In order to evaluate the effect of Azospirillum brasilense and mycorrhizal fungi in the soil on the nutrition of the yacon crop (Smallanthus sonchifolius [(Poeppig & Endlicher) H. Robinson]), determinations of agronomic parameters and the health status of the plants were carried out, under greenhouse conditions. The tests were carried out at the time of the implantation of the culture: the propagules were inoculated with A. brasilense and with native mycorrhizal fungi, generating four treatments, including the control and the co-inoculation of the consortium of the microorganisms under study (T0: control or control without inoculation; T1: inoculation with native A. brasilense; T2: inoculation with native mycorrhizal fungi and T3: joint inoculation with A. brasilense and native mycorrhizal fungi. The results indicate that co-inoculation with A. brasilense and native mycorrhizal fungi increased plant growth in height, leaf area, biomass, dry matter and yields significantly in greenhouse production. It was determined that the application of the selected microorganisms has a plant growth promoting effect, increasing growth and productivity, greenhouse grown yacón.

Water is essential for food security and animal agricultural productivity, but it is becoming more scarce due to climate change. The interaction between climate change and livestock water resources has received little attention from researchers, despite the significance of small-scale animal husbandry for the rural poor in Africa and the size of the changes that are anticipated to have an impact on smallholder livestock systems. Threats to livestock water are undoubtedly one of the most significant environmental issues that have impacted food security on the continent, given their links to small-scale animal husbandry and the detrimental impacts on productivity. In order to balance the negative effects of climate change scenarios for sustainable animal productivity and contribute to food security through small-scale animal agriculture, the most climate-smart and resilient agricultural water practices and technologies must be used. Changes in rainfall and a decline in the biomass available for grazing and rangelands as a result of water stress brought on by the climate would have the most severe effects. This is due to the rain-fed nature of small-scale livestock farming. The local animal genetic resources are essential for animal productivity and food security in Africa, particularly in areas where livestock water is becoming scarce owing to climate change. Research and development goals on the effects of climate change on livestock water, animal productivity, and food security may need to be reviewed if demands of vulnerable small-scale animal producers are to be successfully addressed in the future decades. It is best to use an interdisciplinary approach to comprehend the relationships between small-scale animal husbandry, food security, and climate change. By navigating the complexities of climate adaptation, small-scale livestock farmers can manage livestock water scarcity by taking adaptation measures that are in line with evolving climate impacts and associated means of implementation based on pertinent and useful knowledge that takes into account a blend of traditional and modern water science. In this paper, an effort is made to close some significant information gaps and shed light on how water-induced stress impacts small-scale animal production, which has an effect on food security.

The plant leaves used as adsorbent in this study were Guava plant leaves (GPL) and Cashew plant leaves (CPL). The samples were collected within Gombe State. Batch adsorption method was used in determining the adsorption process. Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scan-ning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were used for the characterization. The results show promising signs as they were in agreement with most literatures; various per-centage removals were obtained from Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ (GPL and CPL) at optimum conditions. The equilibrium data fitted well with both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Langmuir mod-el fitted well for Pb²⁺ (CPL) with R² value (0.9855) and Cd²⁺ for (GPL and CPL) with R² values (0.9945 and 0.9948) while Pb²⁺ (GPL) with correlation coefficient at 0.9116 best fits well with Freundlich isotherm model. Pseudo first order and second order were used in testing the kinetics study from which pseudo second order best fitted better than that of the first order kinetics. The thermodynamic study shows that ΔG is negative in most cases except for Cd²⁺ (GPL) where ΔG is positive. Whereas ΔH and ΔS are positive in some cases showing an endothermic and spontane-ous adsorption processes respectively, as well as negative in some. Based on this study, GPL and CPL could be used as a natural adsorbent to remove Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ heavy metals from wastewater and environment due to their high removal efficiencies.

Accurate estimates of above-ground biomass (AGB) and below-ground biomass (BGB) are essential for estimating carbon (C) balances at various geographical scales and formulating effective climate change mitigation programs. This study aimed to formulate specific allometric equations and carbon stock for B. senegalensis in Cameroon. Destructive sampling technique was used for harvesting and weighing the biomass of 40 individual trees. Allometric models were developed using biomass as dependent variable and tree dendrometric parameters as independent variables. The best models selected based with Adjusted coefficients of determination (Adj.R²), residual standard error (RSE) and Akaike's information criterion (AIC) were: ln (leaf biomass) = 0.08 + 0.31*ln (D²×H×ρ); ln (branch biomass) = 0.14 + 0.65*ln (D²×H×ρ); ln (stem biomass) = 2.03 + 1.32*ln (D²×H); ln (AGB) = 4.55 + 2.85*ln(D) and ln (BGB) =3.04 + 1.64*ln(D). The belowground biomass of B. senegalensis represents on average 25 % of the total aboveground biomass. Aboveground carbon ranged between 7.09 ± 0.42- 9.01 ± 0.50 tC/ha; Belowground carbon ranged between 4.37 ± 0.26 - 7.11 ± 0.35 tC/ha; litter carbon ranged between 0.50 ± 0.02 - 0.95 ± 0.04 tC/ha; herbaceous carbon ranged between 1.05 ± 0.28 - 1.86 ± 0.20 tC/ha ; dead wood carbon ranged between 3.03 ± 0.40 - 8.98 ± 0.44 tC/ha; Soil Organic Carbon Stock varies between4.33 ± 0.79 - 6.14 ± 1.05 tC/ha ;Total carbon were 33.24 ± 4.28;27.40 ± 3.35;27.27 ± 3.27and 21.18 ± 3.00 tC/ha in site 3, site 2, site 1 and site 4 respectively.The specific allometric equation developed for B. senegalensis can be used in similar Sudano-Sahelian savannas to implement activities to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) for the benefit of local carbon trading communities.