Knowledge for Development

Climate variation explains a third of global crop yield variability

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Date: 10/03/2015

Introduction:

Recent climate variability has led to variations in maize, rice, wheat and soybean crop yields worldwide. While some areas show no significant influence of climate variability, in substantial areas of the global breadbaskets, over 60% of the yield variability can be explained by climate variability. This is the conclusion of a study by Deepak Ray and colleagues at the Institute on the Environment (IonE), University of Minnesota, USA. They used detailed crop statistics time series to examine how recent climate variability has led to variations in maize, rice, wheat and soybean crop yields worldwide. Their study uniquely illustrates spatial patterns in the relationship between climate variability and crop yield variability, highlighting where variations in temperature, precipitation or their interaction explain yield variability. They also discuss key drivers for the observed variations to target further research and policy interventions geared towards buffering future crop production from climate variability. (Nature, 22/01/2015)

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