Prolonged drought and rapid land-use transformation are reshaping peasant farming systems worldwide, particularly in regions exposed to extractive agribusiness expansion. This study examines how socio-ecological resilience varies across farming systems differentiated by ethno-cultural background under Chile’s megadrought (2009–2019) in the Araucanía Region. We conducted a longitudinal assessment of 78 smallholder farms (30 Mapuche, 30 Chilean, 18 European descent) using a resilience index integrating vulnerability (water access, proximity to exotic forest plantations, cultivated homogeneity) and response capacity (drought-resistant crops, knowledge and preventive practices for dealing with water deficit, social networks). The results show that Mapuche farming systems consistently exhibited higher resilience, associated with greater cultivated diversity, a lower presence of neighboring forest plantations, and greater knowledge of how to deal with drought events. In contrast, non-Mapuche systems displayed higher vulnerability indicators linked to increased cultivated homogeneity. Over the 10-year period, 32% of the farms included in this study collapsed, primarily due to conversion to exotic forest plantations, disproportionately affecting European-descent and Chilean farms. The higher permanence of Mapuche farms demonstrates that resilience is not solely determined by climatic exposure but is strongly mediated by ethno-cultural land-use practices and socio-ecological memory. The interaction between the megadrought and exotic forest plantations-driven landscape homogenization accelerates differential system persistence. Strengthening agroecological diversity and recognizing culturally embedded agricultural management practices are critical for sustaining resilient farm systems under climate change.
Montalba et al. (Mon,) studied this question.