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Continuous use of agricultural land without periodic assessment of its suitability or performance for the cultivation of a specific crop could degrade soil fertility and compromise the long-term sustainability of the land to support production. Our aim is to use an integrated approach to assess agricultural land suitability in a small-scale farming system in the semi-arid region of northern Ghana, identify limiting factors for optimum crop production, and recommend intervention options towards sustainable farm management. We developed a data-driven model for land suitability analysis based on the Generalized Additive Models (GAM) approach. We validated the model with the actual yield data for six food crops (maize, pepper, yam, rice, peanut, and cowpea) under various biological, physical and chemical soil conditions across six communities. The result showed that the farmlands across the communities were highly suitable for maize and pepper but not suitable for cowpea. A qualitative validation method based on the contingency table showed the accuracy percentage of 84–100% for POD (Probability of Detection) and 6–21% for FAR (False alarm ratio) for all crops type. Hence, our model could be considered excellent to predict land suitability for different crop types. We recommend that stakeholders in the agricultural value chain should collaborate to develop low-cost and effective means of helping farmers determine the suitability of soils for specific crops to ensure that farmlands are not of depleted nutrients. In addition, periodic farmer training on appropriate farm management practices, including the right use of fertilizers, is needed.

This paper reviews trends in the academic literature on cumulative effects assessment (CEA) of disturbance on forest ecosystems to advance research in the broader context of impact assessments. Disturbance is any distinct spatiotemporal event that disrupts the structure and composition of an ecosystem affecting resource availability. We developed a Python package to automate search term selection, write search strategies, reduce bias and improve the efficient and effective selection of articles from academic databases and grey literature. We identified 148 peer-reviewed literature published between 1986 and 2022 and conducted an inductive and deductive thematic analysis of the results. Our findings revealed that CEA studies are concentrated in the global north, with most publications from authors affiliated with government agencies in the USA and Canada. Methodological and analytical approaches are less interdisciplinary but mainly quantitative and expert-driven, involving modeling the impacts of disturbances on biophysical valued components. Furthermore, the assessment of socioeconomic valued components, including the effects of disturbance on Indigenous wellbeing connected to forests, has received less attention. Even though there is a high preference for regional assessment, challenges with data access, quality, and analysis, especially baseline data over long periods, are hampering effective CEA. Few articles examined CEA - policy/management nexus. Of the few studies, challenges such as the inadequate implementation of CEA mitigation strategies due to policy drawbacks and resource constraints, the high cost of monitoring multiple indicators, and poor connections between scenarios/modeling and management actions were paramount. Future CEA research is needed to broaden our understanding of how multiple disturbance affects forests in the global south and coupled social and ecological systems and their implications for sustainable forest management.

Since the 1980s, many regions in Africa that are rich in mineral resources have undertaken significant reforms to attract foreign investments. While the reforms have broadly boosted mineral production and spurred economic growth, there is a general feeling among stakeholders in the mining sector that such investments have not lived up to their rhetorical promise of improving human well-being. In Ghana, such concerns are particularly pronounced in localities that host mining activities. In such areas, mining can have a series of sustainability impacts that affect manifold the local environment and the local communities. However, there is very little effort to systematically assess the local impacts of mining in Ghana and Africa in general. Our study develops a composite sustainability index that can provide a holistic assessment of the local sustainability impacts of mining. We apply this index to understand the sustainability of three communities surrounding the gold mine of the Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd., in the Ahafo South District of Brong Ahafo region. We combine indicators that represent the key local environmental, social, economic, and institutional impacts of mining to assess local sustainability during the active stages of mine development and operation. We use a series of different methodologies and participatory techniques to arrive at the different indicators, as well as to rate them. Results suggest that despite some between-community similarities for some environmental impacts, the local communities often had radically different scores for social, economic, and institutional aspects of sustainability. Based on the findings, we argue that restoration efforts need to be customized to reflect the between-community variation and go beyond simple landscape reclamation to include interventions that improve human well-being, secure infrastructure, and enhance the collaboration among stakeholders to enable the affected local communities’ transition to sustainability.

We evaluated the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on community structure and diversity along three management zones of the Bia biosphere reserve in Ghana. Sixty sample plots were distributed among the core, buffer and transition zones. We estimated the degree of disturbances from discernible indicators on the field and satellite images. All tree species ≥10 cm dbh (diameter at breast height) were identified and enumerated. Inventory data were compared across the zones and related to intensity of disturbances. A total of 1176 individual trees from 108 species and 33 families were encountered. Number of species varied from 27 in the highly disturbed (HD) to 61 in the least disturbed (LD) zone. Mean basal area (BA) varied from 11.71 in the HD to 28.26 in the LD. Both Margalef's species richness and Shannon-Weiner's α-diversity were highest in the moderately disturbed (MD) than either the least and most disturbed zones. Our study revealed significant differences in tree abundance, stem density, BA and species diversity, attributable to differences in degree of anthropogenic disturbances among zones. Given the different levels of anthropogenic disturbance and corresponding impacts across the reserve, we recommend an integrated management strategy for the conservation of biodiversity in the Bia biosphere reserve.

