Regional modeling of climate change impacts on smallholder agriculture and ecosystems in Central America

Lee, Hannah; Donatti, Camila I.; Harvey, Célia A.; Alfaro, Eric J.; Rodríguez, Daniel Andrés; Bouroncle, Claudia; Castellanos, Edwin; Díaz, Freddy; Fung, Emily; Hidalgo, Hugo G.; Imbach, Pablo; Läderach, Peter; Landrum, Jason P.; Solano, Ana Lucía

doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1867-y

Cited by 87 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Understanding the impacts of climate change on smallholder farmers and developing appropriate adaptation strategies are critical issues in Central America, a region where small-scale agriculture is central to economic development, food security, and local livelihoods [11]. There are an estimated 2.3 million smallholder farmers in Central America [12], many of whom farm on steep lands with thin soils, are poor, and suffer seasonal food insecurity [13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

et al. 2018

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Background: Smallholder farmers are one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change, yet efforts to support farmer adaptation are hindered by the lack of information on how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. More information is needed on how different types of smallholder farmers vary in their perceptions and responses to climate change, and how to tailor adaptation programs to different smallholder farmer contexts. We surveyed 860 smallholder coffee and basic grain (maize/bean) farmers across six Central American landscapes to understand farmer perceptions of climate change and the impacts they are experiencing, how they are changing their agricultural systems in response to climate change, and their adaptation needs.Results: Almost all (95%) of the surveyed smallholder farmers have observed climate change, and most are already experiencing impacts of rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events on crop yields, pest and disease incidence, income generation and, in some cases, food security. For example, 87% of maize farmers and 66% of coffee farmers reported negative impacts of climate change on crop production, and 32% of all smallholder farmers reported food insecurity following extreme weather events. Of the farmers perceiving changes in climate, 46% indicated that they had changed their farming practices in response to climate change, with the most common adaptation measure being the planting of trees. There was significant heterogeneity among farmers in the severity of climate change impacts, their responses to these impacts, and their adaptation needs. This heterogeneity likely reflects the wide diversity of socioeconomic and biophysical contexts across smallholder farms and landscapes. Conclusions:Our study demonstrates that climate change is already having significant adverse impacts on smallholder coffee and basic grain farmers across the Central American region. There is an urgent need for governments, donors and practitioners to ramp up efforts to help smallholder farmers cope with existing climate impacts and build resiliency to future changes. Our results also highlight the importance of tailoring of climate adaptation policies and programs to the diverse socioeconomic conditions, biophysical contexts, and climatic stresses that smallholder farmers face.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

et al. 2018

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“…Climate change have also contributed to past coffee rust crisis in Central America (Avelino et al, 2015). Changes in the production of maize (CEPAL & CAC/SICA, 2014a, 2014bGourdji, Laderach, Valle, Martinez, & Lobell, 2015;Schmidt, Eitzinger, & Sonder, 2012) are also expected in the region, but there is limited information on how the suitability and productivity of beans, cocoa, cassava, sorghum, and rice will be affected by climate change in the region (Hannah et al, 2017). As climate change is expected to continue impact this region (Aguilar et al, 2005;Hannah et al, 2013Hannah et al, , 2017Magrin et al, 2007), the adaptation of smallholder farmers to the changing climate is listed as a priority in some national agricultural and climate change policies and programmes (Cuéllar, Luna, Díaz, & Kandel, 2013;Dirección de Cambio Climático, 2014; Gobierno de la República de Honduras, 2015; Ministerio Agropecuario y Florestal, 2013; Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Ambiente, 2012; República de Guatemala, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in Central America and Mexico: current knowledge and research gaps

Donatti

Harvey

Martínez‐Rodríguez

et al. 2018

Climate and Development

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As governments are becoming aware of the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture many are developing adaptation policies targeting smallholder farmers. However, in many cases, governments lack information to develop them. We reviewed the state of knowledge of smallholder's vulnerability to climate change in Central America and Mexico and identified information gaps that may be preventing the development of adaptation actions targeting this group. While there is information on expected impacts of climate change on agriculture and on adaptation measures that could help minimize impacts, information that specifically assess the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change is very limited. To support adaptation policies targeting smallholders in the region, more information is needed on (a) who the most vulnerable smallholders are and where they are located, (b) what is driving the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in target areas and (c) what are the effectiveness, costs and benefits of adaptation measures recommended for smallholder farmers. Funding and programmes need to be set up to fill those gaps and for adaptation to be effectively implemented. Other regions where smallholder farmers are important for agriculture production may be facing similar issues.

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“…Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO 2 are projected to drive significant changes in means and extremes of temperature and precipitation patterns (IPCC, ), which in turn will affect ecological systems and processes like litter decomposition (Grimm et al, ). Central America, where our study was carried out, is one of the world's regions most threatened, environmentally and socially, by these processes (Hannah et al, ). Rising temperatures, in the absence of moisture limitation, are expected to bring increases in decomposition rates and the ecosystem processes they are part of (Salinas et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitude and species identity drive leaf litter decomposition rates of ten species on a 2950 m altitudinal gradient in Neotropical rain forests

et al. 2019

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Identifying the environmental factors controlling litter decomposition is key to understanding the magnitude and rates of nutrient cycling in tropical forests, and how they may be influenced by climate variability and environmental change. We carried out a leaf litter translocation experiment in mature rain forest over a 2,520 m altitudinal gradient in Costa Rica. Leaf litter decomposition rates (k) of ten tree species, two dominant species from each ecosystem, plus two standard species, were calculated over 540 days in four life zones. k was lowest in montane with 0.83 per year and lower montane forests with 2.21 per year. k did not differ between lowland and premontane forests at 3.12 per year, in spite of the 3℃ difference of mean annual temperature between these life zones. k varied fourfold among species. Species decomposition rates ranked as follows, and were predictably related to leaf economic spectrum traits of the species: Acalypha communis (standard, fast decomposer)» Hyeronima oblonga > Alchornea latifolia, Quercus bumelioides, Jarava ichu (standard, slow decomposer)> Minquartia guianensis > Magnolia sororum > Vochysia allenii > Pourouma bicolor, Carapa guianensis. These two slowest-decomposing species were native premontane and lowland forest dominants, respectively, with tough, low-nutrient leaves. The ranking of species by k varied very little among life zones suggesting that decomposer organisms in very different ecosystems and environments react in similar ways to the litter quality in general. We conclude that while k decreases with temperature in rain forests on tropical mountains, bioclimatic zones defined as premontane may be "functionally lowland." The effects of species identity on decomposition rates on tropical mountains are consistent and independent of environment for both standard and native species. Under climate change on these mountains, if moisture regimes do not change, decomposition rates will increase due to rising temperatures. Soil carbon storage may therefore decrease. Changes in the altitudinal distributions of currently dominant species will also affect this critically important biogeochemical process. K E Y W O R D SAcalypha communis, carbon and nutrient cycling, climate change, home effect, Jarava ichu, leaf traits, simple exponential decay model, tropical forest

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Regional modeling of climate change impacts on smallholder agriculture and ecosystems in Central America

Cited by 87 publications

References 37 publications

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in Central America and Mexico: current knowledge and research gaps

Altitude and species identity drive leaf litter decomposition rates of ten species on a 2950 m altitudinal gradient in Neotropical rain forests

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