Contributions of climatic and crop varietal changes to crop production in the North China Plain,since 1980s

The North China Plain (NCP) is the most important agricultural production area in China. Crop production in the NCP is sensitive to changes in both climate and management practices. While previous studies showed a negative impact of climatic change on crop yield since 1980s, the confounding effects of climatic and agronomic factors have not been separately investigated. This paper used 25 years of crop data from three locations (Nanyang, Zhengzhou and Luancheng) across the NCP, together with daily weather data and crop modeling, to analyse the contribution of changes in climatic and agronomic factors to changes in grain yields of wheat and maize. The results showed that the changes in climate were not uniform across the NCP and during different crop growth stages. Warming mainly occurred during the vegetative (preflowering) growth stage of wheat and maize, while there was a cooling trend or no significant change in temperatures during the postflowering stage of wheat (spring) or maize (autumn). If varietal effects were excluded, warming during vegetative stages would lead to a reduction in the length of the growing period for both crops, generally leading to a negative impact on crop production. However, autonomous adoption of new crop varieties in the NCP was able to compensate the negative impact of climatic change. For both wheat and maize, the varietal changes helped stabilize the length of preflowering period against the shortening effect of warming and, together with the slightly reduced temperature in the postflowering period, extend the length of the grain‐filling period. The combined effect led to increased wheat yield at Zhengzhou and Luancheng; increased maize yield at Nanyang and Luancheng; stabilized wheat yield at Nanyang, and a slight reduction in maize yield at Zhengzhou, compared with the yield change caused entirely by climatic change.     

Modern maize hybrids in Northeast China exhibit increased yield potential and resource use efficiency despite adverse climate change

The impact of global changes on food security is of serious concern. Breeding novel crop cultivars adaptable to climate change is one potential solution, but this approach requires an understanding of complex adaptive traits for climate‐change conditions. In this study, plant growth, nitrogen (N) uptake, and yield in relation to climatic resource use efficiency of nine representative maize cultivars released between 1973 and 2000 in China were investigated in a 2‐year field experiment under three N applications. The Hybrid‐Maize model was used to simulate maize yield potential in the period from 1973 to 2011. During the past four decades, the total thermal time (growing degree days) increased whereas the total precipitation and sunshine hours decreased. This climate change led to a reduction of maize potential yield by an average of 12.9% across different hybrids. However, the potential yield of individual hybrids increased by 118.5 kg ha^?1 yr^?1 with increasing year of release. From 1973 to 2000, the use efficiency of sunshine hours, thermal time, and precipitation resources increased by 37%, 40%, and 41%, respectively. The late developed hybrids showed less reduction in yield potential in current climate conditions than old cultivars, indicating some adaptation to new conditions. Since the mid‐1990s, however, the yield impact of climate change exhibited little change, and even a slight worsening for new cultivars. Modern breeding increased ear fertility and grain‐filling rate, and delayed leaf senescence without modification in net photosynthetic rate. The trade‐off associated with delayed leaf senescence was decreased grain N concentration rather than increased plant N uptake, therefore N agronomic efficiency increased simultaneously. It is concluded that modern maize hybrids tolerate the climatic changes mainly by constitutively optimizing plant productivity. Maize breeding programs in the future should pay more attention to cope with the limiting climate factors specifically.     

Mind the gap: how do climate and agricultural management explain the ‘yield gap’ of croplands around the world?

Aim As the demands for food, feed and fuel increase in coming decades, society will be pressed to increase agricultural production – whether by increasing yields on already cultivated lands or by cultivating currently natural areas – or to change current crop consumption patterns. In this analysis, we consider where yields might be increased on existing croplands, and how crop yields are constrained by biophysical (e.g. climate) versus management factors. Location This study was conducted at the global scale. Methods Using spatial datasets, we compare yield patterns for the 18 most dominant crops within regions of similar climate. We use this comparison to evaluate the potential yield obtainable for each crop in different climates around the world. We then compare the actual yields currently being achieved for each crop with their ‘climatic potential yield’ to estimate the ‘yield gap’. Results We present spatial datasets of both the climatic potential yields and yield gap patterns for 18 crops around the year 2000. These datasets depict the regions of the world that meet their climatic potential, and highlight places where yields might potentially be raised. Most often, low yield gaps are concentrated in developed countries or in regions with relatively high‐input agriculture. Main conclusions While biophysical factors like climate are key drivers of global crop yield patterns, controlling for them demonstrates that there are still considerable ranges in yields attributable to other factors, like land management practices. With conventional practices, bringing crop yields up to their climatic potential would probably require more chemical, nutrient and water inputs. These intensive land management practices can adversely affect ecosystem goods and services, and in turn human welfare. Until society develops more sustainable high‐yielding cropping practices, the trade‐offs between increased crop productivity and social and ecological factors need to be made explicit when future food scenarios are formulated.     

