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The agriculture sector in the Savanna region of Togo is especially vulnerable to weather fluctuations, which have an impact on crop production levels. However, farmers’ decisions to implement adaptation strategies are directly related to their perceptions of climate change risk. The current study employed a participatory workshop and household survey of 425 farmers to examine the drivers of specific climate change risks of interest (risk of loss of livelihood for farmers) and measure farmers’ level of climate change risk perception. A climate change risk perception score (CCRPS), descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and K-means cluster analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that the most important changes in climate conditions affecting agricultural production in the study area were mainly the increased duration of dry spells, erratic rainfall, and an increase in extreme rainfall events. These climatic variations cause more floods and droughts, which, when coupled with socio-ecological vulnerability drivers, increase the impact of these events on agricultural livelihood, expose more farmers and their farmland, and contribute to the risk of farmers’ livelihood loss in the study area. Based on farmers’ appraisals of the occurrence of hazards, their exposure, and their vulnerability, farmers’ perceptions of climate risk have been classified into three categories: high, moderate, and low. This finding sheds some light on farmers’ climate change risk perception, which may influence their adaptation decision. These findings can be used to increase the uptake of adaptation strategies and thus the resilience of Savanna region agriculture to climate change.

The concept of “solution spaces” is used to explore the potential future of forestry under climate change for different types of forestry management structures. We base the analysis in New Zealand, where forestry plays an increasingly critical role in the nation’s climate policy, but the concept could be applied to any region. Understanding solution spaces and the ways in which they can be influenced at different levels of ownership is a critical step towards effective climate change adaptation. Building on the base of existing climate projections, scenarios, and economic and social science literature, we form an assessment of the capacity of each forest owner typology to influence their solution spaces into the future. Different management structures have strengths in different areas – while industrial forest managers may be able to utilise emerging technologies better than their smaller scale counterparts for example, they may be less agile and flexible. The sector as a whole may benefit from working collectively to draw on the respective strengths of each typology. Critically, planning now to expand the space into the future will be essential.

The comparison of local perception of flood hazards, with hydrological and climate parameters, can give more insight and understanding on the causes of flood, its impacts and the strategies to effectively address the problem. This study examines whether households’ perception of rainfall and flood occurrence are consistent with observed variation in climate parameter (rainfall) and hydrological (discharge) data in the Lower Mono River catchment (Togo-Benin, West Africa). Perceptions of the 744 households from the catchment were collected and compared to historical climatic and hydrological data using correlation analysis. The Standardized Precipitation Index was utilized to identify the extreme years in terms of precipitation. Chi-test and binary regression analyses were performed to identify the most affected communes within the catchment, and the factors that influence household perceptions on rainfall change, respectively. Findings reveal that 85% of the respondents perceived an excess in rainfall during the last 20 years and identify two particular years as the most affected by flood, which correspond to the climate data analysis. Households’ perceptions on flooded months are correlated with the monthly precipitation and discharge at the upper part of the catchment while the ones at down part are not correlated. Furthermore, the chi-test analysis shows that in the perception of households, the communes at the down part are more affected by flood than those at the upper part of the catchment. It is then important for decision maker to consider local communities’ perception for having insight regarding climate parameters, the causes of flood and in the decision making for implementing measures to cope with this phenomenon.

The shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa, shields people, crops and livestock in West African parkland agroforestry systems from climate variability. Accurate estimates of accumulated biomass of such key species may support ways to secure financial incentives within global climate policies. In this quest, variation in allometric relations used for biomass (carbon stock) estimates on the basis of stem diameter matters, but parameters a and b of the standard format (AGB = a Db; AGB = aboveground biomass, D = stem diameter) are correlated and are directly related to tree shapes. Functional branch analysis (FBA) allows non-destructive derivation of allometrics. For Koutiala and Yanfolila shea populations empirical branching parameters were scale-independent, matching FBA assumptions. Allometry (AGB = 169 (D/20)2.64 and AGB = 146 (D/20)2.65, kg tree−1) implied 22%, 16% and 11% larger vegetative aboveground biomass in Koutiala than in Yanfolila at stem diameters (D) of 10, 20 and 32 cm, respectively. Below-ground biomass predictions (BGBi = 8.73 (Di/10)2.35 and BGBi = 8.16 (Di/10)2.38, kg per proximal root) differed − 6% and − 15% for root diameters Di of 10 and 32 cm, respectively. On a dry weight basis, the shoot:root ratio was 2.7 and 2.9, respectively for the two sites. Stand-level above-and below-ground carbon stocks in Koutiala (2.16 ± 0.44 and 0.8 ± 0.15 Mg C ha−1) were not significantly different from those in Yanfolila (3.21 ± 0.60 and 1.26 ± 0.21 Mg C ha−1), respectively. Further research is required to include (potential) fruit production to the plant architectural model.

