Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Geology (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Advisor 1

Luke J. Bowman

Committee Member 1

Kari B. Henquinet

Committee Member 2

John S. Gierke

Abstract

The Central American Dry Corridor (CADC), a tropical, dry-forest region, is characterized by distinct rainy and dry seasons, which influence the local agricultural calendar and planting decisions in rural communities. La canícula is a period of decreased precipitation during the rainy season, which occurs during the corn-planting season in El Salvador. La canícula is expected to change in intensity and duration in the next decades, which would impact small-scale farmers and their livelihoods. Climate variability and uncertainty has led to crop loss, water scarcity, and food insecurity in rural communities dependent on subsistence farming. Farmers’ experiences with a changing climate led to reformed decision-making and agricultural processes (e.g., agricultural calendar, seed type usage, crop rotation) to optimize their harvest and adapt to a variable climate. Studying the local perception and adaptation practices provides a global value to understand natural hazard impacts on society and the local dynamics of how farmers identify their main challenges and improve local resilience to a changing climate.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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