中国北方气候暖干化对粮食作物的影响及应对措施

东北、华北和西北50a来的平均气温增幅高于全国平均水平,气候变暖明显,尤其冬季增温最显著。区域增暖的极端最低气温远比极端最高气温的贡献大。东北、华北大部、西北东部降水量明显减少,平均每10a减少20—40mm,尤其春夏季减少最明显。这种趋势一直延续到20世纪90年代以后,干旱化趋势非常突出。在综述我国北方现代气候变化基本特征是暖干化的基础上,重点阐述了喜凉作物冬小麦、春小麦、马铃薯和喜温作物水稻、玉米、谷子、糜子等7种主要粮食作物的生长发育、品种熟性、种植区域与面积、产量与品质等对气候暖干化的响应特征。揭示了气候暖干化使春播作物播期提早,苗期生长发育速度加快,营养生长期提前,生殖生长期和全生育期延长;秋作物发育期推迟,生殖生长期和全生长期延长;越冬作物播期推迟,越冬死亡率降低,种植风险减少,春初提前返青,生殖生长期提早,全生育期缩短。使作物适宜种植区域向高纬度高海拔扩展;品种熟性向偏中晚熟高产品种发展;喜温作物和越冬作物以及冷凉气候区的作物种植面积迅速扩大;在旱作区种植不较耐旱的玉米、春小麦等作物种植面积受到制约。对雨养农业区的作物气候产量影响严重,尤其对不够耐旱的小麦和玉米的气候产量受影响最大;对较耐旱的谷子、糜子、马铃薯等影响较轻。从作物属性而言,对喜温作物水稻、玉米和越冬作物冬小麦有利于气候产量提高;对喜凉作物春小麦和马铃薯的气候产量将产生不利影响。同时,提出了从5个方面应对气候暖干化的技术措施,调整作物种植结构,确保粮食生产安全;根据不同气候年型调整各种作物种植比例;针对不同气候区域发展优势作物和配置作物种植格局;采取不同栽培技术和管理模式应对气候变化;采取综合配套技术提髙抵御灾害能力。为粮食作物安全生产和种植结构调整与布局提供科学依据。     

Agroclimatic conditions in Europe under climate change

To date, projections of European crop yields under climate change have been based almost entirely on the outputs of crop‐growth models. While this strategy can provide good estimates of the effects of climatic factors, soil conditions and management on crop yield, these models usually do not capture all of the important aspects related to crop management, or the relevant environmental factors. Moreover, crop‐simulation studies often have severe limitations with respect to the number of crops covered or the spatial extent. The present study, based on agroclimatic indices, provides a general picture of agroclimatic conditions in western and central Europe (study area lays between 8.5°W–27°E and 37–63.5°N), which allows for a more general assessment of climate‐change impacts. The results obtained from the analysis of data from 86 different sites were clustered according to an environmental stratification of Europe. The analysis was carried for the baseline (1971–2000) and future climate conditions (time horizons of 2030, 2050 and with a global temperature increase of 5 °C) based on outputs of three global circulation models. For many environmental zones, there were clear signs of deteriorating agroclimatic condition in terms of increased drought stress and shortening of the active growing season, which in some regions become increasingly squeezed between a cold winter and a hot summer. For most zones the projections show a marked need for adaptive measures to either increase soil water availability or drought resistance of crops. This study concludes that rainfed agriculture is likely to face more climate‐related risks, although the analyzed agroclimatic indicators will probably remain at a level that should permit rainfed production. However, results suggests that there is a risk of increasing number of extremely unfavorable years in many climate zones, which might result in higher interannual yield variability and constitute a challenge for proper crop management.     