The unsustainable exploitation of natural resources combined with climate change and poor agroecosystem management practices has left the semi-arid areas of West Africa among one of the most degraded agroecosystems in the world. This condition affects the food crop production potential of the region. This paper examines farmers’ responses to climatic and ecological setbacks to enhance food crop production in the Tolon District of Northern Ghana. The study adopted a mixed method data collection appraoch. First, transect walks were undertaken in selected study communities to observe the agroecological landscapes, major agricultural land use types, dominant cropping patterns, and density of farming across the landscape. Secondly, an on-farm management survey was conducted to obtain information on the existing farm management practices and land preparation methods. Thirdly, Focus group discussions were held to determine the extents of adoption of primary farm management practices. The results revealed that current farming practices often involve the complete removal of organic residue in farmlands. This practice hinders plant nutrient retention and limits the buildup of soil organic carbon critical for food crop production. We also found increased incidence of droughts as a major challenge to farming. To boost food production potential, chemical fertilizer is the most valued soil amendment by farmers in Tolon even the though majority of farmers are unable to apply the recommended fertilizer amounts. The above findings suggest that any attempt to boost crop production and improve agroecological resilience to recent threats such as climate change without consideration of the restoration of agroecological integrity will be less sustainable. Policy makers and development agencies can take advantage of the high utilization of new technologies such as mobile phones and radio in such communities to deliver targeted programs to farmers meant to restore agroecological integrity.

In an era of increased climate-induced disasters, education related to disaster prevention, preparedness, and management has become crucial. In response, the government of Ghana and other stakeholders have initiated programs and policies aimed at integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) into educational curricula. This study assessed the current level of DRR integration in the pre-tertiary education system in Ghana by assessing teachers’ perceptions and preparedness to handle DRR lessons and the challenges they experience. Using secondary data and in-depth interviews with officials from the Ghana Education Service (GES), National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), information on the current level of DRR integration in the pre-tertiary education system in Ghana was reviewed. Semi-structured questionnaires were also used to obtain information from teachers sampled from selected schools in the La Nkwantanang District of the Greater Accra Region. The results revealed that the level of DRR integration in pre-tertiary schools remain low, and challenges to further integration include inadequate teacher training and learning materials and poor support from disaster management organizations. These factors adversely affect the ability of teachers to impart DRR knowldge and mainstreaming of DRR into pre-tertiary education in Ghana. Therefore, the findings suggest that training teachers in the delivery of DRR lessons at the pre-tertiary level should be prioritized in Ghana. In addition, disaster management organizations should be encouraged to partner with schools to support the practical teaching of DRR lessons to be able to enhance the knowledge and skills of both students and teachers.

Biodiversity remains valuable life-supporting resources for mankind. However, in the semi-arid Savannah ecological zone of West Africa, our understanding of the stock, utilization, and management of biodiversity is less understood. This study seeks to (1) profile the distribution, management, and utilization of woody plant species under different land uses; (2) identify factors affecting plant biological resources; and (3) assess the state of a community’s ecological vulnerability. Both quantitative and qualitative research strategies including surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Field assessments were undertaken in purposively selected major land use types. The Sorensen index was used to assess species similarity levels and family importance value was used to determine the most important plant families. The Shannon–Weiner index was used to determine species diversity and evenness, whereas the ecological vulnerability index was used to estimate the communities’ vulnerability levels. Total of 67 woody plant species belonging to 27 families and 55 genera were identified, with Fabaceae and Compositaceae being the most important plant families. Species diversity was highest in sacred groves followed by fallow fields, crop fields, and grazed fields. The most resilient ecological communities were found to be Zagua and Kpalgun, whereas Daboshe emerged as the most vulnerable ecological community. In all communities, we found that species overexploitation for productive purposes and loss of traditional values contribute to biodiversity loss. Ecological resilience could be enhanced through the enforcement of taboos, implementation of afforestation, and educational programs. The study contributes to address the rarity of plant species distribution–assessment in the semi-arid areas of West Africa.

