24 August 2023
10:30
Lessons learned from doing interdisciplinary research
The overarching goals of food security and climate prediction, resilience and adaptation have necessitated quest for better understanding of soil water dynamics as a necessary requirement for improved understanding of nutrients cycles, plants survival and ecosystem nurturing. To adequately elucidate the complex environmental issues, this study explored the multidisciplinary narrative of geography. Consequently, the cross-disciplinary approach involving remote sensing, catchments landuse/cover history, soil and land resources, climate science, geo-hydrologic and social survey was adopted. The approach was managed in an integrated geospatial information system and a holistic insight of the complex interplay between soil moisture and rainfall was modeled by combining ideas from these disparate domains. Lesson learnt from the research includes the need for an integrative rather unitary approach to solving environmental problems. The study also emphasized that environmental issues often require analysis of multiple variables, and therefore understanding of the need for multidisciplinary research.
Adedayo Oreoluwa Adewole is currently a fellow of the African-German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES) at the Agricultural Research Council-Soil Climate Water (ARC-SCW) in Pretoria, where she is getting relevant exposure, strengthening her scientific capacity, and networking with senior researchers through engagement and strategic collaborations. She recently obtained doctoral degree in Geography from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. She specializes in Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System and Geography. She is an active development advocate, frequently engaging in community outreach initiatives and presenting her results at international conferences.