Uncertainties in predicting rice yield by current crop models under a wide range of climatic conditions

Predicting rice (Oryza sativa) productivity under future climates is important for global food security. Ecophysiological crop models in combination with climate model outputs are commonly used in yield prediction, but uncertainties associated with crop models remain largely unquantified. We evaluated 13 rice models against multi‐year experimental yield data at four sites with diverse climatic conditions in Asia and examined whether different modeling approaches on major physiological processes attribute to the uncertainties of prediction to field measured yields and to the uncertainties of sensitivity to changes in temperature and CO₂ concentration [CO₂]. We also examined whether a use of an ensemble of crop models can reduce the uncertainties. Individual models did not consistently reproduce both experimental and regional yields well, and uncertainty was larger at the warmest and coolest sites. The variation in yield projections was larger among crop models than variation resulting from 16 global climate model‐based scenarios. However, the mean of predictions of all crop models reproduced experimental data, with an uncertainty of less than 10% of measured yields. Using an ensemble of eight models calibrated only for phenology or five models calibrated in detail resulted in the uncertainty equivalent to that of the measured yield in well‐controlled agronomic field experiments. Sensitivity analysis indicates the necessity to improve the accuracy in predicting both biomass and harvest index in response to increasing [CO₂] and temperature.     

Climatic and technological ceilings for Chinese rice stagnation based on yield gaps and yield trend pattern analysis

Climatic or technological ceilings could cause yield stagnation. Thus, identifying the principal reasons for yield stagnation within the context of the local climate and socio‐economic conditions are essential for informing regional agricultural policies. In this study, we identified the climatic and technological ceilings for seven rice‐production regions in China based on yield gaps and on a yield trend pattern analysis for the period 1980–2010. The results indicate that 54.9% of the counties sampled experienced yield stagnation since the 1980. The potential yield ceilings in northern and eastern China decreased to a greater extent than in other regions due to the accompanying climate effects of increases in temperature and decreases in radiation. This may be associated with yield stagnation and halt occurring in approximately 49.8–57.0% of the sampled counties in these areas. South‐western China exhibited a promising scope for yield improvement, showing the greatest yield gap (30.6%), whereas the yields were stagnant in 58.4% of the sampled counties. This finding suggests that efforts to overcome the technological ceiling must be given priority so that the available exploitable yield gap can be achieved. North‐eastern China, however, represents a noteworthy exception. In the north‐central area of this region, climate change has increased the yield potential ceiling, and this increase has been accompanied by the most rapid increase in actual yield: 1.02 ton ha^?1 per decade. Therefore, north‐eastern China shows a great potential for rice production, which is favoured by the current climate conditions and available technology level. Additional environmentally friendly economic incentives might be considered in this region.     

2011—2050年黄淮海冬小麦、夏玉米气候生产潜力评价

基于区域气候模式PRECIS输出的未来B2气候情景（2011—2050年）逐日资料以及基准气候时段（1961—1990年）的逐日资料,应用农业生态区域(AEZ)模型,对2011—2050年我国黄淮海地区冬小麦、夏玉米气候生产潜力时空变化特征进行预测.结果表明： 基准气候时段下,我国黄淮海地区冬小麦、夏玉米气候生产潜力的空间分布呈现一定的区域分异规律,总体均呈东南高、西北低的趋势,且同纬度地区的沿海高于内陆.1961—1990年,冬小麦、夏玉米气候生产潜力的变化幅度分别在3893～11000和5908～12000 kg·hm^-2.未来B2气候情景下,冬小麦、夏玉米气候生产潜力的年际变化很大,这与该时期作物生长发育光、温、水的匹配程度有关.冬小麦、夏玉米分别在2011—2030年和2021—2040年间气候生产潜力的增加趋势非常明显,开发潜力很大.在保持现有生产状况下,未来B2气候情景下,2011—2050年冬小麦气候生产潜力在空间上总体呈现明显的区域分异,表现为东南地区与西北地区的反向变化、沿海地区与内陆地区之间的同向变化;而夏玉米气候生产潜力的区域分异规律不明显.     

