Peter Bilson ObourUniversity of Ghana | Legon · Department of Geography and Resource Development
Peter Bilson Obour
PhD
About
46
Publications
32,057
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769
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Peter Bilson Obour currently works at the Department of Geography and Resource Development. Peter Bilson does research in soil management and soil structure, soil fragmentation and friability, soil-tillage and traffic interactions, soil quality and soil health, soil compaction, use of soil amendments in agriculture, and climate change, agriculture and food security.
Education
October 2015 - April 2019
August 2013 - August 2015
August 2005 - June 2009
Publications
Publications (46)
Biochar is widely suggested as a soil amendment to improve soil physical properties for crop production. However, the heterogeneity between experiments in terms of biochar characteristics, experimental conditions and soil properties makes it difficult to compare and extrapolate results from different studies. We conducted a statistical meta-analysi...
Soil compaction caused by wheel traffic is a major driver of soil degradation in modern agriculture and thus, a threat to agricultural sustainability. To improve the predictive capacity of compaction models and to support decision-making that implements site-specific practices for ameliorating soil compaction effects in modern agriculture, we need...
Oil palm plantations worldwide generate vast amounts of empty fruit bunches (EFB), often disposed of as waste and left to undergo natural decomposition or incinerated, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. However, EFB could be used as soil conditioner to improve soil properties and increase crop yields. We conducted a meta-analysis to synthesi...
Soil degradation and water scarcity are key constraints underlying low crop productivity in arid and semiarid regions. Therefore, adoption of improved technologies and effective management practices for optimizing soil water conservation and improving soil fertility is crucial for sustainable food production in dryland areas. A meta-analysis using...
In dryland areas, integrating biochar soil amendment with in‐situ rainwater harvesting systems may decrease soil erosion, improve soil quality and increase crop productivity and yields. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of maize straw biochar amendment and a ridge and furrow systems on runoff, sediment yield and the physico‐chemica...
Alfalfa (Medicagosativa L.) is commonly fed to a wide range of livestock as hay or silage. However, the impact of management practices on alfalfa productivity is under-studied. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate whether ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting technology with biochar compared to flat planting affects alfalfa fodder yield...
Purpose
On a global scale, water resources are under intense stress due to climate change. It is, therefore, crucial to understand how in situ water harvesting techniques and the addition of soil organic amendments such as biochar affect soil properties and productivity of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to inform wider adoption by farmers.
Methods
T...
Low crop productivity due to prolonged droughts, inappropriate water saving practices, low soil fertility and soil erosion is a major threat to food security in semi-arid areas. In these areas, ridge and furrow rainwater harvesting (RFRH) technique is widely adopted to minimize water deficiency problems. Incorporating mulching in ridge and furrow r...
This paper examines the causes of widespread maize production failure in Ghana during the 2020 minor growing season. A mixed-methods approach was used to study smallholder maize farmers in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality to provide a holistic understanding of the factors behind the maize production failure and to inform policy interventions. The...
Background In semiarid areas, low productivity of crops has been attributed to lack of appropriate soil moisture conservation practices since droughts and soil erosion are rampant in most areas of this region. Consequently, ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting is widely used in these regions across the globe. Despite ridge-furrow being widely practice...
Background
China is the leading consumer of plastic film worldwide. Plastic film mulched ridge-furrow is one of the most widely adopted agronomic and field management practices in rain-fed agriculture in dry-land areas of China. The efficiency of plastic film mulching as a viable method to decrease evapotranspiration (ET), increase crop yields, and...
Despite massive flood controlling investments, perennial flooding continues to be a major challenge in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Assembly in Ghana. Previous studies have mostly considered the vulnerability of Accra to flooding induced by urbanization and climate change. This chapter examined the impacts of and adaptation strategies to flooding...
