Assessing the risks for sugarcane production in the State of São Paulo based on multimodel simulations and future climate scenarios

Author(s)

Helena Maria Soares Pinto

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2015-08-31

Examining board members

Fábio Ricardo Marin; Giampaolo Queiroz Pellegrino; Felipe Gustavo Pilau

• Advisor: Fábio Ricardo Marin

Abstract

The sugarcane crop (Saccharum officinarum) has socio-economic relevance for Brazil for supporting the country trade account and for its role in Brazilian energy matrix. The State of São Paulo is the largest producer of sugarcane and derivatives. Despite the intense discussion of global climate change over the past decade, it is well known that future climate projections and its impact on agriculture have a number of uncertainties arising from the different components of the system (climate, crop physiology and management). It has been scientifically accepted the use of a ensemble of possible climate scenarios and crop models, rather than just one simulation generated by a single model. In agriculture, it is now scientifically accepted one of the tools for analyzing the impact of climate change on agriculture is the use of process based crop models. This study simulated the current and four future scenarios of climate change for sugarcane in 38 municipalities of São Paulo, in three harvest season , using APSIM-Sugar and DSSAT/CANEGRO. Future climate scenarios, on average, represented an increase of 3% of total annual precipitation (45 mm), 9% in average maximum temperature (3°C) and 15% in average minimum temperature (3 °C) for the sites in comparison with the current scenario. Models simulated the fresh stalk mass increasing in the future around 16% in APSIM-Sugar model and 4% in DSSAT/CANEGRO model, as well as the reduction of climate risks for sugarcane production. Based on these data, none of future climate scenarios would imply in yield loss compared to the current climate. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/16465-2 - Projections of risk of sugarcane production in the state of São Paulo based on future climate scenarios
• Grantee: Helena Maria Soares Pinto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master