Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin

Meteorological stations are rare in central Africa, which leads to uncertainty in regional climatic trends. This is particularly problematic for the Congo Basin, where station coverage decreased significantly during the last few decades. Here, we present a digitized dataset of daily temperature and...

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Main Authors: Kasongo Yakusu, E., Acker, J. van, Van de Vyver, H., Bourland, N., Mbifo Ndiapo, J., Besango Likwela, T., Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M., Mbuya Kankolongo, A., Bulcke, J. van den, Beeckman, H., Bauters, M., Boeckx, P., Verbeeck, H., Jacobsen, K., Demarée, G., Gellens-Meulenberghs, F., Hubau, W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135847
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author Kasongo Yakusu, E.
Acker, J. van
Van de Vyver, H.
Bourland, N.
Mbifo Ndiapo, J.
Besango Likwela, T.
Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M.
Mbuya Kankolongo, A.
Bulcke, J. van den
Beeckman, H.
Bauters, M.
Boeckx, P.
Verbeeck, H.
Jacobsen, K.
Demarée, G.
Gellens-Meulenberghs, F.
Hubau, W.
author_browse Acker, J. van
Bauters, M.
Beeckman, H.
Besango Likwela, T.
Boeckx, P.
Bourland, N.
Bulcke, J. van den
Demarée, G.
Gellens-Meulenberghs, F.
Hubau, W.
Jacobsen, K.
Kasongo Yakusu, E.
Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M.
Mbifo Ndiapo, J.
Mbuya Kankolongo, A.
Van de Vyver, H.
Verbeeck, H.
author_facet Kasongo Yakusu, E.
Acker, J. van
Van de Vyver, H.
Bourland, N.
Mbifo Ndiapo, J.
Besango Likwela, T.
Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M.
Mbuya Kankolongo, A.
Bulcke, J. van den
Beeckman, H.
Bauters, M.
Boeckx, P.
Verbeeck, H.
Jacobsen, K.
Demarée, G.
Gellens-Meulenberghs, F.
Hubau, W.
author_sort Kasongo Yakusu, E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Meteorological stations are rare in central Africa, which leads to uncertainty in regional climatic trends. This is particularly problematic for the Congo Basin, where station coverage decreased significantly during the last few decades. Here, we present a digitized dataset of daily temperature and precipitation from the Yangambi biosphere reserve, covering the period 1960–2020 (61 years) and located in the heart of the Congo Basin. Our results confirm a long-term increase in temperature and temperature extremes since the 1960s, with strong upward trends since the early 1990s. Our results also indicate a drying trend for the dry season and intensification of the wet season since the early 2000s. Ongoing warming and increasing precipitation seasonality and intensity already have a significant impact on crop yields in Yangambi. This calls for urgent development of climate-smart and dynamic agriculture and agroforestry systems. We conclude that systematic digitization and climate recording in the Congo Basin will be critical to improve much-needed gridded benchmark datasets of climatic variables.
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spelling CGSpace1358472025-02-19T13:42:41Z Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin Kasongo Yakusu, E. Acker, J. van Van de Vyver, H. Bourland, N. Mbifo Ndiapo, J. Besango Likwela, T. Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M. Mbuya Kankolongo, A. Bulcke, J. van den Beeckman, H. Bauters, M. Boeckx, P. Verbeeck, H. Jacobsen, K. Demarée, G. Gellens-Meulenberghs, F. Hubau, W. climate change seasonality precipitation Meteorological stations are rare in central Africa, which leads to uncertainty in regional climatic trends. This is particularly problematic for the Congo Basin, where station coverage decreased significantly during the last few decades. Here, we present a digitized dataset of daily temperature and precipitation from the Yangambi biosphere reserve, covering the period 1960–2020 (61 years) and located in the heart of the Congo Basin. Our results confirm a long-term increase in temperature and temperature extremes since the 1960s, with strong upward trends since the early 1990s. Our results also indicate a drying trend for the dry season and intensification of the wet season since the early 2000s. Ongoing warming and increasing precipitation seasonality and intensity already have a significant impact on crop yields in Yangambi. This calls for urgent development of climate-smart and dynamic agriculture and agroforestry systems. We conclude that systematic digitization and climate recording in the Congo Basin will be critical to improve much-needed gridded benchmark datasets of climatic variables. 2023-10 2023-12-22T10:16:59Z 2023-12-22T10:16:59Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135847 en Open Access Springer Kasongo Yakusu, E., Van Acker, J., Van de Vyver, H., Bourland, N., Mbifo Ndiapo, J., Besango Likwela, T., Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M., Mbuya Kankolongo, A., Van den Bulcke, J., Beeckman, H. and Bauters, M.,Boeckx, P., Verbeeck, H., Jacobsen, K., Demarée, G., Gellens-Meulenberghs, F., Hubau, W., 2023. Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin. Climatic Change, 176(10), 142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-023-03606-0
spellingShingle climate change
seasonality
precipitation
Kasongo Yakusu, E.
Acker, J. van
Van de Vyver, H.
Bourland, N.
Mbifo Ndiapo, J.
Besango Likwela, T.
Lokonda Wa Kipifo, M.
Mbuya Kankolongo, A.
Bulcke, J. van den
Beeckman, H.
Bauters, M.
Boeckx, P.
Verbeeck, H.
Jacobsen, K.
Demarée, G.
Gellens-Meulenberghs, F.
Hubau, W.
Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin
title Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin
title_full Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin
title_fullStr Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin
title_full_unstemmed Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin
title_short Ground-based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960–2020 period in Yangambi, central Congo Basin
title_sort ground based climate data show evidence of warming and intensification of the seasonal rainfall cycle during the 1960 2020 period in yangambi central congo basin
topic climate change
seasonality
precipitation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135847
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