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Studying the Impact of Environmental Factors on Vegetation in Dahra, Senegal

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Studying the Impact of Environmental Factors on Vegetation in Dahra, Senegal THE SAHELIAN DRYLANDS UNDER PRESSURE: STUDYING THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON VEGETATION IN DAHRA, SENEGAL Thomas Sibret Student number: 01102750 Promotor: Prof. dr. ir. Hans Verbeeck Tutor: MSc. Wim Verbruggen A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Bioscience Engineering: Forest and Nature Management Academic year: 2017 - 2018 Declaration of Authorship “De auteur en de promotor geven de toelating deze scriptie voor consultatie beschikbaar te stellen en delen ervan te kopiëren voor persoonlijk gebruik. Elk ander gebruik valt onder de beperkingen van het auteursrecht, in het bijzonder met betrekking tot de verplichting de bron te vermelden bij het aanhalen van resultaten uit deze scriptie.” “The author and the promotor give the permission to use this thesis for consultation and to copy parts of it for personal use. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws, more specifically the source must be extensively specified when using results from this thesis.” Ghent, June 2018 The promotor, The tutor, The author, Prof. dr. ir. Hans Verbeeck MSc. Wim Verbruggen Thomas Sibret Acknowledgements Finally! I did it! After 2 months of field work in the oven of the Sahelian drylands between the wild dogs, camels and hundreds of scorpions, and nine months of intensive work, I can finally proudly say I accomplished this challenging adventure! However, this entire experience wouldn’t have been such a success without some people I’m willing to thank. First of all I would like to thank my promotor Prof. dr. ir. Hans Verbeeck for offering me this unique opportunity and for the support and reviewing of my work. Next, I would of course thank my tutor MSc. Wim Verbruggen for guiding me through this journey and correcting my thesis. I wish you the best to further complete this ambitious and most interesting project. The entire fieldwork wouldn’t have been such a wonderful experience without two friendly collegues from KULeuven; thank you, Ilié Storms and MSc. Paulo Bernardino (alias “chicken”), you not only became precious colleagues but also real friends with whom I hope to get the opportunity to work again with in a close future! Furthermore, I would also thank Moustapha Mbaye and Ali Niang as well as their families for their warm hospitality and for sharing their culture! Jërë jëf samay xarit! Special thanks to PhD Lore Verryckt, dr. ir. Marijn Bauters, dr. Ousmne Ndiaye, Prof. dr. ir. Jan Van den Bulcke and Hoaran Zhou for their very helpful advices that helped me reach my goals. On a more personal point of view I would like to thank my beloved biologist Steffi Dekegel and my dear brother Mathieu Sibret, for their support and distractions in moments of need. Last but not least, I would like to thank my dear mother for giving me the opportunity to go to university as well as for all the support she gave me during those fantastic but sometimes difficult years. This is why I would end with: Voilà maman, j’y suis arrivé! Merci pour tout! Summary In this study, photosynthetic characteristics of Sahelian dryland species were examined in the Dahra field site, Senegal. During the field campaign, that took place from July until September 2017 (wet season), leaf gas-exchange measurements were performed in situ on all dominant species present on the site (trees and herbaceous plants). Furthermore, a complete site survey has been conducted and for each plant 24 leaves were collected in order to perform a leaf nitrogen content analysis. First, the field survey results have been compared with those from previously executed fields surveys. This comparison enabled us to hypothesize that rainfall conditions and the introduction of new invasive species may play a determinant role in the composition of ground cover species in Sahelian drylands. Then, the recorded photosynthetic response curves were fitted and various photosynthetic parameters were derived (e.g. dark respiration, maximal photosynthetic electron transport rate and maximal carboxylation rate). These photosynthetic parameters characterise a plant’s reaction to environmental factors (e.g. light and CO2) and form a basis for the parameterisation of vegetation models. Afterwards, the differences in photosynthetic parameters between C3 and C4 plants measured within this study have been examined. The two different plant groups show significant differences for several photosynthetic parameters. Moreover, the photosynthetic parameters derived within this study were compared to those originating from studies effectuated within other regions. Here again, significant differences are observable. Given the extent of these