Centrum för klimatpolitisk forskning (CSPR) har genomfört en utvärdering av Linköpings universitets (LiU) klimatarbete. I de detta brief pekar vi på de mest akuta utmaningarna med nuvarande klimatarbete och presenterar fyra rekommendationer för hur LiU:s klimatarbete kan utformas i linje med dess vision om att bidra till en bättre värld (LiU:s vision 2030).  

Global collaboration remains vital, but rising travel emissions conflict with LiU’s climate commitments. To stay innovative and responsible, the Department of Thematic Studies needs a more ambitious strategy. This text presents a pathway toward a climate smart travel policy that supports both research and sustainability.

The Vitellaria paradoxa) is a key woodyspecies in sub-Saharan Africa, supporting the livelihood of over 18.4 million people—particularlywomen. However, its survival and productivity areincreasingly threatened by climate change, characterized by raising temperatures and reduced wateravailability. The species’ future resilience willdepend on its physiological adaptability to shifting climatic conditions. To assess this adaptability,we studied photosynthetic performance of 24 sheatrees in situ from April to December 2023 the mostactive period of leaf phenology across two contrasting climatic zones in Burkina Faso. We evaluatedhow photosynthetic efficiency responded to climaticvariability over this nine-month period. Unregulatedenergy dissipation (φNO) and regulated energy dissipation in the form of heat (φNPQ) were significantlydifferent (P<0.001) between phytogeographic zonesduring monitoring period. The chlorophyll contentwas significantly higher (P<0.001) in leaves fromhumid southern Sudanian phytogeographic zone(42.9±0.4 SPAD) than in drier northern Sudanianzone (40.8±0.37 SPAD). Linear regression showeda significant increase in protective energy dissipation(NPQt) in response to instantaneous photosynthetically active radiation in shea leaves from dryer northern site (R2=0.4). Additionally, leaf temperaturewas strongly correlated with ambient temperature,explaining 78–84% of variations (P<0.001). Overall,V paradoxa from the more humid southern site zoneexhibited better photosynthetic performance. Thesefindings highlight spatial differences in photosynthetic responses and provide valuable insights aboutwhich photosynthetic parameters are affected by climate change. This can pave the way for managementoptions to cope with climate change effects.

 Enhancing food production is a requirement for food security, particularly in a developing context. Innovation and techniques to lower input cost is one aspect that is needed to make the systems more resilient. Here we do a comparative costs and benefits analysis between agroecological and conventional farming practices in agroforestry parklands in two communes in Burkina Faso. Social and environmental concerns are included to highlight the requirements of the local context. A structured surveys and trials of maize and cowpea crops were carried out over two cropping seasons in the two agriculture practices. Result showed that agroecological practices are slightly costlier in terms of labor capital. However, in terms of inputs, input costs for both crops are higher in conventional farming (380 ± 2 US $ and 115 ± 4 US $) than in agroecological farming (285 ± 15 US $ and 56 ± 1 US $) for maize and cowpea crops, respectively. For cowpea production, the cost-benefit ratio was higher in agroecology than in conventional farming (2.37 ± 0.07 and 2.06 ± 0.05, respectively). In contrast, maize cultivation with conventional farming favored over agroecological farming (1.18 ± 0.02 and 0.99 ± 0.03 respectively). Agroecological practices should be promote and integrate into local agriculture policies for rural development, human and animal health and a sustainable production on agroforestry parklands.

The agroforestry parklands in the Sudano-Sahelian zone are of critical importance for food security, but face several challenges in terms of changes in climate and land use. The ability to systematically monitor crop productivity in these systems is therefore of importance for both informing land management policies and studying long-term trends. This study, conducted in two different agroecological areas in southern and central Burkina Faso covering two climate-wise very contrasting years (2020–2021), is an initial step to designing a system based on satellite remote sensing that enables national-scale monitoring of crop productivity. In these two sites, we collected large field datasets of crop productivity (150 plots) for use in model training and validation. The main assessments focused on how to best process and combine remote sensing data sources, including time series from the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite systems, as well as soil properties, elevation and tree cover. Other key focuses were evaluating different regression modelling algorithms (multilinear and machine learning) and clarifying the potential benefits of performing the modelling in specific geographic regions and years or if the modelling can be generalized. Overall, the results show that accurate estimates of crop productivity are achievable using the proposed modelling framework, with encouragingly high R2 (0.49–0.82) and low root mean square errors (11.80–19.35%). Sentinel-2 was the most important data source, but our results also demonstrate the potential of Sentinel-1, which has the benefit of not being affected by clouds. Another encouraging aspect is that the results were stable both between the years, which differed significantly in terms of rainfall and crop productivity, and between the sites that are characterized by contrasting crop compositions. This study shows that the development of a national-level crop monitoring system in Burkina Faso or countries with similar environmental conditions is within reach.

