@article{PAR00012855,
  title = {{I}mpact of sheet erosion mechanisms on organic carbon losses from crusted soils in the {S}ahel},
  author = {{M}aiga-{Y}aleu, {S}. {B}. and {C}hivenge, {P}. and {Y}acouba, {H}. and {G}uiguemde, {I}. and {K}arambiri, {H}. and {R}ibolzi, {O}livier and {B}ary, {A}. and {C}haplot, {V}incent},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}oil surface crusting influences water infiltration and runoff but its impact on soil organic carbon ({SOC}) losses by sheet erosion is largely unknown. {B}ecause there are different mechanisms of sheet erosion, from raindrop detachment and transport by raindrops interacting with flow ({RIFT}), to detachment and transport by flow, that require a certain slope length to be operative, this study examined the impact of slope length on {SOC} and nutrient losses. {F}ield experiments were conducted on crusted soils in the {S}ahel region of {A}frica. {T}hree replicates of micro-plots (1 m x 1 m), plots (10 m long x 5 m width) and long plots (25 m x 6 m) were installed for each crust type in the area (structural, {STRU}; desiccation, {DES}; gravel, {GRAV}; and erosion, {ERO}) and followed for each rainfall event in the 2012 rainy season. {S}ediment, {SOC} content in sediments and selected nutrients ({NO}3-; {PO}43-) in the runoff were analyzed to evaluate the annual losses by sheet erosion. {SOC} losses decreased significantly with increasing slope length from 0.24 g {C} m(-1) on micro-plots to 0.04 g {C} m(-1) on plots and to 0.01 g {C} m(-1) on long plots and similar trends were observed for {NO}3- and {PO}43- losses. {T}his suggested a strong scale dependency of sheet erosion with the efficiency of transport by saltation and rolling by {RIFT} decreasing significantly with increasing slope length, by 6 folds in average between 1 and 10 m, with values between 1.8 on {DES} crusts and 19 on {STRU} crusts. {T}hese results on the relationship between soil crusting and sheet erosion should be further used to mitigate against the loss of {SOC} through the implementation of improved soil conservation techniques, as well as to improve soil erosion and/or {SOC} models.},
  keywords = {{E}rosion mechanism ; {S}oil surface feature ; {L}and degradation ; {S}oil organic carbon ; {N}utrients ; {A}frica ; {SAHEL} ; {BURKINA} {FASO}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{C}atena},
  volume = {126},
  numero = {},
  pages = {60--67},
  ISSN = {0341-8162},
  year = {2015},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.catena.2014.11.001},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/{PAR}00012855},
}