Abstract
Coffee is one of the world most traded agricultural commodities. Currently, a lot of attention has been on Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner) because it seems to evidence a greater tolerance to extreme climatic events than Arabica coffee (C. arabica L.). Despite this, only a few works have been developed aimed at discriminating the climatic vulnerability in regions which prioritize robust coffee production. The aim of this work was to analyze historical climatic variables in space and time for the characterization of climatic vulnerability of micro-regions, in search of mitigation and adaptation, which might support the improvement of production systems of C. canephora coffee trees. The case study was carried out for one of the largest production regions of Robusta coffee of the world, in Brazil, geographically located between the 39°38' and 41°50' West longitude meridians and the 17°52' and 21°19' South latitude parallels. The vulnerability was characterized by the spatial and temporal variation of rainfall and rainfall seasonal pattern (based on 30 years of historical data), elements of climatic water balance, elevation and area planted with Robusta coffee. The choice of mitigation and adaptation were based on widely validated criteria. Overall, the results show that the vulnerability of Robusta coffee is related to low index of rainfall, the rainfall seasonability and the water deficiency. In the studied region, there is approximately 42% of some type of water vulnerability during the year, with a severe to medium scale; this vulnerability is very pronounced in regions farther away from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, since for a year approximately 92% of them are water deficient. In addition, the data show that this distance from the ocean implies a reduction of 75% in the phases of water surplus not only. The strategies of greater potential for adaptation and mitigation are related to the planting of improved genotypes, utilization of polycultures systems, increasing plant density, the implementation of irrigation systems and the management of spontaneous plants.
Highlights
Coffee beans are undoubtedly important as a source of wealth for the countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa, representing the second largest commodity in economic value for trade [1]
A lot of attention has been on Robusta coffee
The vulnerability was characterized by the spatial and temporal variation of rainfall and rainfall seasonal pattern, elements of climatic water balance, elevation and area planted with Robusta coffee
Summary
Coffee beans are undoubtedly important as a source of wealth for the countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa, representing the second largest commodity in economic value for trade [1]. The cultivation of coffee is widespread in tropical and equatorial regions where the occurrence of droughts, in particular, are even more harmful due to its association with high irradiance and temperature, which affect the agroecosystem and generate a complex stress that can limit several physiological processes of the coffee plants [2]. Drought is a climatic phenomenon that occurs due to insufficient precipitation in a region; its occurrence leads to water stress in plants, which is a multidimensional phenomenon and is related to the insufficiency of water in the soil, and in the atmosphere [3]. Even some genotypes within the same species, may develop different levels of susceptibility to water stress caused by drought. Froehneris originated from regions with abundant and well-distributed rainfall, throughout the evolutionary process, this species developed itself as a water expender tree [2]
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