This paper explores the role of women empowerment and labour on enabling farmers to cross two hurdles: adopt and intensify soil fertility management (SFM), coming after six decades of SFM research that disseminated several technologies. Despite the assertion that productivity gains cannot be realized unless drivers of soil degradation are addressed, SFM usage is low. We collected data from a systematically drawn random sample of 238 farmers, representing 30% of farming households in five villages in Malawi's Rift Valley escarpments and analysed using a double‐hurdle model. Descriptive results show that 90% of the respondents used inorganic fertilizers, 72% planted legumes and 57% applied organic manure. The empirical analysis shows that one percentage point increase in dependency ratio reduces probability to apply organic amendments by 0.4 percentage points and erodes the positive influence of increasing labour on application of inorganic fertilizer. As women become increasingly empowered in decision‐making, there are significant trade‐offs: a percentage point increase in women empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) potentially leads to a one‐third percentage point increase in the area allocated to legumes but reduces the amount of organic manure applied with higher elasticity of two percentage points. Considering the trade‐offs, sustainable intensification could be achieved by harnessing the positive influences while concurrently reducing the negative ones over a decision space. Notably, addressing the negative effect associated with women empowerment on manuring could unlock potentials for integrated SFM as women are already engaged in legume cropping.

Regional climate change assessments show a likely temperature increase that is higher than the global average for all seasons in Africa, which would have extreme negative implications for ecosystem health and productivity. Most extreme climate change effects in West Africa are predicted to occur in desert and grassland areas. It is important for smallholder farmers in this region to understand the implications of these projections to their livelihood and to identify appropriate adaptation strategies. A grazing game was used to explore gender-specific adaptive responses to climate variability in the semiarid region of Ghana. The game was designed to understand the decision-making processes that result in the overgrazing of animals, leading to desertification based on the players’ interactions with the environment. A total of 44 grazing games comprising 22 games for male-headed households (HH) and 22 games for female-HH were played from August to December 2014 from 14 communities within the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Bongo district. The study revealed that males migrate to the southern part of the country to work on other people’s farms during the dry season as an adaptation strategy, while females engage in off-farm activities such as shea-butter production and basketry. Results of the game showed that males produced the highest number of cattle but created the largest desert patches. Females, on the other hand, were more conscious about the environment (long-term condition of the rangeland) than the short-term income benefits from the sale of cattle, hence, they created fewer desert patches. Strategies such as reducing the number of cattle to allow for the re-growth of vegetation in periods of feed scarcity, ploughing for one another using bulls, and family support using income from the sale of livestock were employed by both gender groups. The involvement of female farmers in decision-making is crucial to improve natural resource management.

Soil salinity is a major issue causing land degradation in coastal areas. In this study, we assessed the land use and soil salinity changes in Djilor district (Senegal) using remote sensing and field data. We performed land use land cover changes for the years 1984, 1994, 2007, and 2017. Electrical conductivity was measured from 300 soil samples collected at the study area; this, together with elevation, distance to river, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Salinity Index (SI), and Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), was used to build the salinity model using a multiple regression analysis. Supervised classification and intensity analysis were applied to determine the annual change area and the variation of gains and losses. The results showed that croplands recorded the highest gain (17%) throughout the period 1984–2017, while forest recorded 3%. The fastest annual area of change occurred during the period 1984–1994. The salinity model showed a high potential for mapping saline areas (R2 = 0.73 and RMSE = 0.68). Regarding salinity change, the slightly saline areas (2 8 dS/m) and moderately saline (4 Eucalyptus sp., Tamarix sp.). This study gives more insights on land use planning and salinity management for improving farmers’ resilience in coastal regions.

Recurrent floods have become a major problem in the transboundary Lower Mono River catchment of Togo and Benin, causing more damage and loss of life than any other disaster in the area. The level of understanding about floods and their management can be as diverse as the groups within the communities and thus can present a variety of perspectives. People tend to perceive flood risk and management differently due to their proximity to flood-prone areas and their level of vulnerability as well as their capacity to adapt. Therefore, this study explores the specific perspectives of local communities and experts on floods in the transboundary Mono catchment, which can help to inform better adaptation strategies according to the contexts of each community. We conducted series of focus groups discussions (FGDs) using the Actors, Resources, Dynamics, and Interactions (ARDI) framework to develop mental models of flood management. This approach allowed us to identify the causes and impact of flooding in the area, and to describe the actors and effects of flood events on the main natural resources as well as the dynamics and interactions that drive change and influence flood management in the study area. The results indicate that the perceptions of local communities and experts show both similarities and differences. These differences include (1) perceptions of relevant direct actors, (2) perceptions of resources at stake, and (3) actor-specific resource utilization. Considering these dissimilar views between expert and local community knowledge systems appears to be an important contributing factor to improving flood mitigation efforts in the catchment. Adapting risk communication and measures taken for flood management in accordance with the perceptions of affected communities could greatly increase success, with positive long-term effects for the involved institutions and communities regarding mutual trust-building.

