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Impacts of climate change on maize and winter wheat yields in China from 1961 to 2010 based on provincial data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2014

C. CHEN*
Affiliation:
Institute of Plateau Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Chengdu 610072, People's Republic of China
G. S. ZHOU
Affiliation:
Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
Y. M. PANG
Affiliation:
Institute of Plateau Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Chengdu 610072, People's Republic of China
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: chenchao16306@sina.com
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Summary

The impacts of climate change on maize and winter wheat yields in China from 1961 to 2010 were studied in the current paper, based on provincial data. The results indicated that rising average temperatures resulted in decreased maize yield in most of the study regions, and reduced maize production at a national scale by c. 3·4% relative to the average from 1961 to 2010. Moreover, the warming resulted in a decrease of winter wheat yield in the Huang-Huai-Hai and southwest regions and led to an overall loss in production of c. 5·8% at a national scale. The decrease of diurnal temperature range (DTR) affected maize yield adversely in the west and central regions, but a beneficial DTR effect was observed in the other provinces. The changes in DTR resulted in increased maize production at a national scale by c. 0·6%. However, the generally decreasing trends for DTR resulted in an increasing winter wheat yield in the northwest and south regions but a decreasing yield in the other provinces, and the production of winter wheat at a national scale was reduced by c. 2·9% because of changes in DTR. Changes in precipitation increased maize and winter wheat yields in some provinces but reduced crop yield in others. There was no significant effect of precipitation on maize production at a national scale, but the contribution of precipitation change reached c. 1·6% for winter wheat production.

Information

Type
Climate Change and Agriculture Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 
Figure 0

Fig. 1.Distribution of maize and winter wheat cultivation area in China. The provincial ID is numbered as: 0, non-study region; 1, Heilongjiang; 2, Jilin; 3, Liaoning; 4, Beijing; 5, Hebei; 6, Tianjin; 7, Shandong; 8, Henan; 9, Shanxi; 10, Shaanxi; 11, Ningxia; 12, Gansu; 13, Neimenggu; 14, Xinjiang; 15,Anhui; 16, Jiangsu; 17, Zhejiang; 18, Shanghai; 19, Hubei; 20, Hunan; 21, Jiangxi; 22,Chongqing; 23, Sichuan; 24, Guizhou; 25, Yunnan; 26, Guangxi; 27, Guangdong; 28, Fujian.

Figure 1

Table 1.Growing seasons of maize and winter wheat for different regions of China

Figure 2

Table 2.Average and linear time trend in climate during the maize growing season over the period 1961–2010

Figure 3

Table 3.Average and linear time trend in climate during winter wheat growing season over the period 1961–2010

Figure 4

Fig. 2.Percent regression coefficients of (a) Tavg, (b) DTR and (c) and Prcp on maize yield over the period 1961–2010.

Figure 5

Fig. 3.Relative production change caused by (a) Tavg, (b) DTR and (c) Prcp for maize over the period 1961–2010.

Figure 6

Table 4.Average percent regression coefficients of climate variables and 95% confidence interval(CI), average production change and 95% CI caused by climate variables for maize over 1961–2010

Figure 7

Fig. 4.Percent regression coefficients of (a) Tavg, (b) DTR and (c) Prcp on the winter wheat yield over the period 1961–2010.

Figure 8

Fig. 5.Relative production change caused by (a) Tavg, (b) DTR and (c) Prcp for winter wheat over the period 1961–2010.

Figure 9

Table 5.Average percent regression coefficients of climate variables and 95% confidence interval (CI), average production change and 95% CI caused by climate variables for winter wheat over 1961–2010