Many government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and academic and research institutions have over the past two decades conducted studies and implemented actions aimed at developing frameworks, models, and tools to assess the resilience to climate and ecosystem changes of vulnerable communities. However, actions and studies encompassing empirical field tests of the assessment instruments are relatively few. This chapter reports the outcomes of an empirically applied resilience assessment framework, hereafter referred to as the “Ghana Model,” which was initiated as part of the “Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Semi-Arid Africa: An Integrated Approach (CECAR-Africa)” project, implemented in Ghana’s semiarid ecosystem. The chapter provides a concise description of the “Ghana Model” as an integrated resilience assessment framework as underpinned by seven principles while highlighting the concrete actions and steps taken in operationalizing it. As a clinically valid approach for resilience assessment, the Ghana Model provides valuable evidence to aid decision and policymakers in Ghana in designing and implementing adaptation strategies for climate change in vulnerable communities and households. As a resilience assessment template, it can be applied in other ecosystems within other sub-Saharan African countries as well as other developing economies. The Ghana Model can enrich ongoing discourse on global sustainability as well as provide relevant output toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Faced with adversarial climatic and physical conditions and an inept socioeconomic development priorities, Northern Ghana remains one of the regions that are most vulnerable to climate-related shocks and disturbances in semi-arid Africa. Because of the effect of frequent floods, droughts, and bushfires, entire livelihoods in Ghana’s predominantly smallholder agricultural population are under threat. In this paper, we present a model for community-based resilience assessment. This model was developed through an experiment conducted in selected rural communities in the Tolon and Wa West Districts in the Northern and Upper West Regions of Ghana. This experiment underpinned an ongoing five-year collaborative research project, Climate and Ecosystem Change Adaptation and Resilience Research in Semi-Arid Africa: An Integrated Approach (CECAR-Africa), and involved researchers and scientists from institutions in Ghana and Japan. Drawing on the findings from extensive literature review, field surveys, focus group discussions, unstructured interviews with various stakeholders, and participatory observations, we developed a matrix for assessing the different categories of community resilience (ecological, engineering, and socioeconomic). The outcome of this resilience matrix, herein called an “integrated” assessment model, offers a mix of factors that could improve societal reorganization when faced with shocks or disturbances. The integrated model provides a workable assessment criteria and key indicators for community level resilience assessments. This experiment proved valuable and highly effective in selecting case study communities for CECAR-Africa. The next step will involve the testing and development of similar criteria and indicators to measure household level resilience.

In recent years, land use (LU) and landscape structure in ecoregions around the world have been faced with enormous pressures, from rapid population growth to urban sprawl. A preliminary account of changes in land cover (LC) and landscape structure in the ecoregions of Ghana is missing from the academic and research literature. The study therefore provides a preliminary assessment of the changing LU and landscape structure in the ecoregions of Ghana, identifying the causes and assessing their impact on land-based resources, and on urban and agricultural development. LU/LC maps produced from 30 m resolution Landsat TM5 in 1990 and ETM+ in 2000 were classified into dominant land cover types (LCTs) and used to survey the changing landscape of Ghana. LC-changemap preparation was done with change detection extension “Veränderung” (v3) in an ArcGIS 10.1 environment. At the class level, Patch Analyst version 5.1 was used to calculate land use (LU) statistics and to provide landscape metrics for LU maps extracted from the satellite imagery. The results showed that commonly observed LCCs in the ecoregions of Ghana include conversion of natural forest land to various forms of cultivated lands, settlements, and open land, particularly in closed and open forest and savannah woodland. The dominant LU types in the ecoregions of Ghana are arable lands, which increased by 6168.98 km2. Forest and plantation LCTs decreased in area and were replaced by agricultural land, forest garden, and open land. Afforestation rarely occurred except in the rainforests. The mean patch size (MPS), ameasure of fragmentation, was generally reduced consistently from 1990 to 2000 in all the ecoregions. Similar results that indicated increased fragmentation were an increased number of patches (NumP) and the Shannon diversity index (SDI). Habitat shape complexity inferred from mean shape index (MSI) decreased in all ecoregions except for rainforest and wet evergreen. The SDI and Shannon evenness index (SEI) showed that habitat diversity was highest in the coastal savannah and the deciduous forest ecoregions. The main drivers of changes in the LUs and landscape structure are demand for land and land-based natural resources to support competing livelihoods and developmental activities in the different ecoregions.

In recent times, there has been increasing interest in the importance of agricultural soils as global carbon sinks, and the opportunity of enhancing the resilience of degraded agroecosystems – particularly in savannah regions of the world. However, this opportunity is largely a function of land use and/or land management choices, which differ between and within regions. In the present study, we investigated the role of agriculture land use and farm management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in the savannah regions of northern Ghana. We evaluated selected land use types by using an integrated approach, involving on-farm interviews, community transect walks, land use monitoring, and soil sampling. Our results indicated that, at the landscape level, community land use and resource needs are important determinants of SOC storage in farmlands. We determined low SOC accumulation across the investigated landscape; however, the relatively high SOC stock in protected lands compared with croplands implies the potential for increasing SOC build-up by using recommended management practices. Low incomes, constraints to fertilizer use, low biomass availability, and reductions in fallow periods remain as barriers to SOC buildup. In this context, global soil carbon storage potential and smallholder food production systems will benefit from an ecosystembased adaptation strategy that prioritizes building a portfolio of carbon stores at the landscape level.