This study investigated evidence of climate change impacts on cassava and yam production and its implications on smallholder farmers’ livelihood in the Jaman South District of Ghana. Data were collected from 200 smallholder farmers using multi-stage purposive sampling technique. Rainfall and temperature data for the district corroborated the farmer...
The particle size (PS) and application rate (RA) of biochar influence soil–biochar interaction with concomitant effects on soil chemical and physical properties. However, limited studies exist that quantify how biochar PS and RA, acting solely or together affect soil structure characteristics and functional properties. This study investigated the e...
As building blocks of soil structure, aggregates shape the physical environment for soil biota, control available surfaces for nutrients, and are key in regulating soil functions including carbon and nutrient cycling, water flow and storage, and soil-atmosphere gas exchange. Abiotic and biotic processes play essential roles in aggregate formation....
This study, based on vegetable production fields, combined soil quality assessed by three approaches (qualitatively by farmers, semi-quantitatively by a researcher and quantitatively by laboratory analyses) with the aim of improving the integration of the different approaches. We interviewed 79 peri-urban vegetable growers in two communities within...
The combination of concurrent soil degradation and restoration scenarios in a long-term experiment with contrasting treatments under steady-state conditions, similar soil texture and climate make the Highfield land-use change experiment at Rothamsted Research unique. We used soil from this experiment to quantify rates of change in organic matter (O...
This study investigated evidence of climate change impacts on cassava and yam production and its implications on smallholder farmers’ livelihood in the Jaman South District of Ghana. Data were collected from 200 smallholder farmers using multi-stage purposive sampling technique. Rainfall and temperature data for the district corroborated the farmer...
We propose the soil strength and air capacity (SSAC) approach, which was compared with alternative water retention curve (WRC) and the soil consistency (SC) approaches for estimating the water content at wet tillage limit (θWTL), optimum water content for tillage (θOPT) and the water content at the dry tillage limit (θDTL). Unlike the WRC and SC ap...
Soil tilth is a dynamic and multifaceted concept that refers to the suitability of a soil for planting and growing crops. A soil with good tilth is “usually loose, friable and well granulated”; a condition that can also be described as the soil’s having a good “selfmulching” ability. On the other hand soils with poor tilth are usually dense (compac...
Clay is a basic soil constituent that governs many soil properties including pore characteristics, which in turn control a range of crucial soil properties and functions. This study explored the relationships between aggregate strength and soil pore structure characteristics for a range of clay contents along a natural gradient, and investigated th...
Soil structure and structural stability are key parameters in sustainable soil management and optimum cropping practices. This study aimed to improve the knowledge of potential precision tillage practices by characterising the effect of varied tillage intensities on structural properties of a clay loam soil. An experiment with seedbed preparation w...
One of the primary aims of tillage operation is to fragment soil to provide a suitable seedbed for crop establishment. Although crops vary in terms of their specific requirements for fragment size distribution in a seedbed, it is generally known that for small grain cereals, a seedbed should neither constitute of soil fragments that are too large (...
In this study, we quantified the effect of clay content on soil pore structure characteristics and soil workability for a soil with a naturally occurring clay gradient from an arable field near Lerbjerg, Denmark. We also simulated soil workability and estimated the number of workable days in the spring and the autunmn from 2014 to 2018. The range o...
Knowledge of the water contents for tillage is important in planning and scheduling tillage operations to avoid tillage-induced soil structural degradation, creating undesirable seedbed for crop establishment, and using high-energy input during because soil is not workable. It is, generally known that soil organic carbon (SOC) increases the range o...
Timing of tillage operations is of utmost importance in arable farming because tillage performed under inappropriate soil water conditions results in soil structural damage and creation of undesirable seedbeds for crop establishment and growth. In a field experiment on a loamy soil in Ås, Norway, we investigated the effect of compaction and sowing...
The effects of soil organic matter on the water contents for tillage were investigated by sampling soils with a uniform texture, but a range of soil organic carbon (SOC) from two long-term field experiments at Highfield in Rothamsted Research, UK and Askov Experimental Station, Denmark. The treatments studied in Highfield were Bare fallow (BF), Con...