differences it seems important to collect more field-data of Sahelian drylands species to provide an accurate parameterization for both C3 and C4 plants in vegetation models in order to get more precise predictions. Finally, correlations between the different photosynthetic parameters and leaf nitrogen content were examined. This has been done for C3 and C4 plants separately. For C3 plants, several correlations are observed when leaf nitrogen contents and photosynthetic parameters are expressed on leaf dry mass basis. For C4 plants no significant correlations were observed. Furthermore, different correlations were observed for the photosynthetic parameters and leaf nitrogen content with specific leaf area. To further substantiate these conclusions and to improve the interpretations of the results, further research and data concerning photosynthetic parameters of Sahelian plant species is required. Samenvatting In deze studie worden fotosynthetische kenmerken van planten groeiende in het ariede klimaat van de Sahel onderzocht in Dahra, Senegal. Tijdens de veldcampagne, die plaats vond van juli tot september 2017 (regenseizoen), werden in situ fotosynthesemetingen uitgevoerd op alle dominante soorten die op het terrein aanwezig waren (zowel bomen als grassen). Bovendien werd er een volledige site-inventarisatie uitgevoerd en werden er voor elke plantensoort 24 bladeren verzameld om het stikstofgehalte in de bladeren te analyseren. Eerst werd de site-inventarisatie vergeleken met eerder uitgevoerde inventarisaties van dezelfde site. Deze vergelijking leidde tot de conclusie dat neerslagomstandigheden en de introductie van nieuwe invasieve soorten een bepalende rol spelen in de soortensamenstelling van bodembedekkers in de ariede gebieden van de Sahel. Vervolgens werden de opgenomen fotosynthetische responscurven gefit en werden hieruit verschillende fotosyntheseparameters afgeleid (bv. donkerrespiratie, maximale fotosynthetische elektronentransportsnelheid en maximale carboxylatiesnelheid). Deze fotosyntheseparameters karakteriseren de reactie van een plant op bepaalde omgevingsfactoren (bv. licht en CO2) en vormen de basis voor de parameterisatie van vegetatiemodellen. Nadien werden de verschillen tussen fotosynthetische parameterwaarden voor C3 en C4 planten, die gemeten werden in dit onderzoek, onderzocht. De twee verschillende plantengroepen vertonen significante verschillen voor verschillende fotosyntheseparameters. Bovendien werden de fotosyntheseparameters die in dit onderzoek werden afgeleid ook nog eens vergeleken met deze van studies die in andere regio's (gematigd en tropisch klimaat). Ook hier zijn significante verschillen waarneembaar. Gezien de omvang van deze verschillen, lijkt het van belang om meer veldgegevens voor planten afkomstig uit ariede gebieden te verzamelen om zodanig een nauwkeurigere parameterisatie te bieden voor zowel C3 als C4 planten in vegetatiemodellen en zo preciezere voorspellingen te krijgen. Ten slotte werden de verbanden tussen de verschillende fotosyntheseparameters en het stikstofgehalte van de bladeren onderzocht. Dit werd afzonderlijk voor C3 en C4 planten uitgevoerd. Voor C3 planten werden meerdere correlaties waargenomen wanneer het gehalte aan bladstikstof en de verschillende fotosyntheseparameters werden uitgedrukt op bladdroge massa basis. Voor C4 planten werden geen significante correlaties waargenomen. Verder werden verschillende correlaties waargenomen voor de fotosyntheseparameters en het bladstikstofgehalte met specifiek bladoppervlak. Om deze conclusies verder te ondersteunen en om de interpretaties van de resultaten te verbeteren, is verder onderzoek en een grotere toegankelijkheid tot gegevens betreffende fotosyntheseparameters van plantensoorten in de Sahel vereist. Résumé Dans cette étude, les caractéristiques photosynthétiques d’espèces originaires du climat aride du Sahel ont été examinées sur le site de Dahra, Sénégal. Durant le travail de terrain, qui se déroula de juillet à septembre 2017 (saison des pluies), des mesures d'échange gazeux des feuilles ont été réalisées in situ sur toutes les espèces dominantes présentes sur le site (arbres et plantes herbacées). De plus, une inventorisation botanique complète du site a été réalisée et pour chaque plante 24 feuilles furent prélevées afin d'effectuer une analyse de la teneur en azote des feuilles. Tout d'abord, l’inventaire botanique effectuée a été comparée à d’autre inventorisations botaniques précédemment exécutées sur le même site. Cette comparaison a permis de conclure que les conditions pluviométriques et l'introduction de nouvelles espèces envahissantes jouent un rôle déterminant dans la composition des espèces de couverture végétale dans les zones arides sahéliennes. Ensuite, les courbes de réponses photosynthétiques mesurées sur le terrain ont été ajustées et divers paramètres
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