Wind-blown nutrient transport and soil productivity changes in southwest Niger

Abstract

This study was conducted to quantify nutrient losses by saltation and suspension transport. During two convective storms, mass fluxes of wind-blown particles were measured in a pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) field in southwest Niger, on a sandy, siliceous, isohyperthermic Psammentic Paleustalf. The trapped material at three heights (0·05, 0·26 and 0·50 m) and a sample of vertically deposited dust were analyzed for total element contents of K, C, N and P. The nutrient content of the material at 0·05 m was similar to the nutrient content of the topsoil. At 0·50 m, the material was three times richer in nutrients than the topsoil, whereas the deposited dust, trapped at 2·00 m, was 17 times richer. For all four elements, a total element (TE) mass flux profile was fitted throughout the observations. From the TE profiles, the following nutrient losses from the experimental plot were estimated: 57·1 kg ha−1 K, 79·6 kg ha−1 C, 18·3 kg ha−1 N, and 6·1 kg ha−1 P. The TE profiles showed a maximum value in the saltation layer. The suspended TE mass fluxes above the saltation layer were an order of magnitude lower than the saltation fluxes, but extended to greater heights. Therefore, saltation and suspension are both able to transport significant quantities of nutrients. While saltation results in only a local redistribution of nutrients, suspension may transport dust over thousands of kilometers, resulting in a regional loss of nutrients.