The occurrence and intensity of some natural hazards (e.g. hydro-meteorological) increase due to climate change, with growing exposure and socio-economic vulnerability, leading to mounting risks. In response, Disaster Risk Reduction policy and practice emphasize people-centred Early Warning Systems (EWS). Global policies stress the need for including local knowledge and increasing the literature on integrating local and scientific knowledge for EWS. In this paper, we present a review to understand and outline how local and scientific knowledge integration is framed in EWS, namely: (1) existing integration approaches, (2) where in the EWS integration happens, (3) outcomes, (4) challenges, and (5) enablers. The objective is to critically evaluate integration and highlight critical questions about assumptions, goals, outcomes, and processes. In particular, we unpack the impact of power and knowledges as plural. We find a spectrum of integration between knowledges in EWS, mainly with dichotomy at the start: focus on people or technology. The most popular integration approaches are participatory methods such as ‘GIS mapping’ (technology) and methods that focus on ‘triangulation’ (people). We find that critical analysis of power relations and social interaction is either missed or framed as a challenge within integration processes. Knowledge is often seen as binary, embedded in the concept of ‘integration’. It is important to know what different knowledges can and cannot do in different contexts and acknowledge the hybrid reality of knowledge used for EWS. We argue that how we approach different knowledges in EWS has fundamental implications for the approaches to integration and its meaning. To this end, attention to the social processes, power dynamics, and context is crucial.

• Long-term (10–12 years) maize-based CA increased PAWC and Ksat. • Ksat was optimum (0.03–0.3 cm/min) in CA systems but PAWC was relatively low (<20 %). • CA increased soil total porosity by 14–49 % and fine water storage pores by 33–171 %. • There was a significant positive correlation between fine storage soil pores and PAWC. • There was low OM build-up in the CA systems.

The challenges of land degradation, climate change and food insecurity have led to the introduction of Conservation Agriculture (CA) aimed at enhancing yield and soil quality. Despite positive biophysical results, low adoption rates have been the focus of studies identifying constraints to wider uptake. Whereas the adoption framework is popular for measuring agricultural innovation, objective adoption measurements remain problematic and do not recognize the contextual and dynamic decision‐making process. This study uses a technographic and participatory approach to move beyond the adoption framework and understand i) how agricultural decision‐making takes place including the knowledge construction, ii) how agriculture is performed in a context of project intervention and iii) how practice adaptation plays out in the context of interacting knowledges. Findings confirm that farmer decision‐making is dynamic, multidimensional and contextual. The common innovation diffusion model uses a theory of change showcasing benefits through training lead farmers as community advocates and demonstration trials. Our study shows that the assumed model of technology transfer with reference to climate‐smart agriculture interventions are not as linear and effective as assumed previously. We introduce four lenses that contribute to better understanding complex innovation dynamics: (1) social dynamics & information transfer, (2) contextual cost and benefits, (3) experience & risk aversion, and (4) practice adaptation. Investments should build on existing knowledge and farming systems including a focus on the dynamic decision process to support the ‘scaling up, scaling out and scaling deep’ agenda for sustainable agricultural innovations.

The challenges of soil degradation and climate change have led to the emergence of Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a sustainable alternative to tillage-based agriculture systems. Despite the recognition of positive impacts on soil health, CA adoption in Africa has remained low. Previous soil health studies have mainly focused on 'scientific' measurements, without consideration of local knowledge, which influences how farmers interpret CA impacts and future land management decisions. This study, based in Malawi, aims to 1) combine local knowledge and conventional soil science approaches to develop a contextualised understanding of the impact of CA on soil health; and 2) understand how an integrated approach can contribute to explaining farmer decision-making on land management. Key farmers' indicators of soil health were crop performance, soil consistence, moisture content, erosion, colour, and structure. These local indicators were consistent with conventional soil health indicators. By combining farmers' observations with soil measurements, we observed that CA improved soil structure, moisture (Mwansambo 7.54%-38.15% lower for CP; Lemu 1.57%-47.39% lower for CP) and infiltration (Lemu CAM/CAML 0.15 cms-1, CP 0.09 cms-1; Mwansambo CP/CAM 0.14 cms-1, CAML 0.18 cms-1). In the conventional practice, farmers perceived ridges to redistribute nutrients, which corresponded with recorded higher exchangeable ammonium (Lemu CP 76.0 mgkg -1, CAM 49.4 mgkg -1, CAML 51.7 mgkg -1), nitrate/nitrite values (Mwansambo CP 200.7 mgkg -1, CAM 171.9 mgkg -1, CAML 103.3 mgkg -1). This perception contributes to the popularity of ridges, despite the higher yield measurements under CA (Mwansambo CP 3225 kgha-1, CAML 5067 kgha-1, CAM 5160 kgha-1; Lemu CP 2886 kgha-1, CAM 2872 kgha-1, CAML 3454 kgha-1 ). The perceived carbon benefits of residues and ridge preference has promoted burying residues in ridges. Integrated approaches contribute to more nuanced and localized perceptions about land management. We propose that the stepwise integrated soil assessment framework developed in this study can be applied more widely in understanding the role of soil health in farmer-decision making, providing a learning process for downscaling technologies and widening the evidence base on sustainable land management practices.

Efforts to meet the growing demand for food across Africa have led to unsustainable land management practices that weaken the resilience of African Food Systems. Soil health is key to building more climate-resilient agricultural systems and can be improved through Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices that also enhance soil carbon storage. Many CSA practices are being implemented by African farmers, whereas others are being actively promoted but adoption remains low due to multiple factors including weak policy integration, limited institutional support, and inadequate agricultural extension advice. This Short Communications paper presents overview findings from trans-disciplinary research projects from Southern, East, and West Africa to evaluate the potential importance of integrated participatory soil health studies designed to inform context-specific recommendations and policies for resilient African food systems. The use of soil health indicators to measure the effectiveness of implemented CSA practices including Conservation Agriculture in maize-based systems and Soil and Water Conservation in Highland African systems are discussed. The paper identifies how more integrated research can help to enable shared learning and the enhanced knowledge exchange required for the upscaling of sustainable land management practices enabled through enhanced farmer participation in the chain of CSA activities from intervention design to community evaluation of impacts.