Synergistic Interactions of Soil and Vegetation in Agroforestry Systems in Mitigating Climate Change in Upper East Region, Ghana

Climate change has been a global pandemic with its adverse impacts affecting environments and livelihoods. This has been largely attributed to anthropogenic activities which generate large amounts of Green House Gases (GHGs), notably carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) among others. In the Upper East of Ghana, climate change manifests in erratic rainfalls, drought, high temperatures, high wind speeds, high intensity rainfall, windstorms, flooding, declining vegetation cover, perennial devastating bushfires etc. Practices such as burning farm residues, use of dung as fuel for cooking, excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers, and deforestation that are prevalent in the region exacerbate the situation. Although, efforts made by governmental and none-governmental organizations to mitigate climate change through afforestation, agroforestry and promotion of less fuelwood consuming cook stoves, land management practices antagonize these efforts as more CO2 is generated than the carrying capacity of vegetation in the region. Research findings have established the role of trees and soil in carbon sequestration in mitigating climate. However, there is limited knowledge on how the vegetation and soil in agroforestry interplay in mitigation climate change. It is against this background that this review seeks to investigate how vegetation and soil in an agroforestry interact synergistically to sequester carbon and contribute to mitigating climate change in Upper East region of Ghana. In this review, it was discovered soil stored more carbon than vegetation in an agroforestry system and is much effective in mitigating climate change. It was found out that in order to make soil and vegetation in an agroforestry system interact synergistically to effectively mitigate climate change, Climate Smart Agriculture practice which integrates trees, and perennials crops effectively mitigates climate. The review concluded that tillage practices that ensure retention and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) could be much effective in carbon sequestration in the Savannah zones and could be augmented with vegetation to synergistically mitigate climate change in the Upper East region of Ghana.

Towards understanding the environmental and climatic changes and its contribution to the spread of wildfires in Ghana using remote sensing tools and machine learning (Google Earth Engine)

Data processing and climate characterisation to study its impact is becoming difficult due to insufficient and unavailable data,especially in developing countries.Understanding climate’s impact on burnt areas in Ghana(Guinea-savannah(GSZ)and Forest-savannah Mosaic zones(FSZ))leads us to opt for machine learning.Through Google Earth Engine(GEE),rainfall(PR),maximum temperature(Tmax),minimum temperature(Tmin),average temperature(Tmean),Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI),relative humidity(RH),wind speed(WS),soil moisture(SM),actual evapotranspiration(ETA)and reference evapotranspiration(ETR)have been acquired through CHIRPS(Climate Hazards group Infrared Precipitation with Stations),FLDAS dataset(Famine Early Warning Systems Network(FEWS NET)Land Data Assimilation System)and TerraClimate platform from 1991 to 2021.The objective is to analyse the link and the contribution of climatic and environmental parameters on wildfire spread in GSZ and FSZ in Ghana.Variables were analysed(area burnt and the number of activefires)through Spearman correlation and the cross-correlation function(CCF)(2001 to 2021).The tests(Mann-Kendall and Sens’s slope trend test,Pettitt test and the Lee and Heghinian test)showed the overall decrease in rainfall and increase in temperature respectively(-0.1 mm;+0.8℃)in GSZ and(-0.9 mm;+0.3℃)in FSZ.In terms of impact,PR,ETR,FDI,Tmean,Tmax,Tmin,RH,ETA and SM contribute tofire spread.Through the codes developed,researchers and decision-makers could update them at different times easily to monitor climate variability and its impact onfires.

A comprehensive review of the effects of biochar on soil physicochemical properties and crop productivity

Intensive land use has several detrimental effects on land function and imposes an undue burden on the environment.Continuous farming and pollution by heavy metals have negatively influenced many soils.Biochar is now gaining attention as a major research subject in the areas of agriculture,environment,and energy as an eco-friendly soil conditioner.The use of biochar for agricultural and environmental purposes has been widely studied and reviewed.Unfortunately,there are few reviews on biochar structures and other biochar uses.This review presents an overview of current developments in the effects of numerous biochar physicochemical properties and biochar uses,such as utilization as a soil microbial activity,contaminant adsorbent,ion exchange,soil amendment,gas storage and water retention.The physical,chemical and biological properties have been discussed following amendments to the soil and conditions of preparation.However,scientific observation and research are required to identify the negative effects of biochar in preparations and applications.It is envisaged that further in-depth studies of biochar amendment will lead to a deeper understanding of biochar's relationships with soils and that reviews of the negative impacts of biochar could reveal ways in which they might be mitigated.

Insect pollinator dependence of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) in the Guinea Savanna zone of Ghana

Shea(Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn.)is a multipurpose tree species indigenous to the Sudano Sahelian zone of Africa and occurs as the most abundant economic tree species in northern Ghana.The edible oil(shea butter)extracted from shea kernel is ranked as the most economic product of the species.Although fruit set and yield of shea are known to be influenced by insect pollination,the actual contribution of insect pollinators to its reproductive success has rarely been studied.This study estimated the percentage insect pollinator dependence and monetary value of insect pollination per bag of shea kernel(85 kg)in the Guinea savanna zone.Open pollination and insect exclusion treatments were applied to the flowers of 18 randomly selected matured shea trees and observed from the onset of flowering to fruit maturity.Proportion of total production value attributed to insect pollination approach was used in estimating the monetary value of pollination per bag of shea kernel with the average market price as proxy.The study revealed an insect pollinator dependence of 77%and 73%for fruit set and dry kernel yield,respectively.Mean number of fruit set per inflorescence varied significantly between insectexcluded and open-pollinated inflorescences(p<0.05).The monetary value of insect pollination was estimated at GH₵73.21(US$18.67)per bag of kernel as of August 2016.Shea is a high insect pollinator–dependent species and the conservation of insect pollinators would be critical to the sustainability of yield.

Correction to: Insect pollinator dependence of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) in the Guinea Savanna zone of Ghana

Correction to:Ecol Process https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-019-0202-8 In the original publication of this article(Nasare et al.2019),the‘₵’in Ghanaian currency symbol(GH₵)was omitted in below content in the pdf version of the article.It should be‘GH₵'1.“The monetary value of insect pollination was estimated at GH 73.21(US$18.67)per bag of kernel as of August 2016”.