International audienceThis paper is focused on the West African anomalous precipitation response to an Atlantic Equatorial mode whose origin, development and damping resembles the observed one during the last decades of the XXth century. In the framework of the AMMA-EU project, this paper analyses the atmospheric response to the Equatorial mode using a multimodel approach with an ensemble of integrations from 4 AGCMs under a time varying Equatorial SST mode. The Guinean Gulf precipitation, which together with the Sahelian mode accounts for most of the summer West African rainfall variability, is highly coupled to this Equatorial Atlantic SST mode or Atlantic Niño. In a previous study, done with the same models under 1958-1997 observed prescribed SSTs, most of the models identify the Equatorial Atlantic SST mode as the one most related to the Guinean Gulf precipitation. The models response to the positive phase of equatorial Atlantic mode (warm SSTs) depicts a direct impact in the equatorial Atlantic, leading to a decrease of the local surface temperature gradient, weakening the West African Monsoon flow and the surface convergence over the Sahel

We estimated the long-term carbon balance [net biome production (NBP)] of European (EU-25) croplands and its component fluxes, over the last two decades. Net primary production (NPP) estimates, from different data sources ranged between 490 and 846 gC m−2 yr−1, and mostly reflect uncertainties in allocation, and in cropland area when using yield statistics. Inventories of soil C change over arable lands may be the most reliable source of information on NBP, but inventories lack full and harmonized coverage of EU-25. From a compilation of inventories we infer a mean loss of soil C amounting to 17 g m−2 yr−1. In addition, three process-based models, driven by historical climate and evolving agricultural technology, estimate a small sink of 15 g C m−2 yr−1 or a small source of 7.6 g C m−2 yr−1. Neither the soil C inventory data, nor the process model results support the previous European-scale NBP estimate by Janssens and colleagues of a large soil C loss of 90 ± 50 gC m−2 yr−1. Discrepancy between measured and modeled NBP is caused by erosion which is not inventoried, and the burning of harvest residues which is not modeled. When correcting the inventory NBP for the erosion flux, and the modeled NBP for agricultural fire losses, the discrepancy is reduced, and cropland NBP ranges between −8.3 ± 13 and −13 ± 33 g C m−2 yr−1 from the mean of the models and inventories, respectively. The mean nitrous oxide (N₂O) flux estimates ranges between 32 and 37 g C Eq m−2 yr−1, which nearly doubles the CO₂ losses. European croplands act as small CH₄ sink of 3.3 g C Eq m−2 yr−1. Considering ecosystem CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ fluxes provides for the net greenhouse gas balance a net source of 42–47 g C Eq m−2 yr−1. Intensifying agriculture in Eastern Europe to the same level Western Europe amounts is expected to result in a near doubling of the N₂O emissions in Eastern Europe. N₂O emissions will then become the main source of concern for the impact of European agriculture on climate