Bismark is a Research Scientist at the Plant Genetic Conservation Division of the CSIR -PGRRI. He holds BSc (Botany), MPhil (Environmental Science) and PhD (Crop Science) degrees from the University of Ghana. He also holds a PhD in Forest Science from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to joining CSIR -PGRRI in 2021, he was a Graduate Research Fellow at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the Climate Smart Cocoa Systems for Ghana (CLIMCOCOA) Project (Collaborators: IITA, University of Ghana, University of Copenhagen, University of Roskilde, and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)).
He served as a Part-time Lecturer at the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), Accra, where he taught Research Methods and Environmental Statistics. He supervised and examined MSc Thesis in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, and Land-use Change Impacts on Plant Diversity, Carbon Sequestration and Environmental Sustainability. He was a Graduate Assistant at the Department of Crop Science, and a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology at the University of Ghana, Legon

Academic Background

• PhD Crop Science – University of Ghana, Legon – Accra.

• PhD Forest Science – University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

• MPhil. Environmental Science – University of Ghana, Legon – Accra.

• BSc. Botany – University of Ghana, Legon – Accra.

• Certificate in GIS and Remote Sensing – United Nations University - Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, Accra.

Research Interests

1. Climate Smart Agriculture (e.g., Agroforestry)

2. Biodiversity Conservation and Carbon Stock Assessment

3. Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

4. Sustainable Forest Resource Management and Environmental Management

Area Of Specialization

• Crop Science

• Forest Science

• Environmental Science

Membership of Professional Societies

1. International Union for Agroforestry
2. American Association of Geographers
3. Ghana Science Association

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Publications

• Asitoakor, B.K., Asare, R., Ræbild, A., Ravn, H.P., Eziah, Y.V., Owusu, K., Mensah, E.O. and Vaast, P. (2022). Influences of climate variability on cocoa health and productivity in agroforestry systems in Ghana. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 327 (109199). 1 – 13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109199

• Asitoakor, B.K., Ræbild, A., Ravn, H.P., Vaast, P, Eziah, Y.V., Owusu, K., Mensah, E.O. and Asare, R. (2022). Selected shade tree species improved cocoa yields in low-input agroforestry systems in Ghana. Agricultural Systems. 202 (103476). 1 – 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103476

• Mensah, E.O., Asare, R., Vaast, P., Amoatey, C.A., Markussen, B., Owusu, K., Asitoakor, B.K., and Ræbild, A. (2022). Limited effects of shade on physiological performances of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) under elevated temperature. Environmental and Experimental Botany. 201 (104983), 1 – 11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2022.104983

• Adeniyi, A., Asase, A. Ekpe, P.K., Asitoakor, B.K., Adu-Gyimfi, A., and Avekor, P.Y. (2018). Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants from Ghana; confirmation of ethnobotanical uses, and review of biological and toxicological studies on medicinal plants used in Apra Hills Sacred Grove. Journal of Herbal Medicine. 14, 76 – 87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hermed.2018.02.001

• Asase, A., Asitoakor, B.K. and Ofori-Frimpong, K. (2014). Effects of selective logging on tree diversity and some soil characteristics in a tropical forest in southwest Ghana. Journal of Forestry Research. 25 (1): 171 - 176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0443-4

• Asase, A., Asitoakor, B.K. and Ekpe, P.K. (2012). Linkages between tree diversity and carbon stocks in unlogged and logged West African tropical forests. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management. 8, 217 - 230. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2012.707152

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