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Peter Bilson Obour

Peter Bilson Obour
Senior Lecturer
pbobour@ug.edu.gh

Education

  • 2019 PhD (Agroecology), Aarhus University, Denmark
  • 2015 MSc (Agro-Environmental Management), Aarhus University, Denmark
  • 2012 MPhil (Environmental Science: Human & Socioeconomic Dimensions), Complutense   University of Madrid, Spain
  • 2009 BA (Geography and Resource Development), University of Ghana, Ghana.

Area of Specialization

  • Water resources development
  • Soil management and soil structure
  • Soil fragmentation and friability
  • Soil-tillage and traffic interactions
  • Soil compaction
  • Soil quality and soil health
  • Use of soil amendments in agriculture
  • Climate change, agriculture and adaptation

Courses Taught

  • GEOG 111: Introduction to Physical Geography
  • GEOG 213: Weather and Climate
  • GEOG 321: Soils and Biogeography
  • GEOG 477: Pedology
  • GEOG 112: Introduction to Human Geography
  • GEOG 342: Climatology
  • GEOG 488: Soil Survey

Current Research

  • PI: Long-term effect of biochar on soil quality for vegetable production (BioVeg). Seed Research Grant, Building a New Generation of Academics in Africa (BANGA-Africa) II, 2021– 2022.
  • Co-PI: Building Vegetable Farmers Resilience to Climate Change. DANIDA-North Driven Research Projects, 2020 – 2025.

