Climate-driven crop yield and yield variability and climate change impacts on the U.S. Great Plains agricultural production

Kukal, MS; Irmak, S

HERO ID

10287921

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2018

Language

English

PMID

29472598

HERO ID 10287921
In Press No
Year 2018
Title Climate-driven crop yield and yield variability and climate change impacts on the U.S. Great Plains agricultural production
Authors Kukal, MS; Irmak, S
Journal Scientific Reports
Volume 8
Issue 1
Page Numbers 3450
Abstract Climate variability and trends affect global crop yields and are characterized as highly dependent on location, crop type, and irrigation. U.S. Great Plains, due to its significance in national food production, evident climate variability, and extensive irrigation is an ideal region of investigation for climate impacts on food production. This paper evaluates climate impacts on maize, sorghum, and soybean yields and effect of irrigation for individual counties in this region by employing extensive crop yield and climate datasets from 1968–2013. Variability in crop yields was a quarter of the regional average yields, with a quarter of this variability explained by climate variability, and temperature and precipitation explained these in singularity or combination at different locations. Observed temperature trend was beneficial for maize yields, but detrimental for sorghum and soybean yields, whereas observed precipitation trend was beneficial for all three crops. Irrigated yields demonstrated increased robustness and an effective mitigation strategy against climate impacts than their non-irrigated counterparts by a considerable fraction. The information, data, and maps provided can serve as an assessment guide for planners, managers, and policy- and decision makers to prioritize agricultural resilience efforts and resource allocation or re-allocation in the regions that exhibit risk from climate variability.
Doi 10.1038/s41598-018-21848-2
Pmid 29472598
Wosid WOS:000425728600006
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English
Is Peer Review Yes