Climate change is expected to affect the livelihoods of rural dwellers as well as the potential provisioning of tree ecosystem services in the West African Sahel. Since the past 100 years, rainfall has declined by 20–30% while the mean temperature increased by up to 1.3 °C in the West African Sahel. Furthermore, there is an uneven spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall in this area of the West Africa. Better knowledge of the relationship between climate change and tree ecosystem services is necessary for sustainable management of tree ecosystem. The current chapter seeks to address this relationship through a review analysis on the climate change impacts on tree ecosystem services of agroforestry systems. This review shows that there is mounting evidence that climate change impacts the delivery of tree ecosystem services through the erratic rainfall. Therefore, a significant relationship (r2 = 0.62, n = 45 years, p < 0.001; r2 = 0.65, n = 20 years, p < 0.05) was found between tree growth and annual rainfall amounts in Mali and Niger, respectively. Then, the consequence of this relationship leads to a reduction of the provision of ecosystem services of agroforestry in the Sahel. The supporting services increase the soil carbon, which is critical for enhanced crop production by ensuring food security in vulnerable zone like the drylands. Policies and promotion of sustainable management strategies of tree ecosystems should, therefore, target enhancement of food and nutrition security of the rural populations in the West African Sahel.

This research focused on the development of a simple gendered, agent-based model to investigate gender dimensions of the food-energy-land nexus in the rural highlands of Ethiopia. This included the specific roles of men and women that may reduce or enhance synergies among food-energy-land nexus resources, and their specific responses to modern bioenergy interventions to address current energy crises. Furthermore, the model was tested to explore whether the introduction of modern bioenergy technology would improve the quality of life for both men and women. The modeling process included the calibration of existing sub-models such as forest yields, to understand the dependency of rural households on traditional energy sources. The study results suggest that increasing access to modern bioenergy such as biogas, particularly women farmers can increase crop production and enhance food security, however, reduced workloads for women resulting from the adoption of biogas digesters will not necessarily enhance quality of life.

In West Africa, the majority of regional climate projections for the region predict that the study area will become warmer and that precipitation patterns will be more erratic. The aim of this article is to examine local agricultural adaptation to climate change and variability in a semi-arid area of the Upper East Region of Ghana. This is performed by integrating the two-step decision making sub-models, Perception-of-Climate-Change and Adaptation-Choice-Strategies, to the Land Use Dynamic Simulator (LUDAS). The simulation results suggest that the land-use choices in the study area reflect a tendency towards increasing subsistence farming in an area where there has been a gradual trend away from traditional land uses such as cereal production to the cultivation of groundnut, rice, maize and soybean. Groundnut monoculture production has emerged locally as coping measure for dealing with increased climatic variability. In terms of livelihood strategy, there is an increasing contribution of rice and groundnut to household gross incomes. The predicted pattern of changes in gross household income under a scenario in which climate change is perceived by local farmers explicitly revealed the contribution of adaptation options to household livelihood strategy.

Cotton export substantially contributes to Uzbekistan's economy. To produce cotton, the state imposes output targets on farmers which results in intensified cotton production practices, and consequently in land degradation. Improving degraded croplands via afforestation is an option explored through research experiments in the region, yet is currently not practiced by farmers. Using the example of the Amu Darya River lowlands of Uzbekistan, we analyze afforestation and its implementation constraints, by developing a coevolutionary socio-ecological systems framework that leans on evolutionary economics and evolutionary governance theories. Our study shows that farmers' perceptions and rationalities, in close association with governance configurations of actors, institutions and knowledges, make them unreceptive towards afforestation. Altering relations between agricultural institutions and actors that are currently present in the cotton-centric configuration is difficult given the path-, inter- and goal dependencies. To change rural sustainable development paths, we conclude that the adoption of innovations requires a tailoring of knowledge and technology fitting local situation, as well as the reassembling of relations between actors, institutions and knowledge.

