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Rising seas and severe storms are the most talked-about threats of climate change. But here's another: no more coffee. Because rising temperatures may cripple wild populations of Arabica coffee—the most cultivated species in the world. So says a study in the journal PLoS ONE. Aaron P. Davis et al., The Impact of Climate Change on Indigenous Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica): Predicting Future Trends and Identifying Priorities]
Researchers used climate models to forecast the effects of warming on Arabica coffee trees in Ethiopia, their native range. Under the best-case scenario—meaning fewer emissions and less warming—only a third of today's range would still be suitable for coffee by 2080. And the worst case? Wild arabica could be nearly wiped out in the region.
That's because coffee trees are sensitive to temperature, the researchers say, and they may not be able to colonize new areas fast enough to beat climate change. And that's assuming no direct human impact, like clearing land for grazing, which is already a problem there.
Of course the coffee in your cup doesn't come from wild trees. But wild coffee forests have a much bigger gene pool than cultivated crops, meaning more resistance to disease, pests and drought. Preserving that diversity might just be grounds to act on climate change.
—Christopher Intagliata
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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8 Comments
Add CommentMore drivel. A blatant attempt to strike fear into the latte sipping Alarmists.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOh.... the horror!
I applaud your deep knowledge and profound commentary on this subject. Where would we be without your wisdom?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisActually I would point you in the direction of the banana as an example of a crop which is now essentially doomed by its narrow genetic diversity.
and your proof that this is false information is....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is going to be bad for the real estate market too, because without coffee there will be no closers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article has nothing to do with bio-diversity and everything to do with an attempt to re-market an imaginary problem into something to motivate the scientifically illiterate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBy your response I see that the planters of this pseudo-article hit your demographic square on.
My proof? Where is your proof that people are responsible for everything? Sorry, but I don't buy the eco-dogma of original sin.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBBC News Science & Environment has an elucidative article about this theme.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSee at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20252472
In there we can read:
*Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, said: "The extinction of Arabica coffee is a startling and worrying prospect. However, the objective of the study was not to provide scaremonger predictions for the demise of Arabica in the wild.
"The scale of the predictions is certainly cause for concern, but should be seen more as a baseline, from which we can more fully assess what actions are required." *
Nonetheless, in the article this information is added:
* Other factors, such as pests and diseases, changes in flowering times, and shifting bird numbers (which disperse the coffee seeds), were also not included in the modelling.*
It seems that 60-second science always tries to make fun of these researches, which may lead to some exaggeration.
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