References

ACPD

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions

ACPD

1680-7375

Copernicus GmbH

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/acpd-9-14189-2009

Atmospheric nitrogen budget in Sahelian dry savannas

Delon

¹ Galy-Lacaux

¹ Boone

² Liousse

¹ Serça

¹ Adon

¹ ³ Diop

⁴ Akpo

⁵ Lavenu

⁷ ⁸ Mougin

⁶ Timouk

⁶

Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Université de Toulouse and CNRS, Toulouse, France

CNRM/GMME, Météo-France, Toulouse, France

LAboratoire de Physique de l'Atmosphere, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Université de Bamako, Mali

Université Abomey Calavi, Cotonou,Bénin

CESBIO, Toulouse, France

formerly at: CESBIO, Toulouse, France

deceased

30 06 2009

9 3 14189 14233

This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/14189/2009/acpd-9-14189-2009.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/14189/2009/acpd-9-14189-2009.pdf

The atmospheric nitrogen budget depends on emission and deposition fluxes both as reduced and oxidized nitrogen compounds. In this study, a first attempt at estimating the Sahel nitrogen budget for the year 2006 is made, through measurements and simulations at three stations from the IDAF network situated in dry savanna ecosystems. Dry deposition fluxes are estimated from measurements of NO2, HNO3 and NH3 gaseous concentrations, and wet deposition fluxes are calculated from NH4+ and NO3− concentrations in samples of rain. Emission fluxes are estimated including biogenic emission of NO from soils (an Artificial Neural Network module has been inserted into the ISBA-SURFEX surface model), emission of NOx and NH3 from domestic fires and biomass burning, and volatilization of NH3 from animal excreta. This study uses original and unique data from remote and hardly-ever-explored regions. The monthly evolution of oxidized N compounds shows that deposition increases at the beginning of the rainy season because of large emissions of biogenic NO (pulse events). Emission of oxidized compounds is dominated by biogenic emission from soils (domestic fires and biomass burning account for 27% at the most, depending on the station), whereas emission of NH3 is dominated by the process of volatilization. Deposition fluxes are dominated by gaseous dry deposition processes (58% of the total), for both oxidized and reduced compounds. The average deposition flux in dry savanna ecosystems ranges from 8.6 to 10.9 kgN ha−1 yr−1, with 30% attributed to oxidized compounds, and the other 70% attributed to NHx. The average emission flux ranges from 7.8 to 9.7 kgN ha−1 yr−1, dominated by NH3 volatilization (67%) and biogenic emission from soils (24%). The annual budget is then balanced, with emission fluxes on the same order of magnitude as deposition fluxes. When scaled up to the Sahelian region (10° N:20° N, 15° W:10° E), the estimates of total emission range from 3.6 to 4.5 TgN yr−1 and total deposition ranges from 3.9 to 5 TgN yr−1. The N budget gives a net deposition flux ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 TgN yr−1. If scaled up to the global scale (in the tropical band), it is possible to calculate a total budget of oxidized and reduced N compounds for dry savannas, with a global nitrogen deposition flux ranging from 11.1 to 14.1 TgN yr−1, and a global emission flux ranging from 10.1 to 12.5 TgN yr−1. These ecosystems contribute a significant amount (around 12%) to the global nitrogen budget.

References 1

Adon, M., Galy-Lacaux, C., Delon, C., Yoboué, V., Liousse, C., Lacaux, J. P., Pienaar, K., Al Ourabi, H., Dungall, L., Diop, B., Sigha, L., Lavenu, F., and Mougin, E.: Long-term measurements of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, nitric acid and ozone in Africa using passive samplers, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., submitted, 2009.

Ali, A., Lebel, T., and Amani, A.: Invariance in the spatial structure of Sahelian rain fields at climatological scales, J. Hydrometeorol., 4, 996–1011, 2003.

Assamoi, E. M. and Liousse, C.: Focus on the impact of two wheel vehicles on African combustion aerosols emissions, Atmos. Environ., submitted, 2009.

