Exploring the Dynamics of Agricultural Climatic Resource Utilization of Spring Maize Over the Past 50 Years in Northeast China

Publication date: Available online 28 August 2015 Source:Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C Author(s): Junfang Zhao, Jianping Guo, Jia Mu, Yanhong Xu Exploring the dynamics of the utilization of agricultural climatic resources (i.e., environmental factors that affect crop productivity such as light, temperature, and water) can provide a theoretical basis for modifying agricultural practices and distributions of agricultural production in the future. Northeast China is one of the major agricultural production areas in China and also an obvious region of climatic warming. We were motivated to analyze the utilization dynamics of agricultural climatic resource during spring maize cultivation from 1961 to 2010 in Northeast China. To understand these dynamics, we used the daily data from 101 meteorological stations in Northeast China between 1961 and 2010. The demands on agricultural climatic resources in Northeast China imposed by the cultivation of spring maize were combined and agricultural climatic suitability theory was applied. The growth period of spring maize was further detailedly divided into four stages: germination to emergence, emergence to jointing, jointing to tasseling, and tasseling to maturity. The average resource utilization index was established to evaluate the effects. Over the past five decades, Northeast China experienced increases in daily average temperature of 0.246°C every decade during the growing season (May - September). At t...
Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - Category: Science Source Type: research