Consortium

Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier University (UT3) has a long history of working with African Universities, through the INDAAF network (in Mali, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, South Africa), and the AMMA-CATCH observatory in which UPS-GET is deeply involved in Mali, Niger, Benin and Senegal. UT3-LAERO and UT3-ECOLAB: analytical measurement techniques (gas and ionic chromatography, water chemistry, nutrient content), UT3-LAERO: model development in regional climate and atmospheric chemistry, experts in emission and deposition and atmospheric composition in Africa. UT3-ECOLAB: model development in critical load, UT3-GET, LAERO and ECOLAB: field experimental campaign organisation, data analysis and interpretation on natural and anthropogenic emission, deposition, educational activities, UT3-GET: social impact and agricultural activities.

Expertise: specialized in sustainability of farming systems in a climate change context. AAU will contribute to quantifying N flows and emissions from livestock farms.

JLU participants have established a comprehensive stream monitoring network in the Sondu river catchment (Mau Forest Complex) in Western Kenya (with CIFOR, ILRI and University of Lancaster) covering three subcatchments with dominant land use (tea and tree plantations, smallholder agriculture, natural forest. Measurement expertise: Stream solutes (TOC, DOC, NO₃), turbidity, discharge, stable isotopes of water ( for runoff-generation process and mean transit times of stream water), climate, throughfall and soil leachates, citizen science monitoring networks on water quantity (water level) and quality (suspended sediments, NO₃, stream chemistry) and hydro-meteorology (rainfall).

The first eddy covariance station has been established in Congo basin forests by UGENT. This EC station will measure CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O emission. UGENT has broad “nitrogen expertise” in Africa and covers very applied research related agronomic intensification, leaching losses of nitrogen and fundamental biogeochemical research in tropical forest ecosystems. This includes both field-based experimental work and monitoring (e.g. working on farmer’s fields and managing remote forest plots), and state of the art isotope analyses at the ISOFYS laboratories at UGENT.

Expertise on nitrogen budgets, denitrification measurements and  greenhouse gas measurements in east and southern Africa. IHE  has experience leading short courses in field-related analysis in Africa and in facilitating stakeholder workshops.  Research activities: understanding how land use affects water quality and nitrogen retention of natural ecosystems, watershed perspective to understanding N retention at catchment scales. G. Gettel is also senior lecturer. IHE will lead WP5 activities.

Facilitates sciences-societies interactions, supporting participatory action research programs, developing psychosocial abilities through active educational tools and methods, grassroot mobilizations and active citizenship through acquiring scientific and experimental approach, scientific and social mediation towards lower social class and youth empowerment, digital and technological outreach and mediation to tackle the digital divide, developing innovative projects to address geographical and cultural isolation.

Since 1995, has a partnership with UPS-LA as part of the INDAAF network (PI in Lamto and other stations) which aims to document atmospheric composition and deposition fluxes of nitrogen and other species in Africa. From 2014 to 2018, FHBU worked in the frame of the European DACCIWA (Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa) project on the topic of air pollution and health. The FHBU’s team activities are based on 3 aspects: observation, emission inventories and modelling. FHBU’s passionate team will bring its expertise to the INSA project to ensure the smooth conduct of the workshop in Côte d’Ivoire, and also process and interpret data in order to improve its quality and availability to the scientific community.

NWU participates in INDAAF network, the LIA ARSAIO and the EUCAARI project, which include UPS-LA and other French, German and Finnish institutes. Staff from NWU are project leaders of the South African INDAAF network and the Welgegund supersite. Expertise of NWU staff related to secondments in relevance to INSA: atmospheric measurements of trace gases and aerosols, wet and –dry deposition in Southern Africa, modelling of sources of species through receptor and back trajectory analysis, analytical skills; multiple linear regression modelling of long-term trends; data analysis and interpretations, teaching (university lecturers).

Main research subjects of expertise under Natural Resource Management: integrated soil fertility management, sustainable land use, and climate smart agriculture. The staff associated to INSA brings a wealth of including the understanding of N issues across the African continent. Expertise of IITA: conducting controlled and large-scale on-farm researches, towards Integrated Soil Fertilizer Management, to maximize NUE, therefore avoiding the potential negative impact of nutrient sources to ecosystem services.

Long partnership experience with European research structures. Main research subjects: ecosystems and terrestrial resources. Expertise: data treatment and analysis on biogenic and anthropogenic emissions, on deposition in Sahelian ecosystems, in understanding the vegetation-livestock relationship in these ecosystems and nitrogen cycle at the interface between soil,vegetation and the atmosphere in sylvo-pastoral systems, both in experiments and modeling.

Strong role in the management of Savé super site (FP7 DACCIWA program) and coordination of Djougou super site (Benin FP6 AMMA program from 2005 to 2009. ACU is also involved in the Laboratoire Mixte International (LMI) REZOC developing research on hydrology in the critical zoneACU is involved in the management of IDAAF Benin. ACU expertise is on atmospheric chemistry and physics, wet and dry deposition fluxes, emissions from biomass burning, link with social science.

ILRI with its recently founded Mazingira (environment) centre is the only state-of-the-art environmental and education laboratory focusing on nutrient cycling in agricultural systems in Africa. Particular strength of the team, already collaborating with the KIT in Germany is on measuring nitrogen fluxes and pools in the field. The most recent scientific evidence shows significantly lower emissions of nitrous oxide from manure deposited in rangelands than originally estimated. ILRI Mazingira Centre has invaluable experience in measuring nitrogen stocks and flows in a variety of ecosystems. The Mazingira Centre furthermore established long-term continuous measurements of GHG emissions from semi-arid rangelands as commonly found in East Africa on Kapiti Research Station.

MWS staff is expert in application of isotopic techniques in water resources management & water pollution studies (example with technical cooperation projects with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, Vienna- Austria). In collaboration with the University of Nairobi and UGENT, MWS staff participates in the implementation of a VLIRUOS (Belgium) funded project: “Improved management for nitrate pollution in the Lake Victoria catchment of Kenya”. MWS is also a key stakeholder in the INMS East Africa demonstration site project activities in the Lake Victoria basin. Analytical expertise of MWS staff: N source apportionment (δ15N- and δ18O-NO3-, δ 11B), establishment of field monitoring network and sampling protocol, hydro-chemical analysis (IC, AAS), anthropogenic (N) emissions, and waste water management.

Long lasting experience with African Universities/research institutions, through the NCRP cassava N (2003); DFID-PrOpCom Tillage (2011); CORAF/WECARD ILWAC (2013 to 2016 in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire) and AfSIS projects (2009 to 2018 in Rothamsted Research, UK; ICRAF, Kenya and CIMMYT, Ethiopia). Expertise relevant to INSA of IAR&T staff: analytic measurements (soil microbial N, N budgeting), N field experimentation, data analysis and interpretation, participatory development N strategies that are well-matched to different crop production domains, collaboration with social scientists to document and leverage insights into decision processes that govern investments in N management at the farm-level.

The main research themes at UJLoG are Agro-forestry, Bio-resources, Ecology, Agronomy, Biology, Environment, Physics, and Computing Sciences. The Laboratoire de Sciences et Technologie de l’Environnement (LSTE) includes 4 research axes: Anthropogenic Activity and Environment, Environmental Engineering, Water and Environment, and Geo-Materials. UJLoG researchers will contribute their expertise in adapting dry deposition models to African ecosystems to the INSA project.