In the quest to promote bamboo agroforestry in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana, we evaluated changes in soil properties, crop productivity and the economic potential of a bamboo-based intercropping system. The intercropping system was established from 3-months old sympodial bamboo (Bambusa balcooa) seedlings planted at a 5 m × 5 m spacing and intercropped with maize, cassava or cowpea. Separate monocropping fields for maize, cassava, cowpea and bamboo were set up adjacent to the intercropped field. In both the intercropping and monocropping fields, plots were with fertilizer treatments and without. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with four replicates and studied over three years. Economic analysis was conducted using the financial benefit–cost ratio method. The results showed that regardless of fertilizer treatments, bamboo agroforestry and monocropped fields had comparable effects on soil properties and crop productivity within two years of establishment. In the third year, however, bamboo agroforestry had significantly (p < 0.05) higher soil moisture, pH and crop productivity levels. An intercropping advantage over monocropping was evident for all crops with respective partial land equivalent ratios for fertilized and non-fertilized intercropped systems as follows: cowpea (1.37 and 1.54), maize (1.38 and 1.36), and cassava (1.12 and 1.19). The economic evaluation also indicated marginal profitability of bamboo intercropping over monocropping systems. From the results obtained, there are clear indications that where bamboo is a prioritized woody perennial, integrated systems with crops may be encouraged.

Bamboo agroforestry is currently being promoted in Ghana as a viable land use option to reduce dependence on natural forest for wood fuels. To align the design and introduction of bamboo agroforestry to the needs of farmers, information on the determinants of bamboo acceptability and adoption is necessary. It is, therefore, the aim of this study to determine how socioeconomic factors, local farming practices and local knowledge on bamboo may influence its acceptability and adoption as a component of local farming systems. Data were collected from 200 farmers in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana using semi-structured questionnaire interviews. The results show that farmers’ traditional knowledge on bamboo including its use for charcoal production and leaves for fodder are influential determinants of bamboo adoption. Among the demographic characteristics of farmers, age and gender are the most significant predictors. It is also evident that the regular practice of leaving trees on farmlands and type of cropping system may influence bamboo integration into traditional farming systems.

Limited access to fodder with fair nutritive characteristics especially during dry periods is a challenge to livestock farming. However, it is envisaged that evergreen bamboo with year-round litter production and high nutritive characteristics, may provide a valuable supplementary source of feed. In Ghana, bamboo use as fodder is largely unknown and efforts to promote its use will require an understanding of base feed quality and results disseminated. Therefore, a field fodder quality experimentation using twenty Djallonké kids (juvenile goats) of 1-year-old with a mean initial weight of 13.77 ± 1.16 kg for the trial and allotted to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized block design with five replicates per treatment was conducted. The study sought to assess the effect of leaves of two bamboo species (Oxytenanthera abyssinica and Bambusa balcooa) as a feed supplement to goats fed on basal diets of Pennisetum purpureum and Brachiaria decumbens. The fodder quality results indicated that nutrient composition and in vitro gas production of the treatments varied significantly among the grasses and the bamboo supplement. The highest crude protein and in vitro gas production was observed in O. abyssinica. Besides, O. abyssinica diets recorded the highest daily gain and the lowest feed-to-gain ratio. The treatment effect was significant on blood variables measured. Bamboo leaves are a viable feed supplement for goats as shown by their nutrient profile and positive influence on the growth performance of goats. Hence, the leaves of any of the bamboo species could be used as supplemental feed for goats.

Pterocarpus erinaceus(Poir.) is an endemic and endangered species of the Guinea‐Sudano‐Sahelian​ zones currently overexploited for timber, fodder, and medicinal purposes. Therefore, plantations are critical to meeting the high demand in the international market while reducing pressure on natural stands, but its growth performance across different ecological zones is not well documented. Thus, we assessed the influence of ecological zones and soil properties on the survival and growth performance ofP. erinaceus. Data were collected from 12 subplots ofP. erinaceusstands in the Dry Semi‐Deciduous Fire Zone (DSFZ) and 16 subplots in the Moist Semi‐Deciduous North West Zone (MSNW). We assessed the survival and growth performance ofP. erinaceususing one‐way ANOVA, variation in soil properties using the Generalized Linear Model, and the influence of soil properties onP. erinaceusgrowth characteristics via correlation analysis. We found that the percentage survival ofP. erinaceuswas similar in both ecological zones. However,P. erinaceusdemonstrated a high level of variation in growth attributes, growing taller with deeper canopies in wetter conditions and larger crown spread in drier conditions. The aboveground biomass carbon stocks ofP. erinaceusstands were similar in both ecological zones, highlighting the potential role of the species as a carbon sink in the ecological zones. Soil organic matter, nitrogen, and calcium contents were higher in soils of the MSNW stands than those of the DSFZ stands. However, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and phosphorus contents were stable across the ecological zones. We concluded that wetter conditions enhance the growth performance ofP. erinaceusas a timber species.

Documenting and quantitatively assessing medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge in different social contexts is critical in providing nature‐based solutions to contemporary issues. Therefore, our study quantitatively evaluated medicinal shrubs and herbs in forest‐fringe communities of Ghana and tested the versatility, ecological apparency and sociodemographic traits and knowledge dynamics hypotheses. Structured questionnaires, interviews and field visits were used to conduct an ethnobotanical survey involving 78 respondents, selected based on random and snowball sampling techniques. The data were analysed using quantitative indices such as indigenous knowledge index (IKI), species use value (SUV), informant agreement ratio (IAR) and ethnobotanical importance value (EIV). To test the versatility and sociodemographic traits and knowledge dynamics hypotheses, linear mixed‐effects regressions were conducted, while one‐way ANOVA was used to test the ecological apparency hypothesis. The Jaccard dissimilarity index was used to assess the degree of uniqueness of diseases treated by plants. We found 69 medicinal shrubs and herbs, belonging to 35 plant families, used to treat 101 diseases in the study area. Paullinia pinnata L. recorded the highest SUV (18.2) values, whereas Momordica charantia L. recorded the highest EIV (22.326) values. We found support for the versatility and sociodemographic traits and knowledge dynamics hypotheses, but no support for the ecological apparency hypothesis. The IAR of the 16 disease categories evaluated in this study ranged from 0.50 to 0.77. The Jaccard index showed that diseases treated by using introduced or native plants were 65.6% dissimilar. Our findings have implications for the achievement of SDG 3 (good health and well‐being). We concluded that sociodemographic traits influence ethnobotanical knowledge dynamics, while plants with multiple useful parts are the most versatile and recommend the conservation of biodiversity to enhance diversity of treatment options.