Articles | Volume 13, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-595-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-595-2022
Research article
 | 
29 Mar 2022
Research article |  | 29 Mar 2022

Widespread greening suggests increased dry-season plant water availability in the Rio Santa valley, Peruvian Andes

Lorenz Hänchen, Cornelia Klein, Fabien Maussion, Wolfgang Gurgiser, Pierluigi Calanca, and Georg Wohlfahrt

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Cited articles

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To date, farmers' perceptions of hydrological changes do not match analysis of meteorological data. In contrast to rainfall data, we find greening of vegetation, indicating increased water availability in the past decades. The start of the season is highly variable, making farmers' perceptions comprehensible. We show that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation has complex effects on vegetation seasonality but does not drive the greening we observe. Improved onset forecasts could help local farmers.
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