UF experts Yuncong Li and Haimanote Bayabil available to speak about impact of sea level rise on agriculture, particularly in Florida

What a rise in sea-level will mean for agricultural production in Florida

The agricultural industry in South Florida is negatively impacted by flooding and saltwater intrusion, which could worsen dramatically if sea-levels rise 10 to 12 inches by 2050 as projected in a new report from NOAA. The report has significant implications for Florida, which already experiences coastal flooding.

Yuncong Li and Haimanote Bayabil of the University of Florida say, however, at growers' fields potential damages could be reduced with both short-term mitigation measures and by adopting long-term adaptations now, such as investing in and breeding salt-tolerant crops.

“Short-term management practices could be implemented at farm and field levels to minimize salinity damage and effects can be seen quickly,” says Bayabil, lead author in a pending research paper that includes Li as a co-author. “Long-term management practices often take a more protracted process for development and adoption.  It requires longer to develop or practices that require growers’ willingness to invest capital and/or change their practices.”

Li is a professor of soil and water sciences and Bayabil is an assistant professor in the Agricultural & Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida. Both are associated with the UF/IFAS Tropical Research & Education Center in Homestead, Florida.