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Extent and Severity of Wind Erosion in West and Central Africa

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/6218/
http://www.cgiar.org/icarda
 
Title Extent and Severity of Wind Erosion in West and Central Africa
 
Creator Koala, S
Bielders, C L
 
Subject Soil Science
 
Description The West African Sahel (WAS) is the transition zone between the Sahara desert in the north of Africa and the more humid Sudanian zones in the south. Although diverse in many ways, the WAS countries have in common a fragile agricultural sector, brought about by poor soil, limited rainfall, frequent drought, and wind erosion that accelerates soil degradation and desertification, compounded by rapidly' growing populations. Erosive winds '"occur during two
distinct seasons. During the dry season (October- April) the region is invaded by strong northeasterly winds, known as harmattan, resulting in moderate wind erosion. The second and most important wind-erosion period is the early rainy
season (May-July), when rainfall comes with heavy thunderstorms . that move westward through the Sahel. Wind erosion can be controlled by soil cover, such
as a mulch of crop residue, soil roughening, and the reduction of wind speed by annual or perennial grass barriers, artificial barriers, strip cropping, and
windbreaks. Based on the strong relationship between the incidence of wind erosion and soil properties, it may be possible to map the incidence of potential
wind erosion in the West African Sahel, and hence tell farmers where ameliorative measures can be used to best advantage.
 
Date 1997
 
Type Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/6218/1/Extent_severity_Proceeding_1997.pdf
Koala, S and Bielders, C L (1997) Extent and Severity of Wind Erosion in West and Central Africa. In: Wind Erosion in Africa and West Asia: Problems and Control Strategies, 22-25 April 1997, Cairo, Egypt.