Department of Land Resource Management

Livestock disease surveillance is important in early detection and control of diseases. In resource constrained settings, passive surveillance is predominately used, a system that relies heavily on the community to share information on livestock disease events for eventual response by relevant stakeholders. This study aimed to understand pastoralists’ utilization and reasons considered when choosing methods or stakeholders for reporting or responding to livestock disease occurrences in herds. The study was conducted in Marsabit county in Northern Kenya with pastoralists. Between August 2023 to August 2024, data was collected using participatory epidemiology tools including pairwise ranking and matrix scoring to profile the stakeholders and utilization of different methods with the respective reasons considered when choosing these for livestock disease reporting or response. Summary statistics from the output were presented in tables and graphs while the Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to show the level of agreement among various pastoralist groups/raters. The disease reporting systems in Marsabit were most influenced by livestock owners (median rank = 9), friends and traditional healers (median rank = 7) and Elders’ council and Private AHWs (median rank = 6). Disease reporting was primarily through mobile phones (median rank = 4) with their usage increasing markedly between 2001 and 2024. Livestock disease response was most frequently offered by livestock owners, friends, and agrovets/private practitioners, with median ranks of 9, 7 and 6, respectively. The response to disease events in herds was mostly by pastoralists themselves, using synthetic drugs (median = 8) and this practice had increased overtime from before the 1980s to 2024. The pastoralists’ decisions to report a disease event were largely influenced by accessibility of the stakeholder or method of reporting, perceived technical knowledge of recipient, cost friendliness and affordability of the services, while ability to provide quick response, credit facilities for services, having technical knowledge and affordability were important reasons for their choice of the process of disease response. This study highlights the central role livestock owners’ play in disease reporting and response in underserved pastoralist areas of northern Kenya, with a limited role played by government animal health services providers. The results suggest that veterinary services delivery systems should be reviewed with input from community stakeholders to improve surveillance and disease reporting. This integration would enhance livestock disease surveillance and protect pastoralists’ livelihoods.

Smallholder farmers in semi-arid regions worldwide face persistent water scarcity, declining soil fertility, and increasing climate variability, which constrain food production. This study investigated soil and water management practices and their effects on soil health, crop productivity, and adoption among smallholder vegetable farmers in a semi-arid area in Kenya. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining survey data from 397 farmers with a randomized field experiment. Results showed that hand watering (88.7%) and manure application (95.5%) were prevalent, while only 5.7% of farmers used drip irrigation. Compost and mulch treatments significantly improved soil organic carbon (p = 0.03), available water capacity (p = 0.01), and gravimetric moisture content (p = 0.02), with soil moisture conservation practices strongly correlated with higher yields in leafy green vegetables (R = 0.62). Despite these benefits, adoption was hindered by high water costs (42.6%) and unreliable sources (25.7%). Encouragingly, 96.2% of respondents expressed willingness to pay for improved water systems if affordable and dependable. The findings stress the need for integrated water–soil strategies supported by inclusive policy, infrastructure investment, and gender-responsive training to enhance resilience and productivity in smallholder farming under water-scarce conditions across sub-Saharan Africa and other regions globally, contributing to global sustainability targets such as SDG 6, 12 and 15.

Background. Alternate stable state theory holds that disturbance thresholds can drive transitions between distinct vegetation types that exist under otherwise similar environmental settings. Recent investigations in arid Australia have presented compelling evidence for the existence of fire-mediated alternate stable states (FMASS) in various shrubland-grassland communities. These studies have explored edaphic factors contributing to boundaries. However, research is lacking on vegetation flammability characteristics promoting or retarding fire. Aims. Investigate whether the shoot flammability of two woody species associated with fire-sensitive vegetation, Acacia aptaneura and Aluta maisonneuvei, is lower than co-occurring fire-promoting hummock grasses Triodia basedowii and T. pungens. Methods. Flammability assessments on a plant BBQ tested for statistically significant differences between species. Key results. A. aptaneura ignited more slowly, burned at lower temperatures, and self-extinguished more rapidly than the other species, consistent with a low-flammability strategy. In contrast, no significant differences existed between A. maisonneuvei and the Triodia species across flammability traits. Reduced flammability in A. aptaneura was associated with higher moisture content, lower biomass, and reduced dead material retention. Conclusions/Implications. The findings indicate that desert plants display contrasting flammability syndromes, supporting the hypothesis that fire acts as a selective force shaping shoot traits and reinforcing vegetation boundaries in arid ecosystems.

