International audienceAmong the three sites distributed along the West African latitudinal gradient in the AMMA-CATCH observation system, the experimental setup in the Niamey area of south-west Niger samples the cultivated Sahel environment, for hydrological, vegetation and land surface processes. The objective is to investigate relationships between climate, land cover, and the water cycle, in a rapidly changing semiarid environment. This paper first presents the main characteristics of the area, where previous research, including the EPSAT and HAPEX-Sahel experiments, had evidenced a widespread decadal increase in water resources, concurrently with severe drought conditions. The specifics of AMMA-CATCH research and data acquisition at this site, over the long-term (not, vert, similar2001–2010) and enhanced (not, vert, similar2005–2008) observation periods, are introduced. Objectives and observation strategy are explained, and the main characteristics of instrument deployment are detailed. A very large number of parameters – covering rainfall, vegetation ecophysiology, phenology and production, surface fluxes of energy, water vapour and CO2, runoff and sediment, pond water, soil moisture, and groundwater – were monitored at local to meso scales in a nested structure of sites. The current state of knowledge is summarized, connecting processes and patterns of variation for rainfall, vegetation/land cover, and the terrestrial hydrologic cycle. The central role of land use and of its spectacular change in recent decades is highlighted. This paper provides substantial background information that sets the context for papers relating to the south-west Niger site in this AMMA-CATCH special issue

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Abstract. In the sub-Saharan Sahel, energy and water cycling at the land surface is pivotal for the regional climate, water resources and land productivity, yet it is still very poorly documented. As a step towards a comprehensive climatological description of surface fluxes in this area, this study provides estimates of long-term average annual budgets and seasonal cycles for two main land use types of the cultivated Sahelian belt: rainfed millet crop and fallow bush. These estimates build on the combination of a 7-year field data set from two typical plots in southwestern Niger with detailed physically based soil-plant-atmosphere modeling, yielding a continuous, comprehensive set of water and energy flux and storage variables over this multiyear period. In the present case in particular, blending field data with mechanistic modeling makes the best use of available data and knowledge for the construction of the multivariate time series. Rather than using the model only to gap-fill observations into a composite series, model-data integration is generalized homogeneously over time by generating the whole series with the entire data-constrained model simulation. Climatological averages of all water and energy variables, with associated sampling uncertainty, are derived at annual to subseasonal scales from the time series produced. Similarities and differences in the two ecosystem behaviors are highlighted. Mean annual evapotranspiration is found to represent ∼ 82-85 % of rainfall for both systems, but with different soil evaporation/plant transpiration partitioning and different seasonal distribution. The remainder consists entirely of runoff for the fallow, whereas drainage and runoff stand in a 40-60 % proportion for the millet field. These results should provide a robust reference for the surface energy-and water-related studies needed in this region. Their significance and the benefits they gain from the innovative data-model integration approach are thoroughly discussed. The model developed in this context has the potential for reliable simulations outside the reported conditions, including changing climate and land cover.Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.

There is a pressing need to find both locally and globally relevant tools to measure and compare biodiversity patterns. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is important to biodiversity monitoring, but has a contested role in preliminary biodiversity assessments. We examined rapid participatory rural appraisal (rPRA) (a tool commonly used for local needs assessments) as an alternative to surveys of vascular plants conducted by people with local knowledge. We used rPRA to determine the local-knowledge consensus on the average richness, diversity, and height of local grasses and trees in three habitats surrounding Boumba, Niger, bordering Park-W. We then conducted our own vascular plant surveys to collect information on plant richness, abundance, and structure. Using a qualitative ranking, we compared TEK-based assessments of diversity patterns with our survey-based assessments. The TEK-based assessments matched survey-based assessments on measures of height and density for grasses and trees and tree richness. The two assessments correlated poorly on herb richness and Simpson's D value for both trees and grasses. Plant life form and gender of the participant affected the way diversity patterns were described, which highlights the usefulness of TEK in explaining local realities and indicates limitations of using TEK as a large-scale assessment tool. Our results demonstrate that rPRA can serve to combine local-knowledge inquiry with scientific study at a cost lower than vascular plant surveys and demonstrates a useful blunt tool for preliminary biodiversity assessment.

Abstract. In the African Sahel, energy and water cycling at the land surface is pivotal for regional climate, water resources and land productivity, yet it is still extremely poorly documented. As a step towards a comprehensive climatological description of surface fluxes in this area, this study provides estimates of average annual budgets and seasonal cycles for two main land use types of the cultivated Sahelian belt, rainfed millet crop and fallow bush. These estimates build on the combination of a 7 year field dataset from two typical plots in southwestern Niger with detailed physically-based soil-plant-atmosphere modelling, yielding a continuous, comprehensive set of water and energy flux and storage variables over the 7 year period. In this study case in particular, blending field data with mechanistic modelling is considered as making best use of available data and knowledge for such purpose. It extends observations by reconstructing missing data and extrapolating to unobserved variables or periods. Furthermore, model constraining with observations compromises between extraction of observational information content and integration of process understanding, hence accounting for data imprecision and departure from physical laws. Climatological averages of all water and energy variables, with associated sampling uncertainty, are derived at annual to subseasonal scales from the 7 year series produced. Similarities and differences in the two ecosystems behaviors are highlighted. Mean annual evapotranspiration is found to represent ~82–85% of rainfall for both systems, but with different soil evaporation/plant transpiration partitioning and different seasonal distribution. The remainder consists entirely of runoff for the fallow, whereas drainage and runoff stand in a 40–60% proportion for the millet field. These results should provide a robust reference for the surface energy- and water-related studies needed in this region. The model developed in this context has the potential for reliable simulations outside the reported conditions, including changing climate and land cover.