In this study, we examined the downstream social impacts of Ghana’s Bui Dam and identified resource use conflicts in the non-resettled communities within a 30 km stretch along the course of the Black Volta River below the dam. Through household survey questionnaires and focus group discussions, data were collected from farming and fishing communities...
Soil organic matter (SOM) is important for maintaining soil properties and functions, but so far critical levels of SOM have not been defined across soil types. We hypothesize that the degree of saturation of clay and silt particles with soil organic carbon (SOC) is more critical for sustaining soil physical properties than the total SOC content. H...
Soil workability for seedbed preparation is the ability to produce fragments of optimal sizes without destroying soil structure. Tillage is satisfactorily performed when soil is friable, which occurs within a specific range of water content (∆θRANGE) between the upper (wet tillage limit, WTL) and the lower (dry tillage limit, DTL) critical water co...
Soil workability and friability are required parameters to consider when creating suitable seedbeds for crop establishment and growth. Knowledge of soil workability is important for scheduling tillage operations and for reducing the risk of tillage-induced structural degradation of soils. A reliable evaluation of soil workability implies a distinct...
Soil particle density (Dp) is an important soil property for calculating soil porosity expressions. However, many studies assume a constant value, typically 2.65 Mg m− 3 for arable, mineral soils. Few models exist for the prediction of Dp from soil organic matter (SOM) content. We hypothesized that better predictions may be obtained by including th...
Construction of dams affects the livelihoods of the population living along the dammed river. There
is a need for more studies to guide dam development policies and management to safeguard the
livelihoods of local river users. This paper examines the effects of dams on the socio-economic
livelihoods of downstream communities by drawing on the Kpong...
Subsoil compaction is one of the major causes of land degradation worldwide and therefore a major threat to future crop productivity. The objective of this contribution was to evaluate the effects of compaction treatments on soil structure based on the numerical visual evaluation of subsoil structure (SubVESS) method and on quantitative measurement...
The construction of the Bui Dam was expected to boost socio-economic development
in Ghana. This article examines the impacts of the project on the livelihoods of the local
people. Data were collected using a mixed-research approach and a case-study design.
The study finds that, while there have been significant improvements with respect to
resettle...
Subsoil compaction is one of the major causes of land degradation worldwide. Over the years, susceptibility of agricultural fields to subsoil compaction has increased due to increasing weight, tire size and inflation pressure of agricultural machinery. Unlike other forms of land degradation such as erosion and salinization, subsoil compaction is us...
Climate change is unequivocal and these changes have increased over the past few years. The recent vulnerability and prospect of climate variability and change impact, thus, warrants measures now to reduce the adverse impacts. This is especially important in relation to smallholder farmers whose activities provide large proportion of the food consu...
Projects
Projects (7)
To help vegetable farmers adapt to climate change and enhance vegetable production through research on heat, drought and disease tolerant vegetable varieties, soil health, irrigation and water management in vegetable production systems in Ghana. Presently, vegetable production in Ghana is stagnating or declining despite increases in cultivated area due to poor soil quality, droughts, heat, pests and diseases stress as a result of climate change. The project will investigate the use of local organic resources such as oil palm empty fruit bunch applied to soil as an organic mulch, composted pyrolyzed into biochar as a smart way of recycling organics, improving soil fertility, increasing carbon sequestration.
Additionally, the project will screen and select vegetable varieties for adaptation to increasing temperature, drought, and pest and diseases incidence. Furthermore, we will analyze and identify inclusive and sustainable business models around local communities fitted with drip and gun irrigation systems allowing additional one to two more growing seasons per year to produce high-value horticultural crops. In addition to increasing the vegetable production and sale and the associated direct value chain, the irrigation development will create jobs in the supporting industry supplying equipment for irrigation and farming in general.
