Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and variability in semi-arid rural southeastern Arizona, USA

This research paper examines the vulnerabilities and adaptive strategies of agricultural and livestock producers in southeastern Arizona, finding that while groundwater use is a critical adaptation strategy, the utility of seasonal climate forecasts is limited by low risk tolerance and economic uncertainty.

• Farmers and ranchers in Pima and Cochise Counties identify drought, floods, and frosts as their primary climatic risks, and they continue to rely on groundwater as a vital strategy even as the costs of pumping increase.
• Seasonal climate forecasts (SCFs) are not the primary tool for decision-making because producers have a low tolerance for risk and face uncertainty regarding marketing and seasonal production. Consequently, they prioritize past experience and short-range forecasts to hedge their positions.
• The study concludes that the primary barrier to improved decision-making for producers is not a lack of access to climate information.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and variability in semi-arid rural southeastern Arizona, USA. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/vulnerability-and-adaptation-to-climate-change-and-variability-in-semi-arid-rural-southeastern-arizona-usa/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and variability in semi-arid rural southeastern Arizona, USA. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/vulnerability-and-adaptation-to-climate-change-and-variability-in-semi-arid-rural-southeastern-arizona-usa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and variability in semi-arid rural southeastern Arizona, USA |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/vulnerability-and-adaptation-to-climate-change-and-variability-in-semi-arid-rural-southeastern-arizona-usa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025vulnerability, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and variability in semi-arid rural southeastern Arizona, USA}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/vulnerability-and-adaptation-to-climate-change-and-variability-in-semi-arid-rural-southeastern-arizona-usa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }