Small-scale farmers who depend on natural resources for subsistence in rural areas are especially vulnerable to climate change and may develop adaptive responses once they understand the nature of the risks and their consequences. We examine the effects of schooling, experience in agriculture, and the number and severity of risks perceived by farmers on the number and type of adaptive responses developed. Ninety-four farmers were surveyed in six rural communities in Catimbau National Park, Pernambuco, Brazil, to obtain socioeconomic data about major drought events and perceived related risks. Participants were asked to classify risks according to their severity. We argue that understanding the degree of vulnerability of social-ecological systems in semi-arid regions may facilitate actions at different scales to mitigate risks arising from climate change.

在农村地区依赖自然资源维持生计的小农特别容易受到气候变化的影响，一旦他们了解了风险的性质及其后果，就可能会做出适应性反应。我们研究了学校教育、农业经验以及农民感知的风险的数量和严重程度对制定的适应性反应的数量和类型的影响。对巴西伯南布哥州卡廷堡国家公园六个农村社区的 94 名农民进行了调查，以获取有关重大干旱事件和感知到的相关风险的社会经济数据。参与者被要求根据其严重程度对风险进行分类。