The susceptibility of African yam bean (AYB) (Sphenostylis stenocarpa), a nutritionally valuable but underutilized legume, to the cowpea beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) was investigated under controlled temperature (28°C) and relative humidity (55 ± 15%). Five AYB accessions (TSs 23, TSs 57, TSs 96, TSs 111A, TSs 125) were evaluated using cowpea and adzuki bean as reference hosts. Seed morphometrics varied significantly (p < 0.001), with cowpea and adzuki bean generally having larger seed volumes than AYB. After 8 days, fecundity on AYB ranged from 55 to 109 eggs per 10 g seed, with highest oviposition on TSs 111A, while hatchability remained high (86–93%) and did not differ significantly among seeds. Adult emergence was delayed on AYB, beginning at 34–36 days post-oviposition set up, compared with day 22 on cowpea. Survivorship was lower on AYB (28.7–60.8%) than cowpea (92.2%), resulting in reduced seed damage (32.4–64.1%) and weight loss (6.0–11.5%) compared with cowpea (80.7% and 31.0%, respectively). Susceptibility indices confirmed lower vulnerability of AYB (6.27–9.27) than cowpea (19.90). TSs 96 and TSs 111A showed trends consistent with moderate resistance to C. maculatus, with reduced emergence observed in both accessions, alongside lower damage in TSs 96 and prolonged development in TSs 111A. Correlation analysis linked seed traits, particularly surface area and number of seeds/10 g, with key beetle life-history parameters. Overall, AYB exhibited moderate resistance to C. maculatus, supporting its potential as a more resilient storage legume under smallholder conditions.
Symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) are central to oak tree nutrition and stress tolerance, contributing to nutrient acquisition in exchange for host-derived photosynthates. Trees increasingly experience interacting abiotic and biotic stress events, such as drought and pest or pathogen attack, which may reduce C reserves, disrupt physiological functioning, and contribute to a progressive decline in tree vitality and resilience. As part of novel field manipulation experiment on semi-mature oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), we studied the effects of severe drought, simulated by installing rain exclusion shelters, and pathogen attack, simulated by partial ringbarking, on soil fungal communities. Altered community composition with increased relative presence of saprotrophic fungi compared with untreated controls was seen in both treatments but EMF communities were more strongly affected by 20 months of simulated drought than by partial ringbarking. The reduced number of EMF species under drought were likely associated with a combination of low soil moisture and drought-induced changes in soil nutrient dynamics, including increased inorganic nitrogen availability. Partial ringbarking did not affect overall EMF community richness compared to the control, but a specific nutrient stress indicator species, Cortinarius sp., was detected. These patterns suggest that reduced belowground carbon allocation and impaired root function under ringbarking may have altered host nutrient demand. This may have favoured the maintenance of nutrient-acquisitive ectomycorrhizal symbionts despite their relatively high carbon requirements. Understanding how EMF communities respond to prolonged environmental stress will be increasingly important for predicting woodland resilience and the progression of oak decline under climate change.
Resource-rich countries worldwide often face persistent imbalances in the redistribution of resource wealth. Although mineral extraction generates substantial revenues, these funds are typically centrally managed and redistributed, leaving host communities, who bear the social and environmental burdens of extraction, impoverished and marginalized. In Tanzania, despite provisions allowing Local Government Authorities to levy a 0.3% service charge on mining revenues and receive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions intended to support local development, means of engaging host communities remain a challenge. Community Development Agreements (CDAs) have been identified as potential instruments to safeguard the interests of host communities. However, despite their widespread promotion, a critical gap remains in understanding how communities can effectively engage in, negotiate, and implement CDAs, particularly in contexts marked by power asymmetries. Communities are often poor, with limited knowledge of mining and the broader extractive industry, and with no access to decision-making power. This study addresses the gap by examining Community Development Committees (CDCs) as an inclusive, participatory institutional mechanism through which communities can effectively articulate their development priorities. Using semi‑structured interviews with 36 key informants across the mining value chain, including central government officials, mining representatives, and local communities, the study finds the CDC model as an effective approach for strengthening community voice, enhancing transparency, improving negotiations, and monitoring project implementations. Although grounded in Tanzania’s mining sector, the study offers insights relevant to other resource dependent economies seeking to foster more equitable social contracts.
As environmental concerns intensify, businesses are increasingly adopting non-market strategies (NMS) to navigate regulatory pressures and improve environmental performance (EP). However, there has been no systematic effort to synthesise existing studies on the environmental benefits of NMS and to provide an integrated conceptual understanding of the field. As a result, there remains limited understanding of how these strategies influence firms’ EP and the boundary conditions under which they are effective. To address this gap, this study conducts a systematic review of 151 peer-reviewed articles and develops a comprehensive integrative framework linking NMS to firm-level EP. The framework highlights the effectiveness of combined NMS in comparison to single strategies, emphasising the role of dual legitimacy activation. This synthesis provides a foundation for more nuanced future research and offers practical guidance on aligning political engagement, governance capacity, and innovation investment to enhance sustained EP across varying institutional contexts.
European grasslands are biodiversity hotspots but face ongoing threats from intensification and abandonment. Monitoring is essential for evaluating policies that promote grassland biodiversity, but conventional expert-led surveys are costly and difficult to scale. Farmer-led biodiversity recording offers a potential solution, but its feasibility and reliability remain uncertain. This study aimed to assess whether farmer-recorded indicators can provide reliable and practical measures of grassland plant diversity that could support broader biodiversity monitoring and assessment of public goods delivery. We firstly reviewed 14 European monitoring case study schemes, supplemented by stakeholder interviews in eight of these schemes. Secondly, we compared simple farmer-recorded indicators at the field and farm system levels with expert botanical assessments across 26 low-intensity farms in the UK, Sweden, and Romania. Analysis of case study monitoring schemes revealed that limited time and technical expertise were major barriers to farmer participation, while adequate incentives, scheme simplicity, and supportive technology acted as key enablers alongside the well-documented need for training and support. Comparisons with botanical assessments showed that simple farmer-recorded measures, particularly forb species counts, were strong proxies for plant species richness and diversity, while some abundance-based measures such as vegetation cover estimates also showed significant relationships with botanist assessments. In contrast, farmer-recorded indicator species performed poorly, likely due to short indicator species lists and the lack of farmer training. Farm system metrics were also weak predictors of species richness and diversity, although they may be informative across broader gradients of management intensity. Overall, our findings demonstrate that farmer-led biodiversity recording is feasible when based on straightforward, observable indicators, combined with adequate motivation. These approaches could complement expert assessments in supporting biodiversity goals and results-based agri-environment schemes.
