School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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- Creators: Beye, Alioune
- Creators: Columbia, Mario
Description
In Senegal, West Africa, soils are a vital resource for livelihoods and food security in smallholder farming communities. Low nitrogen (N) soils pose obvious challenges for crop production but may also, counterintuitively, promote the abundance of agricultural pests like the Senegalese locust, Oedaleus senegalensis. In this study I investigated how the abundance of locusts and grasshoppers are impacted by soil fertility through plant nutrients and how these variables change across land use types. We worked in two rural farming villages in the Kaffrine region of Senegal. Overall, there was little variation in soil properties and an agricultural landscape low in soil organic matter (SOM) and inorganic soil nitrogen. I corroborated that SOM is a significant driver of soil inorganic N, which had a positive relationship to plant N content. Of the management practices we surveyed, fallowing fields was important for soil nutrient restoration and years spent fallow was significantly correlated to inorganic soil N and SOM. O. senegalensis was least abundant in groundnut areas where plant N was highest. Additionally, I found a significant negative correlation between O. senegalensis abundance and plant N, suggesting that plant nutrients are an important driver of their populations. Grasshoppers, excluding O. senegalensis, were more numerous in grazing areas and fallow areas, perhaps due to a higher diversity of ecological niches and host plants. These results connect land use, soil, and vegetation to herbivores and suggest that improving soil fertility could be used as an alternative to pesticides to keep locusts at bay and improve crop yields.
ContributorsWord, Mira (Author) / Hall, Sharon (Contributor) / Robinson, Brian (Contributor) / Manneh, Balanding (Contributor) / Beye, Alioune (Contributor) / Cease, Arianne (Contributor)
Created2018-04-10
Description
Sustainability initiatives bear the ability to reap both direct and indirect benefits, but often face obstacles in getting business employees engaged in using less energy, water, and materials. To formulate a difference and provide direction, as a clear image of the preferred future, or a force that provides meaning and purpose, engaging and energizing business employees is a must. Therefore, the framework of this paper focuses on a project journey, engaging and collaborating with employees through a new sustainability leadership initiative called Leadership Energy Awareness Program (LEAP). LEAP is about making lasting, sustainability-oriented organizational changes as well as encouraging a change in attitudes, behaviors and mindsets of employees, all with the goal of becoming sustainability champions.
Through the LEAP program, the sustainability champions educate their workforce on the business case for sustainability. They also empower their workforce to support implementation of sustainability in their daily jobs, and encourage a culture of sustainable practices. They do this by introducing LEAP into their job descriptions, performance reviews, and through team meetings. LEAP also seeks to initiate and encourage a culture of sustainable practices within any organization. It’s important to engage and assist in the development of a sustainability champion’s inspiring employees to use less energy, water, materials, and other resources.
Therefore, the LEAP program assists businesses with their employees in recognizing a new paradigm of sustainable opportunities capturing the desire for more efficient use of resources. Simply put, LEAP is a business approach to creating long-term value by taking into consideration how a given organization operates in the sustainable environment using sustainability champions. In sum, LEAP is a journey in sustainability leadership.
Through the LEAP program, the sustainability champions educate their workforce on the business case for sustainability. They also empower their workforce to support implementation of sustainability in their daily jobs, and encourage a culture of sustainable practices. They do this by introducing LEAP into their job descriptions, performance reviews, and through team meetings. LEAP also seeks to initiate and encourage a culture of sustainable practices within any organization. It’s important to engage and assist in the development of a sustainability champion’s inspiring employees to use less energy, water, materials, and other resources.
Therefore, the LEAP program assists businesses with their employees in recognizing a new paradigm of sustainable opportunities capturing the desire for more efficient use of resources. Simply put, LEAP is a business approach to creating long-term value by taking into consideration how a given organization operates in the sustainable environment using sustainability champions. In sum, LEAP is a journey in sustainability leadership.
ContributorsColumbia, Mario (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2019-12-03