About the Ouarkhokh area

History

The Ouarkhokh Commune (or Ferlo Sud sub-territory) belong to the three observatories of the National Environmental Monitoring System (DNSE) set up in Senegal following the ROSELT / OSS experiment, and managed by the Centre de Suivi Ecologique. At least three inventories (ecological and socio-economic) were carried out at the years 2000, 2005 and 2010 in the Ouarkhokh. Also, the CSE has in the same zone, a ground control site where natural vegetation has been sampled on average every two years since 1989. The Ouarkhokh site is near the CRZ of Dahra / ISRA. Several research activities are ongoing on herbaceous and woody plants dynamics in pastoral conditions through the Pole Pastoralisme Zones Sèches (PPZS).

About the area

The soils are ferruginous and silty-clay in the shallows. The main crops grow at this site include groundnut, millet, maize, watermelon and cowpea.

Annual rainfall: 300-500 mm/year

Population density: 32 people/km²

Main ethnic groups: Wolofs and Peulhs

Study site approximate area: 609 km2

Agricultural land: 27% in 2010

Livestock density: 81 TLU/km2

Experiment

• Herbaceous and woody plants dynamics in pastoral conditions using low-cost drone. Ecological and land cover change assessment