Langley Research Center
Peru Climate


>>Rebekke: The Parque de la Papa, or Potato Park, is located in South Central Peru just north of the city of Cusco,
 in the heart of the Cordillera Oriental mountain chain and is home to over 6000 inhabitants.

>>Kayla: The Parque de la Papa hosts 6 communities that span a total of 8661 hectares.

>>Ryan: The park is also home to a large potato seed bank, known as a Noahs Ark containing over 788 varieties of
 potato. 

>>Kayla: Our partner, the international Potato Center, works with international communities to address factors 
concerning potato cultivation.

>>Michael: Shifting climates around the world are affecting agriculture. Locations that were once suitable for 
certain crops are no longer viable, thus forcing farmers to relocate and change their growing practices. 

>>Richard: Variable conditions have already caused harvesting in the area to move from 3800 meters to 4000 
meters. 

>>Ryan: Residents of Parque de la Papa are finding it increasingly difficult to adapt to these changes while
 still preserving the traditional farming practices of their ancestors. 


>>Rebekke: To give a better estimate of when these changes started to occur, our team used GIS in conjunction with
earth observations to create factors for suitability maps. The NASA satellites used include TRMM, Landsat 4,5, 7, 8, 
Aqua MODIS, and SRTM. 

>>Kayla: The TRMM dataset, which estimates daily rainfall totals was downloaded and processed using Python to 
extract all daily data from 1998 to 2015. Each day was then averaged over the 17 year span, resulting in a 
precipitation climatology.
 
>>Ryan: Aqua MODIS daily land surface temperature observations from 2002 to 2015 were used to create a time-series
 of average daytime and nighttime temperatures. 

>>Michael: Landsat images were used to assess land cover change. Due to the park's small size and even smaller 
potato fields, only areas with mixed agriculture were identified. 


>>Kayla: Results from MODIS temperature analysis aligned well with expected temperature ranges necessary for
potatoproduction. Growing degree days, a measurement of daily heat accumulation, are a common index used to assess 
conditions that are suitable for crop development. Accumulated growing degree days over the potato cropping period
show that higher elevations within the park accumulate less growing degree days, leading to a shorter growing 
season. 

>>Ryan: TRMM precipitation accumulation analysis showed that approximately 75 percent of yearly precipitation 
occurs during the growing season. Additionally, seasonal precipitation averages exceeded ideal conditions for 
potato production. 

>>Michael: Landsat land cover imagery was used to show the change in agriculture from 1990 to 2007. Results 
support observations that agriculture has shifted over 200 meters higher in elevation. 

>>Rebekke: These results will provide a basis for the creation of potato suitability maps that will allow our 
partners at the International Potato Center to provide recommendations to local farmers who rely on potatoes 
for their livelihoods and the preservation of their culture.