The implication of irrigation in climate change impact assessment: a European‐wide study

This study evaluates the impacts of projected climate change on irrigation requirements and yields of six crops (winter wheat, winter barley, rapeseed, grain maize, potato, and sugar beet) in Europe. Furthermore, the uncertainty deriving from consideration of irrigation, CO₂ effects on crop growth and transpiration, and different climate change scenarios in climate change impact assessments is quantified. Net irrigation requirement (NIR) and yields of the six crops were simulated for a baseline (1982–2006) and three SRES scenarios (B1, B2 and A1B, 2040–2064) under rainfed and irrigated conditions, using a process‐based crop model, SIMPLACE . We found that projected climate change decreased NIR of the three winter crops in northern Europe (up to 81 mm), but increased NIR of all the six crops in the Mediterranean regions (up to 182 mm yr^?1). Climate change increased yields of the three winter crops and sugar beet in middle and northern regions (up to 36%), but decreased their yields in Mediterranean countries (up to 81%). Consideration of CO₂ effects can alter the direction of change in NIR for irrigated crops in the south and of yields for C3 crops in central and northern Europe. Constraining the model to rainfed conditions for spring crops led to a negative bias in simulating climate change impacts on yields (up to 44%), which was proportional to the irrigation ratio of the simulation unit. Impacts on NIR and yields were generally consistent across the three SRES scenarios for the majority of regions in Europe. We conclude that due to the magnitude of irrigation and CO₂ effects, they should both be considered in the simulation of climate change impacts on crop production and water availability, particularly for crops and regions with a high proportion of irrigated crop area.     

气候变化对我国干旱/半干旱区小麦生产影响的模拟研究

利用随机天气模型,将气候模式对大气中CO₂倍增时预测的气候情景与CERES-小麦模式相连接,研究了气候变化对我国冬小麦和春小麦生产的可能影响。并对水分、温度、CO₂综合对小麦的作用进行初步模拟分析。所得结论为:①气候变化后小麦发育将加快,生育期缩短,春小麦生育期缩短的绝对数和相对数均小于冬小麦。②北方十个站点小麦生产的最适水分条件在不同站点、不同气候情景下都有所不同。最适水分条件变幅在40%～80%。③在不考虑CO₂对小麦影响的情况下,由于热量充足,只要水分条件适宜,未来我国北方干旱、半干旱地区小麦产量整体都有增产趋势。如果考虑CO₂,增产效果更加明显。     

A process‐based approach to modelling impacts of climate change on the damage niche of an agricultural weed

Predicting the impact of climate change on the damage niche of an agricultural weed at a local scale requires a process‐based modelling approach that integrates local environmental conditions and the differential responses of the crop and weed to change. A simulation model of the growth and population dynamics of winter wheat and a competing weed, Sirius 2010, was calibrated and validated for the most economically damaging weed in UK cereals, Alopecurus myosuroides. The model was run using local‐scale climatic scenarios generated by the LARS‐WG weather generator and based on the HadCM3 projections for the periods 2046–2065 and 2080–2099 to predict the impact of climate change on the population dynamics of the weed and its effect on wheat yields. Owing to rising CO₂ concentration and its effect on radiation use efficiency of wheat, weed‐free wheat yields were predicted to increase. The distribution of the weed was predicted to remain broadly similar with a possible northward shift in range. Local‐scale variation in the impact of climate change was apparent owing to variation in soil type and water holding capacity. The competitive balance was shifted in favour of the deeper rooted crop under climate change, particularly on sites with lighter soils, owing to more frequent and severe drought stress events. Although the damage niche of A. myosuroides was predicted to reduce under climate change, it is likely that weeds with contrasting physiology, such as C4 species, will be better adapted to future conditions and pose a more serious threat.     