Andreae, M. O. and Merlet, P.: Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 15, 955–966, 2001.

Austin, A. T., Yahdjian, L., Stark, J. M., Belnap, J., Porporato, A., Norton, U., Ravetta, D. A., and Schaeffer, S. M.: Water pulses and biogeochemical cycles in arid and semi arid ecosystems, Oecologia, 141, 221–235, 2004.

Barger, N. N., Belnap, J., Ojima, D. S., and Mosier, A.: NO gas loss from biologically crusted soils in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Biogeochemistry, 75, 373–391, 2005.

Boone, A., De Rosnay, P., Balsamo, G., Beljaars, A., Chopin, F., Decharme, B., Delire, C., Ducharne, A., Gascoin, S., Grippa, M., Guichard, F., Gusev, Y., Harris, P., Jarlan, L., Kergoat, L., Mougin, E., Nasonova, O., Norgaard, A., Orgeval, T., Ottlé, C., Poccard-Leclerq, I., Polcher, J., Sandholt, I., Saux-Picart, S., Taylor, C., and Xue, Y.: The AMMA Land Surface Model Intercomparison Project (ALMIP), B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., in press, 2009.

Bouwman, A. F., Lee, D. S., Asman, W. A. H., Dentener, F. J., Van Der Hoek, K. W., and Olivier, J. G. J.: A Global High-Resolution Emission Inventory for Ammonia, Glob. Biogeochem. Cy., 11(4), 561–587, 1997.

Bouwman, A. F. and Van Der Hoek, K. W.: Scenarios of animal waste production and fertilizer use and associated ammonia emission for the developping countries, Atmos. Environ., 31(24), 4095–4102, 1997.

Bouwman, A. F., Boumans, L. J., and Batjes, N. H.: Estimation of global \chemNH_3 volatilization loss from synthetic fertilizers and animal manure applied to arable lands and grasslands, Glob. Biogeochem. Cy., 16(2), 1024, doi:10.1029/2000GB001389, 2002a.

Bouwman, A. F., Boumans, L. J. M., and Batjes, N. H.: Modeling global annual \chemN_2O and \chemNO emissions from fertilized fields, Glob. Biogeochem. Cy., 16(4), 1080, doi:10.1029/2001GB001812, 2002b.

Butterbach-Bahl, K., Kock, M., Willibald, G., Hewett, B., Buhagiar, S., Papen, H., and Kiese, R.: Temporal variations of fluxes of \chemNO, \chemNO_2, \chemN_2O, \chemCO_2, and \chemCH_4 in a tropical rain forest ecosystem, Glob. Biogeochem. Cy., 18, GB3012, doi:10.1029/2004GB002243, 2004.

Carmichael, G. R., Ferm, M., Thongboonchoo, N., Woo, J.-H., Chan, L. Y., Murano, K., Viet, P. H., Mossberg, C., Bala, R., Boonjawat, J., and Lacaux, J. P.: Measurements of sulfur dioxide, ozone and ammonia concentrations in Asia, Africa, and South America using passive samplers, Atmos. Environ., 37, 1293–1308, 2003.

Davidson, E. A. and Kingerlee, W.: A global inventory of nitric oxide emissions from soils, Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys., 48, 37–50, 1997.

Delon, C., Serça, D., Boissard, C., Dupont, R., Dutot, A., Laville, P., de Rosnay, P., and Delmas, R.: Soil NO emissions modelling using artificial neural network, Tellus B, 59B, 502–513, 2007.

Delon, C., Reeves, C. E., Stewart, D. J., Serça, D., Dupont, R., Mari, C., Chaboureau, J.-P., and Tulet, P.: Biogenic nitrogen oxide emissions from soils –impact on NOx and ozone over West Africa during AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Experiment): modelling study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2351–2363, 2008.