This study determined the social vulnerability index (SoVI) of households to climate change impacts for three identified locations (upper, mid and lower) in the Vea catchment, semi-arid Ghana. This study adapted the social, economic and demographic indicator approach. The data used were obtained from a survey of 186 randomly sampled farm households and direct field measurements of 738 farm plots belonging to the same sampled farm households. Information from the literature, expert judgement and principal component analysis were useful for computing and analysing the SoVI. The variables were normalized, weighted and subsequently recombined to determine the index of the three locations towards climate change. Although the SoVI to climate change was highest (0.77) for the upper part of the catchment, the mid- and lower parts of the catchment show a high SoVI of 0.72 each. The overall SoVI for the catchment is 0.73. The study re-emphasizes the high vulnerability level of dry areas to climate change. Moreover, it shows there is variability at micro-scale. There is a need to put appropriate measures to address the vulnerability of households to climate change in the semi-arid areas of West Africa. Factors aggravating dry land’s vulnerability towards climate change should be prevented with implementable policies. Furthermore, it is important to identify conditions that have made some areas less vulnerable to climate change, and then, we can work out the possibility of adapting such to the vulnerable places.

Vietnam is one of the countries where a shift from net deforestation to net reforestation is taking place. This study examines the pattern of tree-cover transition and gender-specific land-use preferences and decisions in northern Vietnam. We employed a mixed-method approach that combined a land-use transition analysis, gender-disaggregated survey and role-playing games (RPG) to assess the relationship between tree-cover transition and gender. The first two methods revealed continuous conversion of protection forest to tree plantations and upland crops (dominated by swidden rice). Factors affecting conversion identified through regression analysis were elevation and labor availability. The land-use RPG revealed gender-specific preferences for annual crops and tree-based agroforestry systems, and the underlying motivation of those preferences. The overall pattern of tree-cover transition in northern Vietnam falls under the smallholder agricultural intensification path. Agroforestry potentially balances the specific land-use preferences of men and women, and helps to achieve their specific land use related livelihood objectives.

This study aimed to investigate the applicability of dendrochronology for assessing the growth dynamics and response to climate variability and to estimate the aboveground carbon stock and carbon sequestration potential of Vitellaria paradoxa in southern Mali. Twenty stem disks were collected from three land-use types (parklands, fallows and protected areas) in Koutiala and Yanfolila districts. We combined a standard dendrochronological approach with biomass allometric equations to estimate the growth and carbon stocks. The results showed that V. paradoxa forms distinct growth ring boundaries but most of the disks from parklands did not successfully cross-date due to management operations like pruning. The tree-ring width showed a significant standardized coefficient of regression with rainfall (r2 = 0.66, p 0.05) for C-sequestration as well as for carbon stocks in aboveground biomass for both land-use types and sites. Mean values of the amount of C-sequestered in Yanfolila were 0.112 ± 0.0.065 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in parklands, 0.075 ± 0.018 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in fallows and 0.064 ± 0.028 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in protected areas. In Koutiala, the values were 0.068±0.020 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in the parklands and 0.053 ± 0.017 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in the fallows. These results clearly indicate that dendrochronology can be applied to assess growth and carbon sequestration potential of V. paradoxa. These results also suggest that climate change could affect the growth and carbon sequestration potential of V. paradoxa. Given the limited size of our sample, figures on the amount of carbon are indicative calling for applying the tested approaches to larger samples and also to other tree species in West Africa.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of different market-based instruments (MBIs), such as eco-certification premiums, carbon payments, Pigovian taxes and their combination, to address the conversion of agroforests to monoculture systems and subsequent effects on incomes of risk-averse farmers under income uncertainty in Indonesia. For these, the authors develop a farm-level dynamic mean-variance model combined with a real options approach. Findings show that the conservation of agroforest is responsive to the risk-aversion level of farmers: the greater the level of risk aversion, the greater is the conserved area of agroforest. However, for all risk-averse farmers, additional incentives in the form of MBIs are still needed to prevent conversion of agroforest over the years, and only the combination of MBIs can achieve this target. Implementing fixed MBIs also contributes to stabilizing farmers’ incomes and reducing income risks. Consequently, the combined MBIs increase incomes and reduce income inequality between hardly and extremely risk-averse farmers.

