Title : Climate variability, wetlands and food security in the Pampas plain: Hydrological risks and opportunities for resilient agroecosystems
Abstract:
The Pampas plain is one of the world’s major agricultural regions and a strategic territory for global food supply. However, its strong dependence on climate-driven water availability, together with intensive land-use change, makes food production increasingly sensitive to hydrological extremes such as floods and droughts. This presentation analyzes the role of wetlands, shallow lake and low-relief fluvial systems in the functioning of Pampas agroecosystems, discussing how climate variability and climate change are reshaping the spatial and temporal distribution of water across the landscape. From the perspective of physical geography and Earth sciences, it addresses: (i) how the geomorphology of the plain constrains runoff, waterlogging and soil moisture patterns; (ii) the interactions between cropping systems, drainage practices and wetland dynamics; and (iii) the implications of these processes for yield stability, infrastructure vulnerability, and long-term soil and water conservation. Particular attention is given to the tension between pressures for short-term intensification and the need to maintain hydrological regulation services provided by wetlands and floodplains. The talk argues that integrating geospatial information, hydrological monitoring and landscape analysis is key to designing climate-resilient strategies in the Pampas, including more diversified land-use mosaics, protection and sustainable management of wetlands, and early-warning approaches for floods and droughts. By framing the Pampas plain as a critical node of global food production under climate stress, the presentation connects with the conference themes “Food Science & Climate Resilience” and “Food Security and Global Concerns”, highlighting how biophysical constraints and landscape processes must be explicitly considered in food security debates.