Dentener, F., Drevet, J., Lamarque, J. F., Bey, I., Eickhout, B., Fiore, A. M., Hauglustaine, D., Horowitz, L. W., Krol, M., Kulshrestha, U. C., Lawrence, M., Galy-Lacaux, C., Rast, S., Shindell, D., Stevenson, D., Van Noije, T., Atherton, C., Bell, N., Bergman, D., Butler, T., Cofala, J., Collins, B., Doherty, R., Ellingsen, K., Galloway, J., Gauss, M., Montanaro, V., Müller, J. F., Pitari, G., Rodriguez, J., Sanderson, M., Solmon, F., Strahan, S., Schultz, M., Sudo, K., Szopa, S., and Wild, O.: Nitrogen and sulfur deposition on regional and global scales: A multimodel evaluation, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 20(4), GB4003, doi:10.1029/2005GB002672, 2006.

Diallo, A. and Gjessing, J.: Natural resources management: Morpho-pedology in Gourma region. SSE Research program Mali-Norway, CNRST-IER-Oslo University (Norway), 1999 (in French).

Ferm, M., Lindskorg, A., Svanberg, P. A., and Boström, C. A.: New measurement technique for air pollutants, Kem. Tidskr., 1, 30–32, 1994 (in Swedish).

Ferm, M. and Rodhe, H.: Measurements of air concentrations of SO2, NO2 and NH3 at rural sites in Asia, J. Atmos. Chem., 27, 17–29, 1997.

Galbally, I., Kirstine, W. V., Meyer, C. P., and Wang, Y. P.: Soil-atmosphere trace gas exchange in semiarid and arid zones, J. Environ. Qual., 37, 599–607, 2008.

Galloway, J. N. and Cowling, E. B.: Reactive nitrogen and the world: 200 years of change, Ambio, 31, 64–71, 2002.

Galloway, J. N., Dentener, F. J., Capone, D. G., Boyer, E. W., Howarth, R. W., Seitzinger, S. P., Asner, G. P., Cleveland, C. C., Green, P. A., Holland, E. A., Karl, D. M., Michaels, A. F., Porter, J. H., Townsend,A. R., and Vörösmarty, C. J.: Nitrogen cycles: past, present, and future, Biogeochemistry, 70, 153–226, 2004.

Galloway, J. N., Townsend, A. R., Erisman, J. W., Bekunda, M., Cai, Z., Freney, J. R., Martinelli, L. A., Seitzinger, S. P., and Sutton, M. A.: Transformation of the Nitrogen Cycle: Recent Trends, Questions, and Potential Solutions, Science, 320, 889–892, 2008.

Galy-Lacaux, C. and Modi, A. I.: Precipitation chemistry in the Sahelian savanna in Niger, Africa, J. Atmos. Chem., 30, 319–343, 1998.

Galy-Lacaux, C., Carmichael, G. R., Song, C. H., Lacaux, J. P., Al Ourabi, H., and Modi, A. I.: Heterogeneous processes involving nitrogenous compounds and Saharan dust inferred from measurements and model calculations, J. Geophys. Res., 106(D12), 12559–12578, 2001.

Galy-Lacaux, C., Al Ourabi, H., Galloway, J., Lacaux, J. P., Mphepya, J., Pienaar, K., Pont, V., Sigha, L., and Yoboué, V.: Dry and Wet Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition in Africa, IGACtivities Newsletter of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project, DEBITS Special Issue no 27, 2003.

Galy-Lacaux, C., Laouali, D., Descroix, L., Gobron, N., and Liousse, C.: Long term precipitation chemistry and wet deposition in a remote dry savanna site in Africa (Niger), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 1579–1595, 2009.

Geiger, B., Meurey, C., Lajas, D., Franchist\'guy, L., Carrer, D., and Roujean, J.-L.: Near real-time provision of downwelling shortwave radiation estimates derived from satellite observations, Meteorol. Appl., 15(3), 411–420, 2008.

Hansen, M. C., Defries, R. S., Townshend, J. R. G., and Sohlberg, R.: Global land cover classification at 1 \unitkm spatial resolution using a classification tree approach, Int. J. Remote Sens., 21, 1331–1364, 2000.