This paper applies a social metabolism framework and energy flow analysis for evaluating agroecosystem and land use transitions in food-energy-water systems using the Upper Snake River Basin (USBR), Idaho, USA as a case-study. The study area is one of the primary agricultural regions of the State of Idaho. Dairy products are the primary agricultural outputs of the region; therefore, we modified a biomass accounting framework to explicitly incorporate the role of manure in the agroecosystem. Despite the increase of cropland between 2002 and 2012 in the basin, a decrease in energy input was observed for crop production. An increase in the industrial energy inputs for dairy production, on the other hand, showed that the basin is a clear example of a metabolic industrialized farm system – an example of land use intensification. We compare the energy return on investments (EROIs) as an indicator of agroecosystem transition for both crop and dairy production during the period 2002 to 2012. Contrary to our expectations, the analysis suggests that livestock production is a relatively energy efficient process in land management in the basin. This is due to the reuse of nutrient by-products from livestock as well as the refuse and residues from crop farming. At the same time, the findings provide insights on the percentage of manure to be reinvested as compost that would improve energy production efficiency. However, the reuse of manure, as it is managed in the basin, may have a negative implication on the nutrient balance of the agroecosystem that needs further investigation. Nonetheless, there is market potential for the reuse and reinvestment of biomass to make energy production in the basin more efficient.

As a part of the Asian highlands, Lijiang, in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China, is threatened by climate-induced drought and an increasing water demand by tourism development. Understanding local farmers’ land-use options in response to drought and policy intervention is crucial for future adaptation strategies. We assessed farmers’ land-use options and the socio-economic factors affecting decisions under drought and water policy scenarios using household surveys. From the total of 174 households surveyed, whether under a drought scenario or a drought scenario with water policy intervention, we found that respondents preferred land-use options focusing on four choices: keep current pattern; keep crops, but reduce areas; abandon farming; rent out farmlands. Findings suggest that there is a growing pattern of agricultural abandonment for urban jobs as a strategy to cope with climate change impacts. The results identified a total of five socio-economic factors that have a significant effect on the households’ land-use options. These factors are important for the households’ land-use decisions and could prevent people from altering their livelihood strategies. We provide some specific recommendations which could enhance local households’ potential adaptation to drought, as well as for effective management of water to prevent potential conflicts in the design or implementation of water policy with the local community.

Gender specificity with respect to land-use options and responsiveness to agents that offer related investment opportunities is poorly understood. We combined agent-based modeling and experimental role playing games to compare land-use preferences and decisions between men and women in a landscape dominated by rubber agroforests in Sumatra, Indonesia. Ecosystem service delivery can be influenced by gender specific land-use preferences, especially in areas under conservation agreements. The research methods were designed to examine gender aspects of three ‘bounds’ of human nature ( bounded rationality, bounded willpower and bounded self-interests ) in relation to land-use decisions. Rice fields (mostly owned and inherited by females) provide part of local staple food needs in the study area, whereas rubber agroforests provide income in addition to resources for local use and rubber and oil palm monocultures are fully market oriented. In both the model and game exercises, men preferred the status quo rice production in combination with agroforest land uses, but women preferred the conversion of agroforest to more financially profitable monoculture systems, with increased carbon emissions as side effect. Although both genders exhibited similar preferences for ecosystem service provision, regulatory ecosystem services (i.e., climate and water regulation) were reduced by women’s landuse choices. Thus, ecosystem service tradeoffs are potentially greater in women-dominated landscapes under these circumstances. Furthermore, gender-specific limitations and socio-cultural contexts (i.e., matrilineal societies) may influence the flow of ecosystem services as well as landscape patterns.

Tourism development in Lijiang, China, has helped lift many people out of poverty but has also led to increased pollution and water scarcity, which climate change is predicted to exacerbate. A shift towards tourism and cash crops has reduced the diversity of crops and livestock used by agrarian households. These effects are explored in two villages between 2008 and 2013 using a multi-method approach. It is found that local water governance does not follow any of the best practice principles outlined in the international literature. Improved water governance is urgently needed to reduce household vulnerability in the Lijiang area.

Agroforestry parklands in the Sahel provide a number of ecosystem services that help farmers cope better with climate change effects and thus reducing their vulnerability. However, parklands are threatened due to the decline in densities of species that are sensitive to drought and that might compromise the delivery of the above mentioned ecosystem services to farmers. Therefore, data were collected by interviewing 400 smallholder farmers to elucidate farmers’ perceptions of climate change in southern Mali and potential consequences on the delivery of ecosystem services from the parklands. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logit model were used to analyse the data collected and identify the indictors as well as the determinants of farmers’ perception of climate change. The findings revealed increases in the frequency of strong wind, dust, drought, high temperatures and number of hot days as the main climate change-related indicators. Furthermore, an early cessation of the rainy season, frequent drought and wind were found to be the factors impeding a better delivery of the ecosystem services from the parklands. Early cessation of rains and frequent drought might affect the water availability which in turn affects the flowering and fruiting phases of the trees. The occurrence of strong wind causes the shedding of the flowers thus reducing the fruit production. Age, educational level, farm size and gender are key factors influencing farmer’s perception of climate change. The strategies adopted by these farmers to cope with climate shocks include use of improved drought-tolerant crop varieties, diversification of crops, off-farm activities and seasonal migration. Based on these findings, we therefore suggest the development of conducive environment that can help create agricultural related off-farm income earning activities that could protect active households from the impacts of climate change and variability.