The nutrient type and amount contributed from vermicompost varies depending on thesource material, earthworm type used, agro-ecology and farmers’ management. These call forcrop, soil and site specific study. This study, therefore, aimed at determining: (i) the optimalvermicompost application rate/s for wheat and maize production; and (ii) the role ofvermicompost on soil fertility improvements. Field experiments in three agro-climatic zones(highland, midland and lowlands) were established on wheat and maize crops following arandomized complete block design. The treatments were vermicompost (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and10 t ha−1), conventional compost (10 t ha−1), and recommended rates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus(NP = 100 kg DAP and 50 kg Urea) fertilizers. Our results revealed that the studied soil chemicalproperties, primarily, organic carbon (OC %), N (%) and available P (mg kg−1) increased withincreasing vermicompost rate. The 10 t ha−1 vermicompost treated plots had 157-210%,64-81% and 100-242% higher soil total nitrogen content as compared to the control, 10 t ha−1conventional compost and NP fertilizer treatments, respectively. Application of 10 t ha−1vermicompost also resulted in a 1.5-fold and 43-63% grain yield increment of both testedcrops compared to the control and NP treated plots, respectively. However, the highest netbenefit was obtained from 5 t ha−1 vermicompost for maize (86% increase) and 10 t ha−1 ofvermicompost for wheat (152% increase compared to the control). In conclusion, vermicompostat 5 t ha−1 for maize and 10 t ha−1 for wheat can be recommended to sustainably managefarm productivity.

Key messages

• There is need for sustained extension activities to bridge the knowledge gap of camel diseases and good husbandry practices amongst Samburu camel keepers.

• Samburu County should consider external sourcing of vaccines for endemic diseases such as Haemorrhagic Septicaemia and camel pox that are causing significant economic losses.

• The department of Agriculture, Livestock Development, Veterinary Services and Fisheries should advocate for timely disbursement of funds and advocate for increased budget allocation to the livestock sector

Trees in agroforestry parklands influence crops both through competitive and facilitative mechanism, but the effects are challenging to disentangle due to the complexity of the system with high variability in tree cover structure and species diversity and crop combinations. Focusing on a landscape in central Burkina Faso domi- nated by Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa, this paper examines how tree cover influences crop yield at landscape scale using satellite data and spatial statistics. Our analysis is based on data from 2017 to 2018 with differences in rainfall to assess the stability in identified relationships. Our findings showed that tree canopy cover and tree density inside the fields tended to decrease crop yield because of competition, but also that these variables when considering the surrounding landscape exerted an opposite effect because of their buffering ef- fects. The explanatory variables representing soil properties did have limited effects on crop yield in this study. These patterns were consistent during the two years of monitoring. Overall, our results suggest that farmers in this area might manage the tree cover in a way that optimizes sustainable yields as canopy cover and tree density in most parklands is below the limits identified here where competition outweight the facilitative effects. 

Agricultural production plays a strategic role in ensuring food security, income and employment for rural households across developing countries. Smallholder farming systems are complex, and efforts to transform them are undermined by climate change induced shocks as well as long-term changes. We employed a multi stakeholder approach to develop an inclusive sorghum value chain for effective transition towards more diversified, resilient and climate smart crop production in Nongoma and Clau Clau villages, in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa. The coming on board of various stakeholders providing diverse support and services to the smallholder farming cooperatives helped to upscale sorghum production from the experimental trials, establish links with markets, train and capacitate the farmers in key aspects of project and business management. Consequently, the smallholder farmers are more equipped to adapt to climate change in terms of knowledge and skill sets, while livelihoods and food security are enhanced through crop diversification. We conclude that smallholder farmer support should go beyond basic research and extension, and multi-stakeholder and inclusive value chain development should be at the centre of efforts to build smallholder resilience to climate change. 

När allt fler länder ställer upp allt djärvare klimatmål har olika former av klimatkompensation kommit i fokus. Vad är för- och nackdelarna med klimatkompensation, kan det överhuvudtaget användas som en tillförlitlig metod för att minska klimatutsläppen? Madelene Ostwald skriver.