Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/21226
Title: World climate suitability projections to 2050 and 2100 for growing oil palm
Contributor(s): Paterson, R R M (author); Kumar, Lalit  (author)orcid ; Shabani, Farzin  (author); Lima, N (author)
Publication Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1017/s0021859616000605
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/21226
Abstract: Palm oil (PO) is a very important commodity used as food, in pharmaceuticals, for cooking and as biodiesel: PO is a major contributor to the economies of many countries, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. Novel tropical regions are being explored increasingly to grow oil palm as current land decreases, whilst recent published modelling studies by the current authors for Malaysia and Indonesia indicate that the climate will become less suitable. Countries that grow the crop commercially include those in Latin America, Africa and Asia. How will climate change (CC) affect the ability to grow oil palm in these countries? Worldwide projections for apt climate were made using Climex software in the present paper and the global area with unsuitable climate was assessed to increase by 6%, whilst highly suitable climate (HSC) decreased by 22% by 2050. The suitability decreases are dramatic by 2100 suggesting regions totally unsuitable for growing OP, which are currently appropriate: the global area with unsuitable climate increased from 154 to 169 million km² and HSC decreased from 17 to 4 million km². This second assessment of Indonesia and Malaysia confirmed the original findings by the current authors of large decreases in suitability. Many parts of Latin America and Africa were dramatically decreased: reductions in HSC for Brazil, Columbia and Nigeria are projected to be 119 000, 35 and 1 from 5 000 000, 219 and 69 km², respectively. However, increases in aptness were observed in 2050 for Paraguay and Madagascar (HSC increases were 90 and 41%, respectively), which were maintained until 2100 (95 and 45%, respectively). Lesser or transient increases were seen for a few other countries. Hot, dry and cold climate stresses upon oil palm for all regions are also provided. These results have negative implications for growing oil palm in countries as: (a) alternatives to Malaysia and Indonesia or (b) economic resources per se. The inability to grow oil palm may assist in amelioration of CC, although the situation is complex. Data suggest a moderate movement of apposite climate towards the poles as previously predicted.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: The Journal of Agricultural Science, 155(5), p. 689-702
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1469-5146
0021-8596
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 090903 Geospatial Information Systems
050204 Environmental Impact Assessment
050101 Ecological Impacts of Climate Change
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 401302 Geospatial information systems and geospatial data modelling
410402 Environmental assessment and monitoring
410102 Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960305 Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change
960303 Climate Change Models
960904 Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Land Management
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 180603 Evaluation, allocation, and impacts of land use
190102 Ecosystem adaptation to climate change
190501 Climate change models
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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