This paper investigated the role of local institutions in facilitating farm households’ response and adaptation to climate change impacts on their livelihood. A case study of adapting to drought events associated with crop failure in a Semi-Arid Ecosystems of northern Ghana was taken. A total of 49 semi-structured interviews with key representatives of various local institutions from different sectors were conducted and 120 farm households were randomly interviewed to assess their perceptions about their livelihood outcomes and local institutions accessibility. social network analysis (SNA) has been used to bring into light the institutional framework in the context of adaptation in Bongo district. From our research we noted five salient findings and their implications in effective local level adaptation. First, the public and civic institutions in the study area play a key role in facilitating adaptation. Essentially, institutional performance is inherently local and may vary depending on their mandate as well as availability of resources. Secondly, it has been realised that most of the institutions leading adaptation among the farming community are not directly adaptation related but are those intervening in various domains of households’ rural life. Thirdly, it appears that institutional role is not limited to the leading aspect but also the ability of some institutions to channel or extend the available resources to the beneficiaries in the network (known as resources controllers or communicators), and others in controlling the flow of resources in the network (known as bridges or brokers). Fourthly, the results revealed that institutional support is more evident in term of knowledge management, on farm management than farm financial management (insurance, credit, market), livelihood diversification and the investment in infrastructures (dams). Fifthly, it appears that institutional support has at some extend facilitated adaptation within the farming communities by increasing the annual income, farm productivity and well-being while reducing households’ adaptation. This paper contributes to the growing knowledge of the role of institutional framework in the facilitation of local adaptation. Keywords: Adaptation, Diversification, Infrastructure, Local institutions, Vulnerability

Cocoa plantation is a major land-use system that influences the functional structure of the forest landscape in Ghana. As a key driver of forest landscape dynamics, there is no adequate existing information on the nature, extent and magnitude of land-use change associated with cocoa expansion into forests. Therefore, we have studied the land-use transitions and intensities by using image-fusion on vegetation indices (VI) and a digital elevation model (DEM) to detect and distinguish cocoa plantation from the forest and other vegetation types. This was followed by intensity analysis based on historical land-use changes. With the VI-DEM image, we mapped out different cocoa plantations from the forest and other vegetations with a higher degree of success. The land-use categories were clustered into five main types (closed forest, open-forest, cocoa, lands-in-transition and settlement) to evaluate the transition and intensities from 1986 to 2015. The results showed two main transition patterns, namely 1) the conversion of forest to settlement and cocoa plantation; 2) the conversion of closed forests to open forest, due to logging and conversion of cocoa plantation to lands-in-transition (LIT). The intensity analysis further revealed that expansion in cocoa plantation instead targets least resisted open-forest and LIT areas with an isolated localised fragment of the fringes of forest reserves. Generally, the study revealed that the VI-DEM image-fusion technique is effective for detecting and isolating cocoa plantations, forest and other land-uses with high accuracy. Estimation of cocoa-led deforestation improved after isolating cocoa plantations. Cocoa expansions target more often open-forest and lands-in-transition than closed-forest. When cocoa expansion occurs in closed-forest, it is episodic, localised and coincides with the early stage of the boom-bust pattern.

Vitellaria paradoxa (Gaertn C. F.), or shea tree, remains one of the most valuable trees for farmers in the Atacora district of northern Benin, where rural communities depend on shea products for both food and income. To optimize productivity and management of shea agroforestry systems, or "parklands," accurate and up-to-date data are needed. For this purpose, we monitored120 fruiting shea trees for two years under three land-use scenarios and different soil groups in Atacora, coupled with a farm household survey to elicit information on decision making and management practices. To examine the local pattern of shea tree productivity and relationships between morphological factors and yields, we used a randomized branch sampling method and applied a regression analysis to build a shea yield model based on dendrometric, soil and land-use variables. We also compared potential shea yields based on farm household socio-economic characteristics and management practices derived from the survey data. Soil and land-use variables were the most important determinants of shea fruit yield. In terms of land use, shea trees growing on farmland plots exhibited the highest yields (i.e., fruit quantity and mass) while trees growing on Lixisols performed better than those of the other soil group. Contrary to our expectations, dendrometric parameters had weak relationships with fruit yield regardless of land-use and soil group. There is an inter-annual variability in fruit yield in both soil groups and land-use type. In addition to observed inter-annual yield variability, there was a high degree of variability in production among individual shea trees. Furthermore, household socioeconomic characteristics such as road accessibility, landholding size, and gross annual income influence shea fruit yield. The use of fallow areas is an important land management practice in the study area that influences both conservation and shea yield.

