Panel discussion, photovoice exhibition and apéro organized by ETH Zürich

Dissertation

This study investigated the performance of cocoa trees within an irrigated cocoa plantation situated in the semi-arid region of Bahia, Brazil. Two treatments were compared: “full sun,” where cocoa trees were not shaded, and “shade,” where trees were covered with a shading net absorbing 30 % of the radiation. The findings highlight the potential of dendrometers to quantify this effect what can be used in future to optimize management practices. By doing so, more effective strategies can be developed to enhance cocoa yield and overall productivity in semi-arid regions.

The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. The authors buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). Learn more.

This introductory two-​day course provides a general overview of the potential and challenges of AI for organisations aiming to contribute to sustainable and equitable development.