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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2016
A study that aims to assess the impact of the interaction between soil macrofauna and soil fertility management methods on runoff, was conducted in the north-sudanian zone of Burkina Faso on a Lixisol with an average slope of 1.5%. Runoff was measured using a runoff plot of 1.04 m2 and crop yields were measured on the effective area of the elementary plot. Biocide treatments used to control the population of macrofauna have eliminated 95% to 99% of soil macrofauna. Except for urea treatment, the results showed that the presence of macrofauna has led to the reduction of runoff in the other treatments. The absolute contribution of macrofauna to runoff varied between 24.58% and 30.74%. Runoff reduction was higher on soil management based on sorghum straw + urea (71.24% in 2008 and 78.80% in 2009) in the presence of soil macrofauna. We concluded that in cropping systems with low external inputs, stimulating the activity of macrofauna by burying material with high ratio of carbon to nitrogen reduces runoff and thus maintains the potential of farm land.