Effects of Extreme Climate Events on Tea (Camellia sinensis) Functional Quality Validate Indigenous Farmer Knowledge and Sensory Preferences in Tropical China

PLOS ONE, Dec 2019

Climate change is impacting agro-ecosystems, crops, and farmer livelihoods in communities worldwide. While it is well understood that more frequent and intense climate events in many areas are resulting in a decline in crop yields, the impact on crop quality is less acknowledged, yet it is critical for food systems that benefit both farmers and consumers through high-quality products. This study examines tea (Camellia sinensis; Theaceae), the world's most widely consumed beverage after water, as a study system to measure effects of seasonal precipitation variability on crop functional quality and associated farmer knowledge, preferences, and livelihoods. Sampling was conducted in a major tea producing area of China during an extreme drought through the onset of the East Asian Monsoon in order to capture effects of extreme climate events that are likely to become more frequent with climate change. Compared to the spring drought, tea growth during the monsoon period was up to 50% higher. Concurrently, concentrations of catechin and methylxanthine secondary metabolites, major compounds that determine tea functional quality, were up to 50% lower during the monsoon while total phenolic concentrations and antioxidant activity increased. The inverse relationship between tea growth and concentrations of individual secondary metabolites suggests a dilution effect of precipitation on tea quality. The decrease in concentrations of tea secondary metabolites was accompanied by reduced farmer preference on the basis of sensory characteristics as well as a decline of up to 50% in household income from tea sales. Farmer surveys indicate a high degree of agreement regarding climate patterns and the effects of precipitation on tea yields and quality. Extrapolating findings from this seasonal study to long-term climate scenario projections suggests that farmers and consumers face variable implications with forecasted precipitation scenarios and calls for research on management practices to facilitate climate adaptation for sustainable crop production.

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Effects of Extreme Climate Events on Tea (Camellia sinensis) Functional Quality Validate Indigenous Farmer Knowledge and Sensory Preferences in Tropical China

et al. (2014) Effects of Extreme Climate Events on Tea (Camellia sinensis) Functional Quality Validate Indigenous Farmer Knowledge and Sensory Preferences in Tropical China. PLoS ONE 9(10): e109126. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109126 Effects of Extreme Climate Events on Tea (Camellia sinensis ) Functional Quality Validate Indigenous Farmer Knowledge and Sensory Preferences in Tropical China Selena Ahmed 0 John Richard Stepp 0 Colin Orians 0 Timothy Griffin 0 Corene Matyas 0 Albert Robbat 0 Sean Cash 0 Dayuan Xue 0 Chunlin Long 0 Uchenna Unachukwu 0 Sarabeth Buckley 0 David Small 0 Edward Kennelly 0 Darren John Kriticos, CSIRO, Australia 0 1 Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems Program, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University , Bozeman , Montana, United States of America, 2 Department of Biology, Tufts University , Medford , Massachusetts, United States of America, 3 College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China , Beijing , China , 4 Department of Anthropology, University of Gainesville, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America, 5 Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University , Boston , Massachusetts, United States of America, 6 Department of Geography, University of Gainesville, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America, 7 Department of Chemistry, Tufts University , Medford , Massachusetts, United States of America, 8 Department of Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York, United States of America, 9 School of Engineering, Tufts University , Medford, Massachusetts , United States of America Climate change is impacting agro-ecosystems, crops, and farmer livelihoods in communities worldwide. While it is well understood that more frequent and intense climate events in many areas are resulting in a decline in crop yields, the impact on crop quality is less acknowledged, yet it is critical for food systems that benefit both farmers and consumers through high-quality products. This study examines tea (Camellia sinensis; Theaceae), the world's most widely consumed beverage after water, as a study system to measure effects of seasonal precipitation variability on crop functional quality and associated farmer knowledge, preferences, and livelihoods. Sampling was conducted in a major tea producing area of China during an extreme drought through the onset of the East Asian Monsoon in order to capture effects of extreme climate events that are likely to become more frequent with climate change. Compared to the spring drought, tea growth during the monsoon period was up to 50% higher. Concurrently, concentrations of catechin and methylxanthine secondary metabolites, major compounds that determine tea functional quality, were up to 50% lower during the monsoon while total phenolic concentrations and antioxidant activity increased. The inverse relationship between tea growth and concentrations of individual secondary metabolites suggests a dilution effect of precipitation on tea quality. The decrease in concentrations of tea secondary metabolites was accompanied by reduced farmer preference on the basis of sensory characteristics as well as a decline of up to 50% in household income from tea sales. Farmer surveys indicate a high degree of agreement regarding climate patterns and the effects of precipitation on tea yields and quality. Extrapolating findings from this seasonal study to long-term climate scenario projections suggests that farmers and consumers face variable implications with forecasted precipitation scenarios and calls for research on management practices to facilitate climate adaptation for sustainable crop production. - Funding: This research was supported by the TEACRS Program (NIGMS IRACDA- K12GM074869) at Tufts University, Program 111 in Ethnobiology of the Chinese Ministry in Education/Minzu University of China, the Tufts Institute of the Environment, the Tropical Conservation and Development Program at the University of Florida, Tufts University Provost Office (Tufts Collaborates!), NSF REU Program at Tufts University (NSF DBI 1005082), and the NSF Coupled Natural Human Systems (NSF grant #BCS-1313775). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Climate change is impacting agro-ecosystems, livelihoods, and human wellbeing in communities worldwide. In some cases, crop production is at risk due to droughts, wildfires, floods, severe temperature fluctuations, and other extreme weather conditions reducing yields and shifting the geographic range where crops can be cultivated [1,2]. In contrast, increasing temperatures in the higher latitudes in both the northern and southern hemisphere are enhancing the yield of some crops [3]. While the impact of climate change on crop yield has been well documented [1,2,3, (...truncated)


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Selena Ahmed, John Richard Stepp, Colin Orians, Timothy Griffin, Corene Matyas, Albert Robbat, Sean Cash, Dayuan Xue, Chunlin Long, Uchenna Unachukwu, Sarabeth Buckley, David Small, Edward Kennelly. Effects of Extreme Climate Events on Tea (Camellia sinensis) Functional Quality Validate Indigenous Farmer Knowledge and Sensory Preferences in Tropical China, PLOS ONE, 2014, Volume 9, Issue 10, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109126