Publications
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

  1. Mak-Mensah, Obour, P.B., Usman, Wang, Q. (2021). Influence of tied-ridge-furrow with inorganic fertilizer on grain yield across semiarid regions of Asia and Africa: a meta-analysis. PeerJ 9:e11904 doi 10.7717/peerj.11904
  2. Obour, P.B. and Ugarte, M.C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the impact of traffic-induced compaction on soil physical properties and grain yield, Soil & Tillage Research, 211, 105019, doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2021.105019
  3. Mak-Mensah E., Obour, P.B., Essel, E., Wang, Q., Ahiakpa J.K. (2021). Influence of plastic film mulch with biochar application on crop yield, evapotranspiration, and water use efficiency in northern China: A meta-analysis. PeerJ, 9:e10967 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10967
  4. Obour, P. B., Oppong Danso, E., Pouladi, N., Abenney-Mickson, S., Sabi, E. B., Monnie, F., Arthur, E., (2020). Soil structure characteristics, functional properties and consistency limits response to rice straw biochar particle size and application rates in 36-month pot experiment. Soil Research, 58 488-497.
  5. Barbosa, L.A.P., Munkholm, L.J., Obour, P.B., Keller, T. (2020). Impact of compaction and post-compaction vegetation management on aggregate properties, Weibull modulus, and interactions with intra-aggregate pore structure. Geoderma, 374, 114430.
  6. Owusu, K., Obour, P. B., Boadi, S. A., Oppong, R. (2020). Climate change impacts on staple root and tuber crops production: implications for smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in rural Ghana. International Journal of Sustainable Society,12: 253-265.
  7. Obour, P.B., Dadzie, F.A., Arthur, E., Munkholm, L.J., Saba, C.K.S., Rubæk, G.H., and Owusu, K. (2020). Integration of farmers’ knowledge and science-based assessment of soil quality for peri-urban vegetable production in Ghana. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 35, 128–139.
  8. Jensen, J.L., Schjønning, P. Watts, C.W., Christensen, B.T., Obour, P.B., Munkholm, L.J. (2020). Soil degradation and recovery – changes in organic matter and structural stability. Geoderma. 364,114181
  9. Razzaghi, F., Obour, P.B., Arthur, E. (2020). Does biochar improve soil water retention? A systematic review and meta-analysis, Geoderma. 361, 114055. 
  10. Obour, P.B., Razzaghi, F., Arthur, E. (2019), “Data for: Does biochar improve soil water retention? A systematic review and meta-analysis”, Mendeley Data, v1, 
  11. Obour, P.B., Danso, E.O., Yakubu, A., Abenney-Mickson, S., Sabi, E.B., Darrah, Y.K., Arthur, E. (2019). Water retention, air exchange and pore structure characteristics after 3 years of rice straw biochar application to an Acrisol, Soil Science Society of America Journal. 83:1664–1671. 
  12. Obour, P.B., Keller, T., Jensen, J. L., Edwards, G., Lamandé, M., Watts, C.W., Sørensen, C.G., Munkholm, L.J. (2019). Soil water contents for tillage: a comparison of approaches and consequences for the number of workable days. Soil & Tillage Research. 195, 104384.
  13. Daraghmeh, O., Petersen, C., Munkholm, L.J., Znova, L., Obour, P.B., Nielsen, S.K., Green, O., (2019). Impact of tillage intensity on clay loam soil structure. Soil Use and Management. 35:388–399.
  14. Obour, P.B., Keller, T., Lamandé, M., Munkholm, L.J., (2019). Pore structure characteristics and soil workability along a clay gradient. Geoderma. 337, 1186-1195.
  15. Obour, P.B., Kolberg, D., Lamandé, M., Børresen, T., Edwards, G., Sørensen, C.G., and Munkholm, L.J., (2018). Compaction and sowing date change soil physical properties and crop yield in a loamy temperate soil. Soil & Tillage Research. 184: 153–163.
  16. 10. Obour, P.B., Jensen, J.L., Lamandé, M., Watts, C.W., and Munkholm, L.J. (2018). Soil organic matter widens the range of water contents for tillage. Soil & Tillage Research: 182: 57–65.
  17. Obour, P.B., Lamandé, M., Edwards, G., Sørensen, C.G., and Munkholm, L.J. (2017). Predicting soil workability and fragmentation in tillage: a review. Soil Use and  Management 33: 288–298.
  18. Obour, P.B., Schjønning, P., Peng, Y., and Munkholm L.J. (2017). Subsoil compaction assessed by visual evaluation and laboratory methods. Soil & Tillage Research 173: 4–14.
  19. Schjønning, P., McBride, R., Keller, T., and Obour, P. (2017). Predicting soil particle density from clay and soil organic matter contents.  Geoderma 286: 83–87.
  20. 14. Owusu, K., Yankson, P. W. K., Asiedu, A. B., and Obour, P. B. (2017). Resource utilization conflict in downstream non-resettled communities of the Bui Dam in Ghana. Natural Resources Forum, 41: 234–243.
  21. Owusu, K., Obour, P.B., and Nkansah, M. A. (2016). Downstream effects of dams on livelihoods of river-dependent communities: the case of Ghana’s Kpong Dam. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 117(1): 1–11.
  22. Obour, P.B., Owusu, K., Agyeman, A. E., Ahenkan, A., and Madrid, N. À.  (2016). The impacts of dams on local livelihoods: a study of the Bui Hydroelectric Project in Ghana. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 32(2): 286–300.
  23. Obour, P.B., Dadzie, A.F., Kristensen, L.H., Rubæk, H.G., Kjeldsen, C., and Saba, K.S.C., (2015). Assessment of farmers’ knowledge on fertilizer usage for peri-urban vegetable production in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 103: 77–84.

Book Chapters

  1. Obour, P.B. and Owusu, K. (2021).” Climate change adaptation and transformation of smallholder farming system in mid-Ghana”. In: W. Leal Filho, Luetz, J.M and Ayal, D.Y. (Eds.). Handbook of Climate Change Management.  Springer Nature. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22759-3_257-1
  2. Owusu K., and Obour P.B. (2021). “Urban flooding, adaptation strategies, and resilience: Case study of Accra, Ghana”. In: Leal Filho W., Ogugu N., Adelake L., Ayal D., da Silva I. (Eds.). African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42091-8_249-1
  3. Munkholm, L.J., Pulido-Moncada, M., Obour, P.B., (2019). “Soil tilth and management”. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.241
  4. Obour, P.B., Owusu, K, and Teye, J.K. (2017). “From seasonal migrants to settlers: climate change and permanent migration to the transitional zone of Ghana”. In: S. Tonah and M. Setrana (Eds.), Migration and Development in Africa: Trends, Challenges, and Policy Implications, pp. 147–164 Lexington Books: London.
  5. Owusu, K, Obour, P.B., and Asare, S. (2014). “Climate variability and climate change impact on smallholder farmers in the Akuapem North District, Ghana”. In: W. L. Filho (Ed.), Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. pp. 1–13. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.