Resilience to Sudden Climate Change: The Impact of the Bromo 2010 Volcanic Ash Eruption on the Growth of Chillies

Abstract

In the last five years, Indonesia has seen five volcanic eruptions wreak havoc on agricultural production. Our research analyzed the effects of ash from Mt Bromo's November 2010 eruption on chilli growth. Different soil composition variables, including volcanic ash taken from Bromo, produced measurable changes in aspects of plant morphology when observed inside a greenhouse. Results were collected on a weekly basis by measuring bioelectricity, plant height, number of leaves per plant and average leaf areas.These data show that adding a proportion of 0ne third ash into the soil makeup, enhanced growth. While, an addition of more than two-thirds ash, tended to inhibit plant growth. A proactive strategy used from this finding, could help farmers recoup their losses from the potentially negative impact of volcanic ash on their livelihoods. These tactics could be cost-effective ways to ameliorate some damage from climate change and natural disasters; even lessening a few aspects of food insecurity. In spite of results that showed that the composition of Pb, Cd and other metals such as Al, Fe, and Cu on the samples, were below threshold levels, we still felt that it was important to raise awareness about the potential presence of heavy metals such as Pb and Cd in the soil.