This paper investigates how local institutions enable farm households to respond and adapt to climate change impacts on their livelihood. A case study of adapting to drought events associated with crop failure in northern Ghana is used to discuss the role of local institutions in enabling adaptation among local farmers. A total of 49 semi-structured interviews with key representatives of various local institutions from different sectors (e.g., agriculture, disaster management, banking, forestry and community development) were conducted to bring out adaptation options provided while about 120 farm households were randomly interviewed to assess their perceptions about their livelihood outcomes and local institutions accessibility. We assessed the local institutions’ accessibility and support using social network analysis (SNA) and descriptive analysis, respectively. The results revealed that local institutions play a key role in farm households’ adaptation by reducing their vulnerability and by building their capacity to respond to climate change impacts on their livelihood. Besides, the classification of local institutions based on their relevance in adaptation has shown a variety of roles among these institutions. While some act as the core of adaptation, others represent either mediators or brokers or resources flow controllers. Knowing the role of local institutions in farm households’ adaptation process and their relevance based classes is a step forward in building their capacity in areas not yet addressed, in ensuring effective resources allocation, but also in avoiding maladaptation, essential for farm households’ adaptation to future change in the climate.

SUMMARY While Indonesia is experiencing a rapid land use transition due to export-oriented growth in agricultural products such as palm oil and natural rubber, there is no clear understanding of how shifts in farming practices influence gender-specific roles and preferences. In a partially matrilineal society on Sumatra where rice production for subsistence purposes, in an agroforestry landscape, is traditionally considered the women’s domain and responsibility, 202 households were surveyed about their perceptions of gender-specific agricultural roles. Over time, rice fields have been converted to oil palm. Lowland women have increasingly significant roles in rubber agroforestry in addition to collecting firewood, medicinal plants and wild fruit for household consumption, whereas men are typically occupied in monoculture oil palm or rubber production. As land use patterns rapidly change, particularly in the lowlands, the responsibility of rubber agroforestry systems is shifting from men to women with consequences for gender division of labour and decision making.

Agricultural production in northern Benin is characterized by smallholder traditional agroforestry systems, with on-farm remnant tree species. Among its numerous advantages, agroforestry is known for its valuable contribution to biodiversity conservation. This study quantifies the importance of Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn agroforests in terms of woody species conservation in Atacora district in Benin. Forest inventories were performed within 50×50 m plots constructed on a net grid map of Atacora district. Diversity indices were computed for both adult and juvenile species in two land management regimes: fields and fallows. Overall 41 woody species were recorded; 28 in fields and 36 in fallows. Taking into account matured and juvenile individuals, the diversity of woody species increased: 86 species in total; 69 species in fields and 78 in fallows. The biodiversity of V. paradoxa’s agroforestry parklands increases from fields to fallows, and decreases from bulk species (considering mature and juvenile species) to adult ones. Leguminosae and Combretaceae were the most abundant families registered. From the Cover Value Index, V. paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa, Lannea microcarpa, Lannea acida and Diospiros mespiliformis were the most abundant species. Support for maintaining this kind of agricultural system is needed, as this exemplifies the synergy for providing, provisioning and supporting services and biodiversity conservation. Key words: Agroforestry, conservation, ecosystem services, farmland, shea tree.

Agroforestry is now accepted as a sustainable way of improving existing cropping systems. As with other agricultural innovations, the adoption of agroforestry practices depends on farmers’ perceptions of the benefits that would arise from the use of these practices. Ricinodendron heudelotii (Baill. Pierre ex Pax.) or njansang (in Bassa local language) is a tropical tree, the kernels of which are in high demand in Cameroon as a thickening ingredient. Njansang is suitable for integration in agroforestry systems in the area, but its expansion is constrained by difficulties in kernel extraction, which has been exclusively manual so far. This paper investigates the factors that determine producers’ attitudes towards the introduction and use of a kernel extraction machine. Among the issues investigated were characterization of users, comparison of mechanical and manual extraction, users’ appreciation of the machine and willingness to continue to use the machine. Using a structured questionnaire, 81 njansang producers from three categories were randomly selected from five villages in southern Cameroon. We further investigate how attributes of an innovation influence the adoption of the machine. Results from a principal component analysis and logistic regression suggest that the age and education of producers, annual income from njansang, the number of njansang trees exploited and the purchase price of the machine are important variables in determining its adoption. The use of the machine allows producers to spend less time on njansang kernel extraction, thereby increasing returns in labour and offering opportunities to increase the number of trees a household can exploit.

