The impact of climate change on coffee trees and the harm that climate change brings to coffee

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

Climate change makes the original coffee bean growing area may no longer be suitable for growing coffee beans. This may lead to a reduction in the yield of coffee beans and the quality may not be as good as it used to be. For example, the common Arabica coffee beans (Coffea arabica) are suitable for growth at a temperature of 15-24 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too high, the coffee beans will ripen too quickly, resulting in insufficient accumulation of flavor substances. If continuously exposed to a high temperature of more than 30 ℃, it will cause obvious damage to coffee plants.

In addition to climate warming, extreme weather conditions will also aggravate insect pests. For example, in 2012, Central America suffered a massive coffee leaf rust, and some producers in the Republic of Guatemala even lost 85% of their crops, and coffee production in Central America fell by about 40% in those years. For example, an insect called coffee bark beetle (Hypothenemus hampei) lives well in a warm environment, which poses more threats to the coffee industry.

In addition, climate change will also affect the geographical distribution of pollinators' bees to affect the species distribution of honeybees in a certain area. The species of bees have a great influence on the yield of coffee. Under the same other conditions, when the number of honeybees increases from 3 to 20, the yield of coffee beans will increase significantly.

It was not clear whether the impact of climate change on pollinators would exacerbate or offset future losses to coffee producers, especially in complex mountainous areas where high-quality coffee is produced.

It is suggested that in areas experiencing negative coupling, changes in the management of coffee bean plantations may not be sufficient to offset the negative coupling effects, and this area is not suitable for growing coffee beans in the future. In these areas emphasis should be placed on helping farmers switch to other crops or production systems suitable for future climatic conditions or to replace non-agricultural livelihoods. Second, in areas where honey species are likely to decline, as coffee adaptability increases, priority should be given to the management of coffee plantations, thereby increasing honeybee habitats and helping to ensure that local honeybee species are maintained. On the contrary, in areas where honey diversity may increase and where adaptability to coffee cultivation decreases, coffee and farm management practices should minimize the impact of climate change on coffee production. Finally, where both coffee adaptability and honeybee suitability will increase in the future, there is no need for adaptation action at present, as future conditions will be more conducive to coffee production.

The weather outlook for coffee growers over the next 1000 years is poor: hotter parts of the world and longer droughts in many places, interspersed with very heavy rainfall.

Coffee trees can only grow in very limited climatic areas. As the temperature increases, coffee trees will move to higher elevations and latitudes. But the space is limited, and this will compete with other crops. Coffee farmers will face greater unpredictability of climate change and more droughts and floods-the last thing any farmer wants.

Climate change seems to have affected coffee production. It's hard to boil down to direct cause and effect, but the changes we're seeing are in line with the predictions of climate modelers.

Rising temperatures and abnormal rainfall patterns have brought diseases and invasive species to coffee plantations in South America, Africa, Asia and Hawaii, threatening coffee plants and growing beans. The result is a big drop in the coffee harvest (and naturally less coffee you can drink).

For more professional coffee exchanges, please scan the code and follow Wechat: qiannjie

Please indicate the source of the reprint.