Hydrologic fluxes in the Volta River watershed : A paleo-terrestrial environment in West Africa

dc.contributor.authorHayford, E.K.
dc.contributor.authorManu, J.
dc.contributor.authorAsiedu, D.
dc.date.accessioned2013-01-03T18:11:37Z
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-14T12:14:31Z
dc.date.available2013-01-03T18:11:37Z
dc.date.available2017-10-14T12:14:31Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.description.abstractThe hydrologic cycle plays an important role in carbon cycling, due to the coupling of vapour release and CO2 uptake during photosynthesis. This coupling, expressed as water use efficiency of transpiration ratio, can provide an inexpensive alternative for estimating the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystem. Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen and long-term hydrologic and meteorological data together with stoichiometric relations of water and carbon are used to constrain water and carbon balances for the Volta River watershed. Soils annually respire 0.199 Pg C, and the balance of these fluxes or Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) is +0.029 Pg C Yr-1, implying an annual flux of CO2 to the atmosphere. Annually, the Volta river watershed receives about 380 km3 of rainfall. Approximately 50% of this volume of water is returned to the atmosphere through plant transpiration. Associated with annual transpiration flux is a carbon flux of 0.170 × 1015 g C yr-1 or 428 g C m-2 yr-1 from the terrestrial ecosystem. Modeled estimates of heterotrophic soil respiration exceed slightly the NPP estimate, implying that carbon flux to and from the Volta river watershed is close to being in balance or the watershed is a small annual source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. In addition to terrestrial carbon flux, the balance of photosynthesis and respiration in Volta Lake is also examined. The lake was found to release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, although the magnitude of the flux is smaller than that of the terrestrial ecosystem.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://197.255.68.203/handle/123456789/2438
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectHydrologic cycleen_US
dc.subjectcarbon cyclingen_US
dc.subjectVolta river basinen_US
dc.subjectisotope mass balance relationen_US
dc.subjectCarbon sinken_US
dc.titleHydrologic fluxes in the Volta River watershed : A paleo-terrestrial environment in West Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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