Hoste, C. H., Chalon, E., d'Ieteren, G., and Traill, J. C. M.: Le bétail trypanotolérant en Afrique Occidentale et Centrale, Vol~3, Bilan d'une décennie, Etude FAO Production et Santé Animale, 1988 (in French).

Huffman, G. J., Adler, R. F., Bolvin, D. T., Gu, G., Nelkin, E. J., Bowman, K. P., Hong, Y., Stocker, E. F., and Wolff, D. B.: The TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis: Quasi-Global, Multi-Year, Combined-Sensor Precipitation Estimates at Fine Scale, J. Hydrometeor., 8, 38–55, 2007.

Jaeglé, L., Martin, R. V., Chance, K., Steinberger, L., Kurosu, T. P., Jacob, D. J., Modi, A. I., Yoboué, V., Sigha-Nkamdjou, L., and Galy-Lacaux, C.: Satellite mapping of rain-induced nitric oxide emissions from soils, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D21310, doi:10.1029/2003JD004406, 2004.

Johansson, D., Rodhe, H., and Sanhueza, E.: Emission of NO in a tropical savanna and a cloud forest during the dry season, J. Geophys. Res., 93(D6), 7180–7192, 1988.

Junker, C. and Liousse, C.: A global emission inventory of carbonaceous aerosol from historic records of fossil fuel and biofuel consumption for the period 1860–1997, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 1195–1207, 2008.

Le Roux, X., Abbadie, L., Lensi, R., and Serça, D.: Emission of nitrogen monoxide from African tropical ecosystems: Control of emission by soil characteristics in humid and dry savannas of West Africa, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 23133–23142, 1995.

Loveland, T. R., Reed, B. C., Brown, J. F., Ohlen, D. O., Zhu, Z., Yang, L., and Merchant, J.: Global Land Cover Characteristics Database (GLCCD) Version 2.0, online available at: http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/glcc/globdoc2_0.html, 2000.

Ludwig, J., Marufu, L. T., Huber, B., Andreae, M. O., and Helas, G.: Domestic combustion of biomass fuels in developing countries: a major source of atmospheric pollutants, J. Atmos. Chem., 44, 23–37, 2003.

Mari, C. H., Cailley, G., Corre, L., Saunois, M., Attie, J. L., Thouret, V., and Stohl, A.: Tracing biomass burning plumes from the Southern Hemisphere during the AMMA 2006 wet season experiment, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 7, 17 339<96>17 366, 2008.

Martins, J. J., Dhammapala, R. S., Lachmann, G., Galy-Lacaux, C., and Pienaar, J. J.: Long-term measurements of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, nitric acid and ozone in southern Africa using passive samplers, S. Afr. J. Sci., 103, 336–342, 2007.

Masson, V., Champeaux, J.-L., Chauvin, F., Meriguet, C., and Lacaze, R.: A global database of land surface parameters at 1-km resolution in meteorological and climate models, J. Climate, 16(9), 1261–1282, 2003.

Mayaux, P.,,Bartholom, E., Massart, M., Van Cutsem, C., Cabral, A., Nonguierma, A., Diallo, O., Pretorius, C., Thompson, M., Cherlet, M., Pekel, J.-F., Defourny, P., Vasconcelos, M., Di Gregorio, A., Fritz, S., De Grandi, G., Elvidge, C., Vogt, P., and Belward, A.: Global Land Cover 2000 Project, European Commission Joint Research Centre, online available at: http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/maps/africa_atlas/index.html, 2003.

Meixner, F. X. and Yang, W. X.: Biogenic emissions of nitric oxide and ditrous oxide from arid and semi-arid land, Dryland Ecohydrology, edited by: DÓdoroco, P. and Porporato, A., Kluwer Academic Publishers B.V., Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 23–46, 2004.

Michel, C., Liousse, C., Grégoire, J.-M., Tansey, K., Carmichael, G. R., and Woo, J.-H.: Biomass burning emissions inventory from burnt area data given by SPOT-Vegetation satellite for TRACE-P and ACE-Asia case studies, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D09304, doi:10.1029/2004JD005461, 2005.

