AICCRA-Mali inception and stakeholder’s engagement workshop

The report presents the key outcomes from the inception workshop held in Bamako, Mali from on 26 and 27 Oct. 2021. It presents stakeholder's reflections on integrated rice–tree systems with most suitable and adapted tree species, the benefits of integrating tree species into the rice landscape, the most practical CSA technologies to deal with climate change, and major constraints for gender-inclusive adoption and scaling of the technologies

Abundance and Diversity of Trees Species Under Different Land Uses in the Sudan Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana, West Africa

Knowledge on tree species abundance and diversity is critical for sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation. The aim of the study was to assess tree species abundance and diversity across different land uses and sites in the Sudan savannah ecological zone of Ghana, a total of 64 plots of 3600 m2 (60 m x 60 m) were laid out in three land use types (Forest reserve, cropland and rangeland) in four sites (Bawku, Binduri, Garu and Pusiga). All standing trees and shrubs species encountered in the setting plot were recorded including dendrometry parameters. Alpha diversity was measured using Simpson, Shannon-Wiener and Evenness indices whereas similarity in species composition between land use types and sites were measured using Sorenson’s index. The results showed that there were more species in the lower diameter classes (0 to 20 cm) than the higher diameter classes (>20 cm). the greatest value of tree diversity was recorded in forest land in the four sites compared to the other land use types. The highest similarity (53%) in tree species composition was recorded between cropland in Binduri and Garu. the current study revealed that forest land recorded the highest value of tree species richness in each site compared to the other two land use types (cropland and rangeland) in the same site

Including soil organic carbon into nationally determined contributions: Insights from Mali

Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable and regenerative food systems and provide several vital ecosystem services Sequestering carbon in agricultural soils, for example, can have mutual benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, food and nutrition security, biodiversity, and water resilience. Despite these benefits, there are few policies that incentivize farmers to invest in maintaining and improving soil health. This policy brief highlights opportunities for the inclusion of soil health and soil organic carbon (SOC) into the National Determined Contributions (NDC) as a key step for governments to support farmers to invest in their soil. This activity builds on recent assessments including a paper that extensively reviewed the first-round of 184 NDCs concluding that only 28 countries referred to SOC, peatlands or wetlands (Wiese et al., 2021). This review and the subsequent interviews with experts (n=5) indicated the importance of understanding the impact of land management on SOC storage and dynamics (Wiese et al., 2021). As a follow-up, Rose et al (2022) focused on the updated NDCs and found that the number of countries that included SOC in their updated NDC increased compared to the first-round NDC process (Rose et al., 2022). This review also highlighted that 19 countries highlighted the need for financing for SOC and related measures (Rose et al., 2022)

A non-destructive method for estimating woody biomass and carbon stocks of Vitellaria paradoxa in southern Mali, West Africa

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

Farmers’ perceptions of the impacts of Adansonia digitata L. leaves exploitation on its conservation and on livelihoods of local communities in Mali, West Africa

Baobab tree species plays a significant role in the livelihoods of rural dwellers in the Sahel regions. This study was carried out to analyze farmer’s perceptions on the impacts of Adansonia digitata L. leaves exploitation on its conservation and on livelihoods of local communities. Data were collected by interviewing 120 farmers to elucidate the impacts of leaves exploitation as well as the contribution of the species on their livelihoods. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data to identify the annual contribution and to determine the socio-demographic characteristics influencing farmer’s perception of baobab leaves harvesting techniques. The results show that non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are the second pillar to support the respondents after agriculture. Their contribution rate ranged between 4 and 7% in the study sites. The findings revealed that the annual income obtained per person from the exploitation of baobab leaves ranged from 33,714 FCFA (56.00 USD) to 52,857 FCFA (87.80 USD). Its contribution to annual household income varies between 2.51 and 5.4%. Two (used of machete and stick) out of the three (manual collection, used of machete and stick) methods used by farmers to harvest the baobab leaves, have negative impacts on baobab species conservation. Age, educational level, and gender are key factors influencing farmer’s perception of baobab leaves harvesting. In view of the importance of the baobab tree, it is imperative that the domestication and propagation of baobab trees should be supported through the adoption of improved agroforestry technologies. In addition, sustainable harvesting practices of baobab leaves is also recommended for the conservation of this species