used for moisture estimation on saturated and unsaturated soil. Data were analyzed through ANOVA-test and T-test with SAS software. The results showed that soil moisture content varied according to donga types. On unsaturated soil, higher difference (2.75%, p-value =0.0328) was obtained in mesodongas at the middle followed by megadongas at the middle (2.6%, p-value = 0.034). On saturated soil, higher difference was obtained in mesodongas at the upstream (6.51%, p-value <.0001) at downslope (4.55%, p-value = 0.0032) and in the middle (4.32%, p-value = 0.0328) followed by microdongas at the upstream (2.25%, p-value <.0001). It is expected that this paper will be useful for the researchers looking for soil moisture information in sub arid and subhumid zone at different topographic level to develop afforestation strategies based on species that can make the best use of soil water.

Do NO, N2O, N2 and CO2 fluxes differ in soils sourced from cropland and varying riparian buffer vegetation? An incubation study

“…The gravimetric soil moisture determination involved taking six sub‐samples from each of the sieved composite soils, accurately weighing them, completely drying them in an oven (i.e. 105°C until constant dry weight) and thereafter re‐weighing the dry samples (Avakoudjo et al, 2021). Thereafter, the gravimetric moisture was determined, and soil BD was used to convert values into %WFPS using the following equation:where WFPS is the water‐filled pore space (expressed as %); VWC is the volumetric water content (expressed as vol.…”

The potential of soils from cropland and varying riparian buffer vegetations to emit NO, N2O, N2, and CO2 under denitrification.

“…Subsequently, samples were air-dried at room temperature for 5 days, by when the gravimetric soil moisture content reached ∼30% water-lled pore spaces (%WFPS) (i.e., Loick et al, 2016;2017). The gravimetric soil moisture determination involved taking six sub-samples from each of the sieved composite soils, accurately weighing them, completely drying them out in an oven (i.e., 105° C until constant dry weight), and thereafter re-weighing the dry samples (Avakoudjo et al, 2021). Thereafter, the gravimetric moisture was determined, and soil bulk density (BD) was used to convert values into %WFPS using the following equation:…”

Effect of no‐tillage on soil redistribution estimated by beryllium‐7, soil moisture, and carbon fractions loss in central Benin

“…Erosion is pronounced especially in semiarid and tropical environments, and thus more than 75% of the degraded land is in developing countries (Mabit et al., 2014), where soil erosion degrades 5–6 million ha annually and affects millions of people (Assefa, 2009; FAO, 2002). In Benin forest destruction, land overexploitation and unsuitable agricultural practices have contributed to great land degradation (Avakoudjo et al., 2021). As a result, most of the agroecological zones in Benin are characterized by high erosion (Akplo et al., 2022).…”