Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa.
Climate is changing across the world, including the major maize-growing state of Iowa in the USA. To maintain crop yields, farmers will need a suite of adaptation strategies, and choice of strategy will depend on how the local to regional climate is expected to change. Here we predict how maize yiel...
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2016-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156083&type=printable |
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| author | Hong Xu Tracy E Twine Evan Girvetz |
| author_facet | Hong Xu Tracy E Twine Evan Girvetz |
| author_sort | Hong Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate is changing across the world, including the major maize-growing state of Iowa in the USA. To maintain crop yields, farmers will need a suite of adaptation strategies, and choice of strategy will depend on how the local to regional climate is expected to change. Here we predict how maize yield might change through the 21st century as compared with late 20th century yields across Iowa, USA, a region representing ideal climate and soils for maize production that contributes substantially to the global maize economy. To account for climate model uncertainty, we drive a dynamic ecosystem model with output from six climate models and two future climate forcing scenarios. Despite a wide range in the predicted amount of warming and change to summer precipitation, all simulations predict a decrease in maize yields from late 20th century to middle and late 21st century ranging from 15% to 50%. Linear regression of all models predicts a 6% state-averaged yield decrease for every 1°C increase in warm season average air temperature. When the influence of moisture stress on crop growth is removed from the model, yield decreases either remain the same or are reduced, depending on predicted changes in warm season precipitation. Our results suggest that even if maize were to receive all the water it needed, under the strongest climate forcing scenario yields will decline by 10-20% by the end of the 21st century. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d07f91d91a7149dea3c78e418d85ec1e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-d07f91d91a7149dea3c78e418d85ec1e2025-08-20T03:10:59ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01115e015608310.1371/journal.pone.0156083Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa.Hong XuTracy E TwineEvan GirvetzClimate is changing across the world, including the major maize-growing state of Iowa in the USA. To maintain crop yields, farmers will need a suite of adaptation strategies, and choice of strategy will depend on how the local to regional climate is expected to change. Here we predict how maize yield might change through the 21st century as compared with late 20th century yields across Iowa, USA, a region representing ideal climate and soils for maize production that contributes substantially to the global maize economy. To account for climate model uncertainty, we drive a dynamic ecosystem model with output from six climate models and two future climate forcing scenarios. Despite a wide range in the predicted amount of warming and change to summer precipitation, all simulations predict a decrease in maize yields from late 20th century to middle and late 21st century ranging from 15% to 50%. Linear regression of all models predicts a 6% state-averaged yield decrease for every 1°C increase in warm season average air temperature. When the influence of moisture stress on crop growth is removed from the model, yield decreases either remain the same or are reduced, depending on predicted changes in warm season precipitation. Our results suggest that even if maize were to receive all the water it needed, under the strongest climate forcing scenario yields will decline by 10-20% by the end of the 21st century.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156083&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Hong Xu Tracy E Twine Evan Girvetz Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa. PLoS ONE |
| title | Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa. |
| title_full | Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa. |
| title_fullStr | Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa. |
| title_short | Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa. |
| title_sort | climate change and maize yield in iowa |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156083&type=printable |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hongxu climatechangeandmaizeyieldiniowa AT tracyetwine climatechangeandmaizeyieldiniowa AT evangirvetz climatechangeandmaizeyieldiniowa |