Drought tolerance of Tének traditional agroecosystems: Towards mitigate the climate change effects
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Traditional agroecosystems (TA) are considered more resilient to climatic extremes due to higher crop diversity and agroecological approach. The TA of Tének were studied to evaluate their drought tolerance. Open-ended questionnaire surveys, field visits, and botanical collections, with the participation of local farmers, were considered. Cultivated plant diversity was analyzed using the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’), and the Morisita-Horn index (CMH) in ten different agroecosystems in April and August. Remote sensing methods included the triangular greenness index (TGI). Additionally, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and standardized precipitation index (SPI) were determined, covering the period from 2013 to 2022. The cultivated plant richness (P > 0.5382) and their abundance (P > 0.3622) did not change from April to August considering the total analyzed parcels. However, differences between types of agroecosystems were observed because higher diversity corresponded to managed jungle (teʼlom) (Hʼ = 1.5-1.7), and some parcels cultivated with maize (milpa) (Hʼ = 1.02-1.54). Nevertheless, in August, lower similarity was observed in milpa (CMH = 0.23-0.87) due to the absence of maize (Zea mays L.) and other herbaceous annual crops. Landscape interconnection can be affirmed with TGI correlations obtained by comparison of different TA. The negative SPI values were associated with a decrease of NDVI, but Tének polyculture agroecosystems maintained higher NDVI values compared to rainfed monocropping during the analyzed period. Tének polyculture agroecosystems exhibited higher drought tolerance, although maize and other herbaceous plants are susceptible to disappearing during prolonged drought events, thereby increasing food insecurity.
