Bertrand Festus Nero
Department of Forest Resources TechnologyLife SciencesPhysical SciencesSocial Sciences

Bertrand Festus Nero

26 Publications15 Research Themes14 Open Access
Research Overview & Focus

The researcher's work centers on the intersection of land use and ecosystem services, particularly examining urban green spaces as key drivers for beneficial environmental outcomes. Through interdisciplinary studies combining plant biology, soil science, and social sciences, the researcher investigates how ecosystems can be managed to enhance carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and soil health. Their approach integrates microbial bioremediation techniques with plant species responses, aiming to address challenges in agricultural, hydrological, and environmental management in African contexts. The research highlights the role of urban green spaces in fostering these ecological services while exploring their ecological, social, and economic dimensions.

Faculty Biography

Dr. B. F. Nero is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Forest Resources Technology with expertise in plantation forestry (restoration ecology), forest soil management, urban ecosystem management, climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation. He conducts research on a wide range of contemporary issues at the interface of science and society. His research adopts inter and transdisciplinary approaches to address complex demand driven, science centred, and problem oriented questions. His research scope encompasses temperate and tropical landscapes as well as a  range of ecological systems including wetlands, forests, mine spoils, grasslands/savannahs and human settlements (particularly urban ecosystems).

Key Research Themes (15)
Life Sciences

African Botany and Ecology Studies

Life Sciences

Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems

Physical Sciences

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Physical Sciences

Flood Risk Assessment and Management

Physical Sciences

Forest ecology and management

Physical Sciences

Heavy metals in environment

Social Sciences

Innovation and Socioeconomic Development

Physical Sciences

Land Use and Ecosystem Services

Physical Sciences

Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants

Physical Sciences

Mine drainage and remediation techniques

Physical Sciences

Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics

Physical Sciences

Seedling growth and survival studies

Life Sciences

Urban Agriculture and Sustainability

Social Sciences

Urban and Rural Development Challenges

Physical Sciences

Urban Green Space and Health

Publications (26)

Urban biodiversity, ecosystem services and the effects of climate change in urban environments: a bibliometric review

Open Access

Woody and Herbaceous Species Diversity Respond Differently to Environmental Variables in Semiarid Areas in Ghana

Open Access
2025Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesDOI: 10.1002/ece3.71253

Teak (<i>Tectona grandis</i>) Plantations Growth Response to N‐P‐K Fertilizer and Thinning in Tain II Forest Reserve, Ghana

Open Access
2025Forest ecology and managementDOI: 10.1155/ijfr/2723959

Woody and herbaceous species diversity respond differently to environmental variables in drylands in Ghana

2024Agroforestry and silvopastoral systemsDOI: 10.22541/au.172454121.18604195/v1

Carbon storage and tree species diversity of urban parks in Kumasi, Ghana

Open Access
2024Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1016/j.cacint.2024.100156

We have the laws but how is our environment? The disconnect between Ghana’s environmental commitments and institutional capacity to manage urban floods and wetlands

2024Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementDOI: 10.1007/s11273-024-09986-z

Potential toxic elements accumulation in soils and parts of palm (Elaeis guineensis) growing on reclaimed tailings and mined spoils in southwestern Ghana

2023Heavy metals in environmentDOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-12015-w

Effects of thinning on growth performance of teak (<i>Tectona grandis</i>) plantations in Tain II Forest Reserve, Ghana

Open Access
2023Forest ecology and managementDOI: 10.2989/20702620.2023.2257657

Mine Wastewater Treatment Using Cassia fistula Plant Parts as Bio-coagulants

2023Mine drainage and remediation techniquesDOI: 10.1007/s41101-023-00178-z

Topography alters stand structure, carbon stocks and understorey species composition of Cedrela odorata plantation, in a semi-deciduous forest zone, Ghana

Open Access
2022Forest ecology and managementDOI: 10.1016/j.tfp.2022.100352

Structure, composition and diversity of restored forest ecosystems on mine-spoils in South-Western Ghana

Open Access
2021Forest ecology and managementDOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252371

Phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils with two plant species: <i>Jatropha curcas</i> and <i>Vetiveria zizanioides</i> at Ghana Manganese Company Ltd

2020Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactantsDOI: 10.1080/15226514.2020.1803204

Increasing Urbanisation and the Role of Green Spaces in Urban Climate Resilience in Africa

Open Access
2019Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1163/9789004410848_013

Woody species and trait diversity-functional relations of green spaces in Kumasi, Ghana

2019Urban Green Space and HealthDOI: 10.1007/s11252-019-00835-z

Tree Species Diversity and Socioeconomic Perspectives of the Urban (Food) Forest of Accra, Ghana

Open Access
2018Urban Agriculture and SustainabilityDOI: 10.3390/su10103417

Structure, Diversity, and Carbon Stocks of the Tree Community of Kumasi, Ghana

Open Access
2018Urban Green Space and HealthDOI: 10.3390/f9090519

Biomass-Based Innovations in Demand Driven Research and Development Projects in Africa

Open Access
2018Innovation and Socioeconomic DevelopmentDOI: 10.20944/preprints201807.0084.v1

Tree Species Diversity and Socio-economic Perspectives of the Urban (Food) Forest of Accra, Ghana

Open Access
2018African Botany and Ecology StudiesDOI: 10.20944/preprints201807.0042.v1

Variations in soil characteristics among urban green spaces in Kumasi, Ghana

2018Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1007/s12665-018-7441-3

Urban green space dynamics and socio-environmental inequity: multi-resolution and spatiotemporal data analysis of Kumasi, Ghana

2017Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1080/01431161.2017.1370152

Urban green spaces enhance carbon sequestration and conserve biodiversity in cities of the Global South

2017Land Use and Ecosystem Services

Urban Green Spaces Enhance Climate Change Mitigation in Cities of the Global South: The Case of Kumasi, Ghana

Open Access
2017Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.074

Tree and Trait Diversity, Species Coexistence, and Diversity-functional Relations of Green Spaces in Kumasi, Ghana

Open Access
2017Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesDOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.164

Urban Green Space Dynamics and Distributional Equity in Kumasi, Ghana

2016Urban and Rural Development Challenges

Carbon sequestration resulting from bottomland hardwood afforestation in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

2010Seedling growth and survival studies

Soil depth constrains whether evapotranspiration contrasts between vegetation types

2009Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
Academic Metrics
DepartmentDepartment of Forest Resources Technology
Total Publications26
Research Themes15
Open Access Papers14

Department of Forest Resources Technology

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

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