Quantifying variety‐specific heat resistance and the potential for adaptation to climate change

The impact of climate change on crop yields has become widely measured; however, the linkages for winter wheat are less studied due to dramatic weather changes during the long growing season that are difficult to model. Recent research suggests significant reductions under warming. A potential adaptation strategy involves the development of heat resistant varieties by breeders, combined with alternative variety selection by producers. However, the impact of heat on specific wheat varieties remains relatively unstudied due to limited data and the complex genetic basis of heat tolerance. Here, we provide a novel econometric approach that combines field‐trial data with a genetic cluster mapping to group wheat varieties and estimate a separate extreme heat impact (temperatures over 34 °C) across 24 clusters spanning 197 varieties. We find a wide range of heterogeneous heat resistance and a trade‐off between average yield and resistance. Results suggest that recently released varieties are less heat resistant than older varieties, a pattern that also holds for on‐farm varieties. Currently released – but not yet adopted – varieties do not offer improved resistance relative to varieties currently grown on farm. Our findings suggest that warming impacts could be significantly reduced through advances in wheat breeding and/or adoption decisions by producers. However, current adaptation‐through‐adoption potential is limited under a 1 °C warming scenario as increased heat resistance cannot be achieved without a reduction in average yields.     

Climate trends account for stalled wheat yields in Australia since 1990

Global food security requires that grain yields continue to increase to 2050, yet yields have stalled in many developed countries. This disturbing trend has so far been only partially explained. Here, we show that wheat yields in Australia have stalled since 1990 and investigate the extent to which climate trends account for this observation. Based on simulation of 50 sites with quality weather data, that are representative of the agro‐ecological zones and of soil types in the grain zone, we show that water‐limited yield potential declined by 27% over a 26 year period from 1990 to 2015. We attribute this decline to reduced rainfall and to rising temperatures while the positive effect of elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations prevented a further 4% loss relative to 1990 yields. Closer investigation of three sites revealed the nature of the simulated response of water‐limited yield to water availability, water stress and maximum temperatures. At all three sites, maximum temperature hastened time from sowing to flowering and to maturity and reduced grain number per m² and average weight per grain. This 27% climate‐driven decline in water‐limited yield is not fully expressed in actual national yields. This is due to an unprecedented rate of technology‐driven gains closing the gap between actual and water‐limited potential yields by 25 kg ha^?1 yr^?1 enabling relative yields to increase from 39% in 1990 to 55% in 2015. It remains to be seen whether technology can continue to maintain current yields, let alone increase them to those required by 2050.     

Increasing temperature cuts back crop yields in Hungary over the last 90 years

The transformation of climatic regime has an undeniable impact on plant production, but we rarely have long enough date series to examine the unfolding of such effects. The clarification of the relationship between crop plants and climate has a near‐immediate importance due to the impending human‐made global change. This study investigated the relationship between temperature, precipitation, drought intensity and the yields of four major cereals in Hungary between 1921 and 2010. The analysis of 30‐year segments indicated a monotonously increasing negative impact of temperature on crop yields. A 1°C temperature increase reduced the yield of the four main cereals by 9.6%–14.8% in 1981–2010, which revealed the vulnerability of Eastern European crop farming to recent climate change. Climate accounted for 17%–39% of yield variability over the past 90 years, but this figure reached 33%–67% between 1981 and 2010. Our analysis supports the claim that the mid‐20th century green revolution improved yields “at the mercy of the weather”: during this period, the impact of increasing fertilization and mechanisation coincided with climatic conditions that were more favourable than today. Crop yields in Eastern Europe have been stagnating or decreasing since the mid‐1980s. Although usually attributed to the large socio‐economic changes sweeping the region, our analysis indicates that a warming climate is at least partially responsible for this trend. Such a robust impact of increasing temperatures on crop yields also constitutes an obvious warning for this core grain‐growing region of the world.     

Negative effects of climate warming on maize yield are reversed by the changing of sowing date and cultivar selection in Northeast China

Northeast China (NEC) accounts for about 30% of the nation's maize production in China. In the past three decades, maize yields in NEC have increased under changes in climate, cultivar selection and crop management. It is important to investigate the contribution of these changing factors to the historical yield increases to improve our understanding of how we can ensure increased yields in the future. In this study, we use phenology observations at six sites from 1981 to 2007 to detect trends in sowing dates and length of maize growing period, and then combine these observations with in situ temperature data to determine the trends of thermal time in the maize growing period, as a measure of changes in maize cultivars. The area in the vicinity of these six sites accounts for 30% of NEC's total maize production. The agricultural production systems simulator, APSIM‐Maize model, was used to separate the impacts of changes in climate, sowing dates and thermal time requirements on maize phenology and yields. In NEC, sowing dates trended earlier in four of six sites and maturity dates trended later by 4–21 days. Therefore, the period from sowing to maturity ranged from 2 to 38 days longer in 2007 than it was in 1981. Our results indicate that climate trends alone would have led to a negative impact on maize. However, results from the adaptation assessments indicate that earlier sowing dates increased yields by up to 4%, and adoption of longer season cultivars caused a substantial increase in yield ranging from 13% to 38% over the past 27 years. Therefore, earlier sowing dates and introduction of cultivars with higher thermal time requirements in NEC have overcome the negative effects of climate change and turned what would have otherwise been a loss into a significant increase in maize yield.     

