UNDERSTANDING FARMERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND THE EFFECTS OF SHEA TREE Vitellaria paradoxa DISTRIBUTION IN AGROFORESTRY PARKLANDS OF THE UPPER WEST REGION, GHANA

Agroforestry parklands represent a vast majority of the agricultural landscape under subsistent-oriented farming in semi-arid West Africa. Parklands are characterized by the growth of well- maintained trees (e.g., shea) on cultivated fields as a result of both environmental and human influences. Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) provides a cultural and economic benefit to the local people of Ghana, especially women. Periods between traditional fallow rotation systems have reduced recently due to agricultural development and a demand for higher production. As a result, shea trees, which regenerate during fallow periods, has decreased over the landscape. The aim of this study was to determine beneficial spatial distributions of V. paradoxa to maintain high yields of staple crops, and how management of V. paradoxa will differ between male and female farmers as a result of farmer based needs and use of shea. Vegetation growth and grain yield of maize (Zea mays) associated with individual trees, clumped trees, and open fields were measured. Soil moisture and light availability were also measured to determine how V. paradoxa affected resource availability of maize in either clumped or scattered distributions of V. paradoxa. As expected, light availability increased as measurement locations moved farther away from all trees. However, soil moisture was actually greater under trees in clumps than under individual trees. Maize stalk height and cob length showed no difference between clumped and single trees at each measurement location. Grain yield per plot and per cob increased as measurement locations moved farther from single trees, but was actually greater near clumped trees that in the open field subplots. Cob length and maize stalk height increased with greater light availability, but grain yield per cob or per plot showed no relationship with light, but were not affected by soil moisture. Conversely, grain yield increased with increasing soil moisture, but had no relationship with light availability. Initial farming capital is the largest constraint to female farmers; therefore the collection of shea can help provide women with added income that could meet their specific farming needs. Our data indicate that overall effects of maintaining clumped distributions of V. paradoxa provided beneficial microclimates for staple crops when compared to single trees. It is recommended that male and female farmers allow shea to grow in clumped spatial distributions rather than maintaining scattered, individual trees.

An ethnobotanical survey of the economic and cultural significance of non-timber forest products in the southwest Rhodope Mountain region of Bulgaria

The people of the southwestern Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria live in small, mountainous villages and rural areas. They rely on berries, herbs, and mushrooms provided by the forest and maintain a lifestyle and culture of gathering them. This study determined the economic and landscape concentration of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and how this has changed in the past twenty years in the region of Garmen. The objective was to gauge the cultural and economic significance of NTFPs in the lives of the people who live there. Data was collected using informal, open-ended interviews and through participant observation. Results indicate that ethnicity influence how resources are utilized. Roma people collect mushrooms for income generation; Orthodox Bulgarians gather herbs, berries, and mushrooms for medicinal purposes, to supplement their diets, and to carry on traditions. Bulgarian Muslims collect for a combination of the aforementioned reasons. Changes that occur in the forests affect each of the ethnic groups in different ways and forest management practices should include people’s knowledge and uses of NTFPs.

THE POTENTIAL OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE AND AGRICULTURAL FEEDSTOCK TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE BIOFUELS PRODUCTION: TECHNO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT PERSPECTIVES

This Ph.D. research is comprised of three major components; (i) Characterization study to analyze the composition of defatted corn syrup (DCS) from a dry corn mill facility (ii) Hydrolysis experiments to optimize the production of fermentable sugars and amino acid platform using DCS and (iii) Sustainability analyses. Analyses of DCS included total solids, ash content, total protein, amino acids, inorganic elements, starch, total carbohydrates, lignin, organic acids, glycerol, and presence of functional groups. Total solids content was 37.4% (± 0.4%) by weight, and the mass balance closure was 101%. Total carbohydrates [27% (± 5%) wt.] comprised of starch (5.6%), soluble monomer carbohydrates (12%) and non-starch carbohydrates (10%). Hemicellulose components (structural and non-structural) were; xylan (6%), xylose (1%), mannan (1%), mannose (0.4%), arabinan (1%), arabinose (0.4%), galatactan (3%) and galactose (0.4%). Based on the measured physical and chemical components, bio-chemical conversion route and subsequent fermentation to value added products was identified as promising. DCS has potential to serve as an important fermentation feedstock for bio-based chemicals production. In the sugar hydrolysis experiments, reaction parameters such as acid concentration and retention time were analyzed to determine the optimal conditions to maximize monomer sugar yields while keeping the inhibitors at minimum. Total fermentable sugars produced can reach approximately 86% of theoretical yield when subjected to dilute acid pretreatment (DAP). DAP followed by subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis was most effective for 0 wt% acid hydrolysate samples and least efficient towards 1 and 2 wt% acid hydrolysate samples. The best hydrolysis scheme DCS from an industry's point of view is standalone 60 minutes dilute acid hydrolysis at 2 wt% acid concentration. The combined effect of hydrolysis reaction time, temperature and ratio of enzyme to substrate ratio to develop hydrolysis process that optimizes the production of amino acids in DCS were studied. Four key hydrolysis pathways were investigated for the production of amino acids using DCS. The first hydrolysis pathway is the amino acid analysis using DAP. The second pathway is DAP of DCS followed by protein hydrolysis using proteases [Trypsin, Pronase E (Streptomyces griseus) and Protex 6L]. The third hydrolysis pathway investigated a standalone experiment using proteases (Trypsin, Pronase E, Protex 6L, and Alcalase) on the DCS without any pretreatment. The final pathway investigated the use of Accellerase 1500® and Protex 6L to simultaneously produce fermentable sugars and amino acids over a 24 hour hydrolysis reaction time. The 3 key objectives of the techno-economic analysis component of this PhD research included; (i) Development of a process design for the production of both the sugar and amino acid platforms with DAP using DCS (ii) A preliminary cost analysis to estimate the initial capital cost and operating cost of this facility (iii) A greenhouse gas analysis to understand the environmental impact of this facility. Using Aspen Plus®, a conceptual process design has been constructed. Finally, both Aspen Plus Economic Analyzer® and Simapro® sofware were employed to conduct the cost analysis as well as the carbon footprint emissions of this process facility respectively. Another section of my PhD research work focused on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of commonly used dairy feeds in the U.S. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis was conducted for cultivation, harvesting, and production of common dairy feeds used for the production of dairy milk in the U.S. The goal was to determine the carbon footprint [grams CO2 equivalents (gCO2e)/kg of dry feed] in the U.S. on a regional basis, identify key inputs, and make recommendations for emissions reduction. The final section of my Ph.D. research work was an LCA of a single dairy feed mill located in Michigan, USA. The primary goal was to conduct a preliminary assessment of dairy feed mill operations and ultimately determine the GHG emissions for 1 kilogram of milled dairy feed.

The study of agricultural non-point source pollution control policy system

As the agricultural non-point source pollution(ANPSP) has become the most significant threat for water environmental deterioration and lake eutrophication in China, more and more scientists and technologists are focusing on the control countermeasure and pollution mechanism of agricultural non-point source pollution. The unreasonable rural production structure and limited scientific management measures are the main reasons for acute ANSPS problems in China. At present, the problem for pollution control is a lack of specific regulations, which affects the government's management efficiency. According to these characteristics and problems, this paper puts forward some corresponding policies. The status of the agricultural non-point source pollution of China is analyzed, and ANSPS prevention and control model is provided based on governance policy, environmental legislation, technical system and subsidy policy. At last, the case analysis of Qiandao Lake is given, and an economic policy is adopted based on its situation.