Tropical climate change and its impact on horticultural plants in Enrekang District, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Yassi A, Demmallino EB, Sultani HR. 2023. Tropical climate change and its impact on horticultural plants in Enrekang District, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24: 3073-3079. Global, regional, and local changes in climate are phenomenologically different and have distinct impacts on the horticultural and agricultural sectors. Therefore, this research aims to examine tropical climate change in South Sulawesi, Indonesia and analyze its impact on horticultural crops. A post-positivistic interpretation framework of the case study tradition was used, while the location was determined by purposive sampling followed by comprehensive data collection. Data were analyzed using integrated techniques, and validity tests were carried out to assess the credibility and reliability. The results indicated a local climate change marked by a difference in the pattern of distribution and intensity of extreme rainfall between 2015 and 2018. This was due to an increase in air temperature, which on average reached ±0.03731°C from the lowest of 22.50°C in 2011 to the highest of 23.12°C in 2020. In other words, it can be stated that the air temperature had increased by ±0.63°C in the last decade. The impact on various types of horticultural crops was marked by a decrease in the production of several kinds of Chinese cabbage, carrots, and green beans in 2015 as well as a very drastic reduction in potato crop production in 2018, while cabbage plants experienced a peak in production in 2018. Some types of horticultural crops such as shallots, cabbage and red chili began to stabilize and even increased their production in the aftermath of climate change during said period.