基于干热风危害指数的黄淮海地区冬小麦干热风灾损评估

全球气候变化背景下,农业气象灾害呈上升态势。干热风灾害发生区域、次数和强度都发生了明显的变化。研究干热风灾害对农作物的影响对于我国农业可持续发展、保障粮食安全等均具有重要的现实意义。利用黄淮海地区68个气象台站1961—2010年的逐日气象资料,和54个农业气象试验站1981—2006年小麦的发育期、产量、干热风灾害等数据,采用公认的中国气象局2007年发布的气象行业标准《小麦干热风灾害等级》中冬小麦干热风灾害指标,计算干热风危害指数,进一步细化发育期,确定冬小麦抽穗前气象条件对气象产量影响的关键气象因子,分离干热风年冬小麦气象产量,构建重度干热风影响下干热风危害指数与冬小麦抽穗—成熟阶段气象条件对气象产量影响的统计模型,进行1981—2006年黄淮海地区冬小麦干热风灾损的评估。结果表明:(1)重度干热风危害下,1981—2006年期间黄淮海各地区冬小麦不同发育时段的干热风危害指数平均在抽穗—开花时段最大,乳熟—成熟时段居中,开花—乳熟时段最小,分别为0.17、0.15和0.14,平均0.15;(2)冬小麦抽穗前气象条件对气象产量影响的关键气象因子为:播种—出苗期间的最低气温、拔节—孕穗期间的平均气温和孕穗—抽穗期间的平均气温,各个单因子相关系数分别为0.64、0.86和0.99,均达到极显著水平。其中播种—出苗的最低气温可决定小麦出苗的迟早和苗情;拔节—孕穗期间,在小花原基形成期—四分体形成期气温偏低可延长小穗、小花分化时间,防止退化,提高结实率;孕穗—抽穗的平均气温偏高有利于提早抽穗,延长后期灌浆时间,且晴天有利于开花授粉;(3)分离干热风年冬小麦气象产量后,构建了重度干热风影响下干热风危害指数与冬小麦抽穗—成熟3个阶段气象条件对气象产量影响的统计模型,验证结果表明该模型客观上能够综合地反映干热风在不同发育阶段对小麦产量的影响。进一步灾损评估表明:重度干热风危害下,黄淮海地区冬小麦减产率在21.52%—39.80%之间,平均为27.83%。     

晋南地区冬小麦生育期气候变化特征及其对产量的影响

明确气候变化特征及其对小麦生产的影响,有助于为农业适应气候变化方案的制定提供理论依据.本研究分析了晋南小麦主产区临汾、运城市1957-2015年降水量、气温、日照时长、潜在蒸散量、干燥度等变化及其对冬小麦生育期及产量的影响.结果 表明:1957-2015年,临汾、运城市全年降水量和冬小麦生育期日照时长均呈下降趋势,冬小...     

Elucidating the impact of temperature variability and extremes on cereal croplands through remote sensing