Human influence on the biosphere has transformed natural land cover (LC) into modified LC. Large-scale biome assessment is therefore essential in restoring the damaged ecosystem. The hypothesis was: GIS and RS could generate LC and landscape characterization statistics for assessing habitat diversity and land cover change (LCC). Our objectives were (a) to identify how patterns of habitat diversity and LCC can be predicted with geographic and remotely sensed data; (b) to identify the relationship among spatial and temporal fluctuations, fragmentation and diversity in the post-mining landscape. LC maps of August 1995 and 2000 were produced from LANDSAT TM images of the landscape, Schlabendorf Sud; to survey the changing landscape. Landscape characterization metrics were generated using Patch Analyst after calculating LCC statistics for each map year. Change detection extension identified changes among land cover types (LCT) into “negative change”, “no change” and “positive change”. Processes of reverse and linear succession were found in different areas. Some LCT either reduced or increased considerably. “Lake” size increased more than three times due to “wetland” and some “dry vegetation” turning into lake. Habitat richness increased three times. Habitats became fragmented, linear and simple in shape, even in sizes and higher in diversity. Greater habitat heterogeneity was observed in 2000 due to increased LCT. We realized disturbance and fragmentation have strong relationships that can affect diversity in post-mining landscape. Our approach provides a beneficial exchange between expensive ground vegetation sampling and low-priced image processing analysis. It is reliable for assessing LCC, habitat diversity/richness and heterogeneity.

Transformation of natural land cover (LC) into modified LC has become inevitable due to growing human needs. Nevertheless, landscape transformational patterns during reclamation of mine damaged lands remain vague. Our hypothesis was that post-mining landscapes with different ages since dumping become more diverse in LC transformation over time. The aim was to study the impact of landscape reclamation on land cover changes (LCC) in two post-mining landscapes. Land cover maps of 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003 were produced from LANDSAT TM images of Schlabendorf Nord and Schlabendorf Sud and used to survey the changing landscape. Change detection extension was used to identify changes among land cover types (LCTs). Detrended correspondence analyses (DCA) ordination technique (CANOCO) aided study of similarity among LC distribution. Soil pH analysis was carried out to study effect of soil and climate conditions on LCC. The results show that visible patterns of increase and decrease in the LCTs occurred in both landscapes. Given two post-mining landscapes subjected to different ages of reclamation, clear differences in vegetation growth and LCC pattern would occur. At early stages of restoration, LCTs often have unstable conditions and experience more acute transformation depending on the level of land use intensity in space and time. LCCs were mostly due to progressive and reversed succession. Due to variation in post-mining landscape soil conditions, soil treatment during reclamation should be site specific. The comparative analysis of LCCs in Schlabendorf provides a framework for prioritizing land use planning options for sustainable management of post-mining landscapes in temperate ecosystems.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Ramsar Convention, and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) recognize Impact Assessment as a significant decision-support tool that assist planning and implementation of development with biodiversity “in mind.” Article 8 of the Biodiversity Convention gives justification for the application of impact assessment toward protection of ecosystems and natural habitat IAIA (2005). In order words, CBD require impact assessment to identify possibilities to quantify land cover characteristics or indicators that influence habitat transformations in an ecosystem. Ecosystem structure, a considered level of our assessment, concerns the organisation of various biological units in space and time.

The savannah regions of Northern Ghana are characterized by smallholder farming systems and high levels of poverty. Over the past two decades, communities in the regions have become more prone to climate and human-induced disasters in the form of annual floods and droughts. This study evaluates the degree and magnitude of vulnerability in four communities subjected to similar climate change induced flood events and propose intervention options. The study employs rural participatory research approaches in developing four vulnerability categories namely socio-economic, ecological, engineering and political; which were used to develop indicators that aided the calculation of total community vulnerability index for each community. The findings indicate that the state of a community's vulnerability to flood is a composite effect of the four vulnerability index categories which may act independently or concurrently to produce the net effect. Based on a synthesis of total vulnerability obtained in each community, Baleufili was found to be the least vulnerable to flood due to its high scores in engineering, socio-economic and political vulnerability indicators. Baleufili and Bankpama were the most ecologically vulnerable communities. The selection of vulnerability index categories and associated indicators were grounded in specific local peculiarities that evolved out of engagement with community stakeholders and expert knowledge of the socioecological landscape. Thus, the Total Community Vulnerability Assessment Framework (TCVAF) provides an effective decision support for identifying communities’ vulnerability status and help to design both short and long term interventions options that are community specific as a way of enhancing their coping and adaptive capacity to disasters.