ABSTRACT Reliable rainfall estimates are essential for understanding extreme rainfall patterns and supporting climate adaptation in vulnerable areas. In Ethiopia’s Jemma sub-basin, limited surface weather observations challenge accurate characterization of rainfall extremes, necessitating the use of satellite and reanalysis products. We evaluated five rainfall datasets, CHIRPS v2.0, TAMSAT v3.1, ERA5, MERRA v2, and MSWEP v2.8, for their ability to replicate daily rainfall, detect rainfall events, and represent rainfall indices across sub-tropical and temperate agro-ecological zones (AEZs). A point to pixel evaluation approach was used, and statistical metrics including continuous metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE), percent bias (PBIAS), Kling Gupta efficiency (KGE), and correlation coefficient (R), and categorical metrics such as probability of detection (POD), false alarm ratio (FAR), critical success index (CSI), and frequency bias index (FBI) were used to assess performance and assign ranks using a comprehensive rating index (CRI). Results show that MSWEP v2.8 is most reliable for daily rainfall across both AEZs, while CHIRPS v2.0 excels in capturing extreme rainfall in the sub-tropical AEZ. MSWEP v2.8 also performs well in the temperate AEZ but shows limitations for indices like R20mm in sub-tropical AEZ. ERA5 and MERRA v2 exhibit higher biases, lower resolution, and weaker correlations. These findings highlight the importance of selecting rainfall products based on indices and regional conditions. MSWEP v2.8 and CHIRPS v2.0 are recommended for flood and drought forecasting, water management, and agricultural planning. Integrating multiple datasets with local observations and establishing additional meteorological stations can further enhance rainfall assessments and modeling.

Land-use changes from natural ecosystems to farmlands substantially alter soil functioning worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where rapid population growth and intensive agriculture pose serious challenges. Soil microbial diversity is vital in supporting ecosystem multifunctionality and preventing pathogen growth. Recent studies have revealed that farming activities homogenize microbial communities across distant sites, which may lead to functional homogenization on that scale. However, given the redundancy of microbial functions—where different taxa can perform similar functions—farming may drive functional homogenization over broader spatial scales than taxonomic homogenization. We compared the taxonomic and functional compositions of soil prokaryotic and fungal communities between natural lands and farmlands across spatial scales ranging from within-site (∼200 m) to across-site (∼1500 km) in Kenya and Malawi, using amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS genes and the prediction of microbial functions. Soil microbial predicted-functional compositions were homogenized more broadly than taxonomic compositions in farmlands compared to natural lands, suggesting that similar functional responses to farming occur across scales where different taxa thrive. Furthermore, environmental factors (soil pH, carbon, nitrogen, and moisture) were predominantly related to within-site homogeneity, whereas farming itself was a significant contributor to across-site homogeneity, indicating an overriding influence of farming compared to environmental variations. Additionally, pathogenic fungi were relatively more abundant in farmlands, likely due to reduced species competition and farming-induced environmental changes such as low soil pH. Our findings highlight the need to investigate microbial functional diversity alongside taxonomic diversity when assessing land-use impacts on soil health for sustainable land management. • Farming led to broader-scale homogenization of soil microbial functions than taxa • Drivers of microbial community homogeneity differed across spatial scales • Relative abundance of pathogenic fungi increased in more homogenized communities