Remote sensing‐derived wheat crop yield‐climate models were developed to highlight the impact of temperature variation during thermo‐sensitive periods (anthesis and grain‐filling; TSP) of wheat crop development. Specific questions addressed are: can the impact of temperature variation occurring during the TSP on wheat crop yield be detected using remote sensing data and what is the impact? Do crop critical temperature thresholds during TSP exist in real world cropping landscapes? These questions are tested in one of the world's major wheat breadbaskets of Punjab and Haryana, north‐west India. Warming average minimum temperatures during the TSP had a greater negative impact on wheat crop yield than warming maximum temperatures. Warming minimum and maximum temperatures during the TSP explain a greater amount of variation in wheat crop yield than average growing season temperature. In complex real world cereal croplands there was a variable yield response to critical temperature threshold exceedance, specifically a more pronounced negative impact on wheat yield with increased warming events above 35 °C. The negative impact of warming increases with a later start‐of‐season suggesting earlier sowing can reduce wheat crop exposure harmful temperatures. However, even earlier sown wheat experienced temperature‐induced yield losses, which, when viewed in the context of projected warming up to 2100 indicates adaptive responses should focus on increasing wheat tolerance to heat. This study shows it is possible to capture the impacts of temperature variation during the TSP on wheat crop yield in real world cropping landscapes using remote sensing data; this has important implications for monitoring the impact of climate change, variation and heat extremes on wheat croplands.     

Maize potential yields and yield gaps in the changing climate of northeast China

Northeast China (NEC) is not only one of the major agricultural production areas in China, but it is also the most susceptible to climate variability. This led us to investigate the impact of climate change on maize potential yield and yield gaps in this region, where maize accounts for about 30% of the nation's production. The APSIM‐Maize model was calibrated and validated for maize phenology and yields. The validated model was then used to estimate potential yields, rain‐fed potential yields, and yield gaps for assessing the climate impacts on maize productivity in NEC. During maize growing seasons from 1981 to 2010, the analysis indicates a warming trend all across NEC, whereas the trends in solar radiation and total precipitation tended to decrease. When the same hybrid was specified in APSIM for all years, a simulated increase of maximum temperature resulted in a negative impact on both potential yield and rain‐fed potential yield. A simulated increase in minimum temperature produced no significant changes in potential or rain‐fed potential yield. However, the increase of minimum temperature was shown to result in a positive impact on the on‐farm yield, consistent with our finding that farmers adopted longer season hybrids for which the increase in minimum temperature provided better conditions for germination, emergence, and grain filling during night time. The gap between potential and rain‐fed potential yields was shown to be larger at locations with lower seasonal precipitation (<500 mm). Our results indicate that regions with the largest yield gaps between rain‐fed potential and on‐farm yields were located in the southeast of NEC. Within NEC, on‐farm maize yields were, on average, only 51% of the potential yields, indicating a large exploitable yield gap, which provides an opportunity to significantly increase production by effective irrigation, fertilization, herbicide, and planting density in NEC.     

气候变化对华北冬小麦生育期和灌溉需水量的影响

利用华北4个气象站点1981—2010年冬小麦的生育期数据和气象资料,研究了华北平原典型区域冬小麦在气候变化条件下的生育期及各生育阶段灌溉需水量。结果表明:(1)过去30a来,华北地区冬小麦播种期和出苗期均有推迟趋势,且高纬度站点的变化趋势明显,其他生育期则呈提前趋势,而冬小麦全生育期表现为缩短;(2)华北冬小麦灌溉需水量在空间上从北到南、自东向西逐渐递减趋势;在时间上,东西部地区灌溉需水量变化趋势相反,东部地区呈逐渐增加趋势,而西部地区呈减小趋势;(3)冬小麦生育阶段的灌溉需水量变化不相同,播种—出苗、拔节—抽穗和抽穗—乳熟期灌溉需水量表现为减少趋势,而出苗—拔节和乳熟—成熟期则表现为增加趋势。就冬小麦整个生育期而言,华北西部地区灌溉需水量(北京密云站和石家庄栾城站)有减少趋势,分别减少6.72mm/10a和8.3mm/10a;而华北东部地区(天津宝坻站和邢台南宫站)的趋势正好相反,分别增加2.6mm/10a和7.08mm/10a。6个生育阶段灌溉需水量的年际波动程度依次为:播种—出苗期乳熟—成熟期抽穗—乳熟期拔节—抽穗期出苗—拔节期播种—成熟期;(4)气象要素对灌溉需水量的影响较复杂,其中灌溉需水量同有效降水量、相对湿度呈负相关,且相关关系极显著,与生育期长度存在微负相关关系,与日照时数、平均温度和风速呈显著正相关。同时,影响各生育阶段灌溉需水量的气象要素也存在差异,主要包括有效降水量、相对湿度和风速等。