Water harvesting in Bakel, Senegal

Abstract: This is the result of a field study performed during July -September 1990 in Bakel, eastern Senegal. The village Bakel is in a semi-arid region with low agricultural productivity as a result of drought, degraded soils and excessive rainwater runoff. The thesis presents environmental conditions of the region and the water harvesting techniques introduced by a Swedish funded reforestation project. A series of mesurements were made in a drainage basin used by the project as an experimental area to reveal the effect of stone and earth bounds on the plant available soil moisture. The bounds' function is to decrease runoff, thereby increasing infiltration. The results of the study do not support the hypothesis that the bounds increase soil moisture. In addition, no differences were found between the two bound types in their ability to increase soil moisture.