Abstract As small (<5.5 kg) native mammals continue to decline throughout northern Australia, there is a critical need to identify the most significant threatening processes and those management actions with the greatest likelihood of alleviating them. Using a structured elicitation process, we sought to identify such management priorities by: (1) reviewing the literature since 2010 to identify a suite of potential drivers of small mammal decline; and (2) estimating the relative impacts of the putative threats and the ability to manage such threats. We reviewed 106 publications, from which we identified 11 threats and 14 threat attributes possibly contributing to the decline of small mammals in the region. From the expert elicitation, we scored and ranked each threat and threat attribute for its severity, geographic scope, potential for mitigation, and uniformity of impact across species. The elicitation suggested that the contemporary threats with the greatest relative impact on native mammals in northwestern Australia are: (1) predation by feral cats; and (2) habitat degradation by feral livestock and by inappropriate fire regimes. Tractable management actions aimed at reducing the density of feral livestock and improving fire regimes are likely to simultaneously reduce predation pressure from feral cats on small mammals and improve the availability of critical resources.

There is a big gap between the abstraction of an idea and its concrete implementation. This gap is filled with processes that imply the taking of actions to help achieve a tangible result, and there is a myriad of ways these actions can follow through. Photographic and filmic methodologies shape work through the processes of doing informed by gestures in the photographic and filmic operations on site and in the later editing phase1 by which an understanding is changed into a story, an idea in a final visual and/or sequential form.
 The need for good ideas due to the growing challenges presented by climate changes, imposes serious thinking around actual ways of doing relevant contributions to help ‘heal a broken world’. Photographic and filmic work processes can support that purpose embedding specific site experience methodologies open to the passage of time and the changes it encompasses associated with the landscape we have inherited. Exploring a place or a landscape and working with what is found through movement: walking, driving, flying, the editing of footage, the study of photographs, films, or selected material, reveal changes to specific landscapes and possible readings, interpretations, and understandings of those changes. Such actions and processes have a long tradition in artistic practices transecting land art, landscape architecture and environmental studies.2
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ObjectivesTo co‐create a culturally responsive student‐implemented allied health service in a First Nations remote community and to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the service.DesignCo‐creation involved a pragmatic iterative process, based on participatory action research approaches. Feasibility and acceptability were determined using a mixed‐method pre/postdesign.SettingThe service was in Nhulunbuy, Yirrkala and surrounding remote First Nations communities of East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.ParticipantsCo‐creation of the service was facilitated by the Northern Australia Research Network, guided by Indigenous Allied Health Australia leadership, with East Arnhem local community organisations and community members. Co‐creation of the day‐to‐day service model involved local cultural consultants, service users and their families, staff of community organisations, students, supervisors, placement coordinators and a site administrator.FindingsA reciprocal learning service model was co‐created in which culturally responsive practice was embedded. The service was feasible and acceptable: it was delivered as intended; resources were adequate; the service management system was workable; and the service was acceptable. Health outcome measures, however, were not appropriate to demonstrate impact, particularly through the lens of the people of East Arnhem. Recommendations for the service included: continuing the reciprocal learning service model in the long term; expanding to include all age groups; and connecting with visiting and community‐based services.ConclusionThe co‐created service was feasible and acceptable. To demonstrate the impact of the service, measures of health service impact that are important to First Nations people living in remote communities of northern Australia are required.

As part of a joint effort between academia and practice, we propose a novel approach to digital terrain modelling for climate adaptation planning. In contrast to existing workflows, it allows designers to merely describe desired drainage patterns for a given site and use genetic solvers for their subsequent optimization. Leveraging algorithmic strategies opens the possibility to analyse multiple proposed site layouts and identify the most resilient ones. By validating the method on three typical residential development projects, this paper puts renewed emphasis on the importance of terrain modelling in the context of flood protection – a domain often dominated by technical, hardscape solutions.