An Overview of Soil Survey and Classification as a Source of Secondary Information

The extraction of information from surveyed and classified soil maps by desired end-users has increased in recent times due to the high cost involved in the classification and mapping out of such soils by the individual users, and is also a time consuming process. In some instances, the end users do not even understand the methods that were used in producing the maps, the errors associated with it and the potential limitations of usage.  Knowledge over the years has shown that estimates contained in some soil maps are not perfect because they are typically based on limited data and limited information. To acknowledge that soil maps are not free of errors, the uncertainty in the estimates may be represented with error bounds that characterize the accuracy of the map. In recent times more advanced methods have been introduced with high precision of accuracy, including the use of artificial neural networks, remote sensing and photogrammetric procedures, combined with geographic information system (GIS). However, research has shown that, traditional soil survey persists as the most popular form of soil mapping and inventory. The need therefore arises to integrate and update rather than ignore the traditional soil survey techniques in favour of modern interpolation techniques. Keywords: survey, classification, soil maps, secondary information, desired use

Effects of customized climate services on land and labor productivity in Burkina Faso and Ghana

Climate services favor adopting strategies to increase agricultural productivity, enhance sustainable development, and adapt to unavoidable climate variability and change. However, for climates services to be effective, they must be accessible and suitable to user needs. This study investigated the effects of customized climate services (CCS) on land and labor productivity. Portraying the case of CCS delivered in the districts of Bolgatanga (Northern Ghana), Dano and Ouahigouya (western and northern Burkina Faso) in West Africa, it used: i) historical panel data of daily rainfall, yields, agricultural input, and output prices; ii) cost statements of farm operations and iii) other survey data from beneficiaries of on-farm demonstrations (pilot sites). Different results were found across farmers on the demonstrator sites, with Dano and Bolgatanga recording the best land and labor productivity. Strong and positive effects were observed in Dano, where land productivity increased by 200% and labor productivity doubled despite consecutive pluviometric extremes such as heavy rain events and prolonged dry spells in the 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons. Further investigation showed that CCS was particularly favorable to land and labor productivity of farmers who were committed to the advisory given by the CCS providers. Therefore, as perishable goods, the success of CCS applications would require thorough coproduction, delivery, and monitoring for their effectiveness in improving land and labor productivity for agriculture in semi-arid regions of West Africa

The WASCAL hydrometeorological observatory in the Sudan Savanna of Burkina Faso and Ghana

Watersheds with rich hydrometeorological equipment are still very limited in West Africa but are essential for an improved analysis of environmental changes and their impacts in this region. This study gives an overview of a novel hydrometeorological observatory that was established for two mesoscale watersheds in the Sudan Savanna of Southern Burkina Faso and Northern Ghana as part of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) program. The study area is characterized by severe land cover changes due to a strongly increasing demand of agricultural land. The observatory is designed for long-term measurements of >30 hydrometeorological variables in subhourly resolution and further variables such as CO2. This information is complemented by long-term daily measurements from national meteorological and hydrological networks, among several other datasets recently established for this region. A unique component of the observatory is a micrometeorological field experiment using eddy covariance stations implemented at three contrasting sites (near-natural, cropland, and degraded grassland) to assess the impact of land cover changes on water, energy, and CO2 fluxes. The datasets of the observatory are needed by many modeling and field studies conducted in this region and are made available via the WASCAL database. Moreover, the observatory forms an excellent platform for future investigations and can be used as observational foundation for environmental observatories for an improved assessment of environmental changes and their socioeconomic impacts for the savanna regions of West Africa

Introduzione. Governare le paure

Il capitolo presenta i contenuti generali del volume motivandone la scelta alla luce delle principali trasformazioni del sistema politico italiano nel corso del 2008. Vengono poi presentate alcune interpretazioni che fanno da sfondo alla scelta degli eventi trattati nel volume e si considera inoltre il significato di alcuni altri avvenimenti non specificamente coperti nel volume