Co-Creating Solutions with Tribal Nations for Drought Resilience and Cultural Agroecosystem Preservation
Native American agroecosystems, crucial to cultural identity, face threats from an increasing frequency and duration of severe droughts, which affect ancestral crop production and seed sustainability. Researchers supported by this South Central CASC project will collaborate with Indigenous horticulturalists to design and test whether wastewater gardens can help sustain crop seed production through periods of intense drought. Information from this project will be used to develop climate action plans for culturally important agroecosystems and support the career development of Indigenous graduate students.
Native American agroecosystems, which have evolved through centuries of social upheaval, now face new threats from climate change. Many Tribal nations, displaced from their homelands and relocated to entirely different climates, are struggling to maintain ancestral crops and environmental stewardship traditions. In the south-central US, climate change is worsening the already-challenging extreme weather, particularly drought, which threatens entire Tribal nations by causing wildflowers to wilt and reducing crop seed production to a point where propagation is not sustainable. While wastewater gardens can boost plant productivity, this benefit is often overlooked in favor of their water treatment benefits. The potential for wastewater gardens to support seed cultivation during extreme drought remains largely unexplored.
This project will address the immediate and future effects of climate change on Native American agroecosystems through local, tangible initiatives created in collaboration with Indigenous horticulturalists. Project researchers will organize stakeholder networks and co-design field experiments to (1) evaluate the feasibility of co-designed wastewater gardens as safe, cost-effective adaptations for agroecosystems to extreme climate threats, particularly drought, and (2) develop an Extreme Climate Action Plan for Culturally Important Agroecosystems (ECAPCIA).
This project will demonstrate how climate adaptation can be achieved through collaborative solutions based on lived, local experiences and Indigenous knowledge and values. The project will also train Indigenous graduate students in climate adaptation, providing career advancement in sustainability and climate resilience. By focusing on horticulture and place-based food systems that are vital for cultural identity, this work will enhance the ability of Tribal nations to adapt to climate challenges while preserving their cultural and agricultural heritage.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 666c2ac4d34e9bcc607c1e95)
Native American agroecosystems, crucial to cultural identity, face threats from an increasing frequency and duration of severe droughts, which affect ancestral crop production and seed sustainability. Researchers supported by this South Central CASC project will collaborate with Indigenous horticulturalists to design and test whether wastewater gardens can help sustain crop seed production through periods of intense drought. Information from this project will be used to develop climate action plans for culturally important agroecosystems and support the career development of Indigenous graduate students.
Native American agroecosystems, which have evolved through centuries of social upheaval, now face new threats from climate change. Many Tribal nations, displaced from their homelands and relocated to entirely different climates, are struggling to maintain ancestral crops and environmental stewardship traditions. In the south-central US, climate change is worsening the already-challenging extreme weather, particularly drought, which threatens entire Tribal nations by causing wildflowers to wilt and reducing crop seed production to a point where propagation is not sustainable. While wastewater gardens can boost plant productivity, this benefit is often overlooked in favor of their water treatment benefits. The potential for wastewater gardens to support seed cultivation during extreme drought remains largely unexplored.
This project will address the immediate and future effects of climate change on Native American agroecosystems through local, tangible initiatives created in collaboration with Indigenous horticulturalists. Project researchers will organize stakeholder networks and co-design field experiments to (1) evaluate the feasibility of co-designed wastewater gardens as safe, cost-effective adaptations for agroecosystems to extreme climate threats, particularly drought, and (2) develop an Extreme Climate Action Plan for Culturally Important Agroecosystems (ECAPCIA).
This project will demonstrate how climate adaptation can be achieved through collaborative solutions based on lived, local experiences and Indigenous knowledge and values. The project will also train Indigenous graduate students in climate adaptation, providing career advancement in sustainability and climate resilience. By focusing on horticulture and place-based food systems that are vital for cultural identity, this work will enhance the ability of Tribal nations to adapt to climate challenges while preserving their cultural and agricultural heritage.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 666c2ac4d34e9bcc607c1e95)