The impact of rain events on CO emissions from contrasting land use systems in semi-arid West African savannas.

In the future the Sudanian savanna - one of West Africa's high-potential "bread baskets" - will likely face shorter rainy seasons with more extreme rains and droughts. That could have serious impacts on the vegetation and its carbon dioxide (CO) exchange with potentially increasing CO emissions accelerating climate warming. Understanding how the CO fluxes in this area respond to environmental variables, in particular rain events, is essential, but available data are scarce.