Mieville, A., Granier, C., Liousse, C., Guillaume, B., Mouillot, F., Lamarque, J. F., Grgoire, J. M., and Ptron, G.: Emissions of gases and particles from biomass burning during the 20th century using satellite data and an historical reconstruction, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., submitted, 2009.

Mosier, A., Kroeze, C., Nevison, C., Oenema, O., Seitzinger, S., and van Cleemput, O.: Closing the global N2O budget: nitrous oxide emissions through the agricultural nitrogen cycle, Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys., 52, 225–248, 1998.

Mougin, E., Hiernaux, P., Kergoat, L., Grippa, M., De Rosnay, P., Timouk, F., Le Dantec, V., Demarez, V., Arjounin, M., Lavenu, F., Soumaguel, N., Ceschia, E., Mougenot, B., Baup, F., Frappart, F., Frison, P. L., Gardelle, J., Gruhier, C., Jarlan, L., Mangiarotti, S., Sanou, B., Tracol, Y., Guichard, F., Trichon, V., Diarra, L., Soumaré, A., Koité, M., Dembélé, F., Lloyd, C., Hanan, N. P., Damesin, C., Delon, C., Serrça, D., Galy-Lacaux, C., Seghiéri, J., Becerra, S., Dia, H., Gangneron, F., and Mazzega, P.: The AMMA-CATCH Gourma observatory site in Mali: Relating climatic variations to changes in vegetation, surface hydrology, fluxes and natural resources, J. Hydrol., AMMA-CATCH Special issue, in press, 2009.

Munger, J. W., Fan, S.-M., Bakwin, P. S., Goulden, M. L., Goldstein, A. H., Colman, A. S., and Wofsy S. C.: Regional budgets for nitrogen oxides from continental sources: Variations of rates for oxidation and deposition with season and distance from source regions, J. Geophys. Res., 103(D7), 8355–8368, 1998.

Noilhan, J. and Mahfouf, J.-F.: The ISBA land surface parameterization scheme, Global Planet. Change, 13, 145–159, 1996.

Otter, L. B., Yang, W. X., Scholes, M. C., and Meixner, F. X.: Nitric oxode emissions from a southern african savanna, J. Geophys. Res, 104(D15), 18471–18485, 1999.

Potter, C. S., Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M., and Davidson, E. A.: Process modelling of controls on nitrogen trace gas emissions from soils worldwide, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 1361–1377, 1996.

Sauvage, B., Thouret, V., Cammas, J.-P., Brioude, J., Nedelec, P., and Mari, C.: Meridional ozone gradients in the African upper troposphere, Geophys. Res. Lett. 34(3), 03817, doi:10.1029/2006GL028542, 2007.

Schlecht, E., Fernandez-Rivera, S., and Hiernaux, P.: Timing, size and N-concentration of faecal and urinary excretions in cattle, sheep and goats – can they be used for better manuring of cropland, in: Soil fertility Management in West AfricanLand Use Systems, edited by: Renard, G., Neef, A., Becker, K., and von Oppen, M., Margraf Verlag, Weikersheim, Germany, 361–368, 1998.

Schlecht, E. and Hiernaux, P.: Beyond adding up inputs and outputs: process assessment and upscaling in modelling nutrient flows, Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys., 70, 303–319, 2004.

Schlecht, E., Hiernaux, P., Achard, F., and Turner, M. D.: Livestock related nutrient budgets within village territories in western Niger, Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys., 68, 199–211, 2004.

Seinfeld, J. H. and Pandis, S. N.: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: from air pollution to climate change, A Wiley-Interscience publication, USA, 1326~pp., 1998.

Serça, D., Delmas, R., Le Roux, X., Parsons, D. A. B., Scholes, M. C., Abbadie, L., and co-authors: Comparison of nitrogen monoxide emissions from several African tropical ecosystems and influence of season and fire, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 12, 637–651, 1998.