Vitellaria paradoxa (shea) parklands are one of the major features of the Sudanian savannah. Besides the parklands importance in terms of provision of ecosystem services, they play a major role in satisfying household subsistence needs. However, the shea trees on farms are under threat due to the increasing population growth, inappropriate agricultural practices and increasing effects of climate change. Thus, we examine the V. paradoxa population structure and its regeneration status in parklands under different land management regimes in four communes of Atacora department in Northern Benin. Dendrometric parameters were measured in five plots of 50 × 50 m in each commune and land management regime and the number of seedling and coppice were assessed. We applied Weibull theoretical model to compare measured and expected diameter classes’ densities. The tallest and largest individuals were recorded in fields while old fallows had the maximum tree density and regeneration across sites. In over-all, the tree densities across sites as well as regeneration were low in fields and young fallows. We also found that the land management regime significantly influenced regeneration particularly the coppices. On the other hand, the distribution of diameter classes showed that shea agroforests was represented by small diameter classes implying a stable and regenerating population in 92 % of visited sites, irrespective of the land management regime. Thus, the state of regeneration in shea parklands appeals for an improvement in the management of juveniles, a guaranty of future stable population.

Soil loss is not limited to change from forest or woodland to other land uses/covers. It may occur when there is agricultural land-use/cover modification or conversion. Soil loss may influence loss of carbon from the soil, hence implication on greenhouse gas emission. Changing land use could be considered actually or potentially successful in adapting to climate change, or may be considered maladaptation if it creates environmental degradation. In semi-arid northern Ghana, changing agricultural practices have been identified amongst other climate variability and climate change adaptation measures. Similarly, some of the policies aimed at improving farm household resilience toward climate change impact might necessitate land use change. The heterogeneity of farm household (agents) cannot be ignored when addressing land use/cover change issues, especially when livelihood is dependent on land. This paper therefore presents an approach for simulating soil loss from an agro-ecosystem using multi-agent simulation (MAS). We adapted a universal soil loss equation as a soil loss sub-model in the Vea-LUDAS model (a MAS model). Furthermore, for a 20-year simulation period, we presented the impact of agricultural land-use adaptation strategy (maize cultivation credit i.e., maize credit scenario) on soil loss and compared it with the baseline scenario i.e., business-as-usual. Adoption of maize as influenced by maize cultivation credit significantly influenced agricultural land-use change in the study area. Although there was no significant difference in the soil loss under the tested scenarios, the incorporation of human decision-making in a temporal manner allowed us to view patterns that cannot be seen in single step modeling. The study shows that opening up cropland on soil with a high erosion risk has implications for soil loss. Hence, effective measures should be put in place to prevent the opening up of lands that have high erosion risk.

Social actors can strongly affect the sustainability of agricultural operations by influencing farmers’ decisions and choices. Such actors include: (1) loss-making investors who abandon farms due to low returns, (2) angry neighbours negatively affected by farming operations and engaging in silent or active conflict, (3) dissatisfied customers at the end of the value chain who reject the products and shift to alternative providers, and (4) overacting regulators who over-regulate farm activities. A higher order sustainability concept considers the ability of farms to adapt and learn from early signs of threats. A number of response paths based on policies, incentives and information supply have been developed to support learning and adjustments. Emphasis on the nested-scales relations of incremental sustainability and sustainagility, in addition to the more commonly articulated ecological threshold perspective, helps identify key indicators that characterize unsustainability processes across countries and contexts. A dynamic systems understanding also assists selection of process indicators focused on response paths that complement result-oriented approaches in current sustainability assessment frameworks.

While decision-making processes of land managers drive land-use change and affect the provision of ecosystems services, there is no concrete understanding of whether gender specificity in decision-making influences the multifunctionality of landscapes. We distinguish eleven elements in a typical management cycle. In reviewing the literature, we found apparent gaps on gendered knowledge, preferences, risk taking and access to innovation in land-use decision making. Male and female responses in the adoption of agroforestry practices and other investment opportunities reflect differing exposure to and perceptions of risk. Innovative approaches such as agent-based models and role-playing games are currently applied to study gendered behavior in land-use decisions. These approaches can assist researchers to explicitly and empirically compare potentially self-reinforcing behaviors or feedback loops with local impacts on ecosystem services.