Sigha-Nkamdjou, L., Galy-Lacaux, C., Pont, V., Richard, S., Sighoumnou, D., and Lacaux, J.-P.: Rainwater chemistry and wet deposition over the equatorial forested ecosystem of Zoetele (Cameroon), J. Atmos. Chem., 46, 173–198, 2003.

Sutton, M. A., Nemitz, E., Erisman, J. W., Beier, C., Butterbach Bahl, K., Cellier, P., de Vries, W., Cotrufo, F., Skiba, U., Di Marco, C., Jones, S., Laville, P., Soussana, J. F., Loubet, B., Twigg, M., Famulari, D., Whitehead, J., Gallagher, M. W., Neftel, A., Flechard, C. R., Herrmann, B., Calanca, P. L., Schjoerring, J. K., Daemmgen, U., Horvath, L., Tang, Y. S., Emmett, B. A., Tietema, A., Peñuelas, J., Kesik, M., Brueggemann, N., Pilegaard, K., Vesala, T., Campbell, C. L., Olesen, J. E., Dragosits, U., Theobald, M. R., Levy, P., Mobbs, D. C., Milne,R., Viovy, N., Vuichard, N., Smith, J. U., Smith, P., Bergamaschi, P., Fowler, D., and Reis, S.: Challenges in quantifying biosphere-atmosphere exchange of nitrogen species, Environ. Pollut., 150, 125–139, 2007.

Tost, H., Jöckel, P., Kerkweg, A., Pozzer, A., Sander, R., and Lelieveld, J.: Global cloud and precipitation chemistry and wet deposition: tropospheric model simulations with ECHAM5/MESSy1, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 2733–2757, 2007.

Trebs, I., Lara, L. L., Zeri, L. M. M., Gatti, L. V., Artaxo, P., Dlugi, R., Slanina, J., Andreae, M. O., and Meixner, F. X.: Dry and wet deposition of inorganic nitrogen compounds to a tropical pasture site (Rond\^�nia, Brazil), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 447–469, 2006.

Vlek, P. L. G., Fillery, I. R. P., and Burford, J. R.: accession, transformation, and loss of nitrogen in soils of the arid region, Plant Soil, 58, 133–175, 1981.

Wesely, M. L.: Parameterization of surface resistances to gaseous dry deposition in regional-scale numerical models, Atmos. Environ., 23, 1293–1304, 1989.

Whelpdale, D. M., Summers, P. W., and Sanhueza, E.: A global overview of atmospheric acid deposition fluxes, Environ. Monit. Assess., 48, 217–247, 1997.

Williams, E. J., Guenther, A., and Fehsenfeld, F. C.: An inventory of nitric oxide emissions from soils in the United States, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 7511–7519, 1992.

Yan, X., Ohara, T., and Akimoto, H.: Statistical modelling of global soil NOx emissions, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 19, GB3019, doi:10.1029/2004GB002276, 2005.

Yienger, J. J. and Levy II, H.: Empirical model of global soil biogenic x emissions, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 11447–11464, 1995.

Yoboué, V., Galy-Lacaux, C., Lacaux, J. P., and Sibué, S.: Rainwater Chemistry and Wet Deposition over the Wet Savanna Ecosystem of Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire), J. Atmos. Chem., 52, 117–141, 2005.

Zhang, L., Gong, S., Padro, J., and Barrie, L.: A size-segregated particle dry deposition scheme for an atmospheric aerosol module, Atmos. Environ., 35, 549–560, doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(00)00326-5, 2001.

Zhang, L., Brook, J. R., and Vet, R.: A revised parameterization for gaseous dry deposition in air-quality models, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 3, 2067–2082, 2003.

Zhang, L., Vet, R., O'Brien, J. M., Mihele, C., Liang, Z., and Wiebe, A.: Dry deposition of individual nitrogen species at eight Canadian rural sites, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D02301, doi:10.1029/2008JD010640, 2009.