Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impacts of climate warming and crop management on maize phenology in northern China

  • Published:
Journal of Arid Land Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Climate warming has and will continue to exert a significantly impact on crop phenology in the past and coming decades. Combining observed data of phenology and a crop growth model provides a good approach for quantitating the effects of climate warming and crop management on crop phenology. The purpose of this study is to determine the impacts of temperature change, sowing date (SD) adjustment and cultivar shift on maize phenology in northern China during 1981–2010. Results indicated that climate warming caused anthesis date (AD) and maturity date (MD) of maize to advance by 0.2–5.5 and 0.6–11.1 d/10a, respectively. Due to climate-driven changes in maize phenology, three growth periods of maize, i.e., vegetative growth period (VGP; from sowing to anthesis), reproductive growth period (RGP; from anthesis to maturity) and whole growth period (WGP; from sowing to maturity) shortened by 0.2–5.5, 0.4–5.6 and 0.6–11.1 d/10a, respectively. With SD adjustment (i.e., SD advancement), AD and MD occurred early by 0.5–2.6 and 0.1–3.4 d/10a, respectively. SD adjustment caused duration of VGP of maize to prolong. However, duration of RGP slightly shortened by 0.1–1.3 d/10a. Furthermore, due to cultivar shift, MD of maize significantly delayed by 4.9–12.2 d/10a. Durations of VGP, RGP and WGP of maize prolonged by 0.2–4.1, 1.6–8.4 and 4.3–11.8 d/10a, respectively. In conclusion, our results indicated that cultivar shift, to some extent, could mitigate the negative impact of climate warming on maize phenology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbas G, Ahmad S, Ahmad A, et al. 2017. Quantification the impacts of climate change and crop management on phenology of maize-based cropping system in Punjab, Pakistan. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 247: 42–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrella N, Sparks T M, Menzel A. 2007. Trends and temperature response in the phenology of crops in Germany. Global Change Biology, 13(8): 1737–1747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo E L, Zhang J Q, Wang Y F, et al. 2018. Assessing non-linear variation of temperature and precipitation for different growth periods of maize and their impacts on phenology in the Midwest of Jilin Province, China. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 132(3–4): 685–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzworth D P, Huth N I, deVoil P G, et al. 2014. APSIM-evolution towards a new generation of agricultural systems simulation. Environmental Modelling and Software, 62: 327–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou P, Liu Y E, Xie R Z, et al. 2014. Temporal and spatial variation in accumulated temperature requirements of maize. Field Crops Research, 158: 55–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. Climate Change 2013. The physical science basis. In: Stocker T F, Qin D, Platter G K, et al. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 467–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li J S. 2009. Production, Breeding and Process of Maize in China. In: Bennetzen J L, Hake S C. Handbook of Maize: Its Biology. New York: Springer, 563–576.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z G, Yang P, Tang H J, et al. 2014. Response of maize phenology to climate warming in Northeast China between 1990 and 2012. Regional Environmental Change, 14(1): 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y J, Qin Y, Ge Q S, et al. 2017. Reponses and sensitivities of maize phenology to climate change from 1981 to 2009 in Henan Province, China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 27(9): 1072–1084.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y J, Chen Q M, Ge Q S, et al. 2018. Modelling the impacts of climate change and crop management on phenological trends of spring and winter wheat in China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 248: 518–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z J, Hubbard K G, Lin X M, et al. 2013. Negative effects of climate warming on maize yield are reversed by the changing of sowing date and cultivar selection in Northeast China. Global Change Biology, 19(11): 3481–3492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lobell D B, Burke M B, Tebaldi C, et al. 2008. Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030. Science, 319(5386): 607–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lv Z F, Li F F, Lu G Q. 2019. Adjusting sowing date and cultivar shift improve maize adaption to climate change in China. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-019-09861-w.

  • Ma S X, Churkina G, Trusilova K. 2012. Investigating the impact of climate change on crop phenological events in Europe with a phenology model. International Journal of Biometeorology, 56(4): 749–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCown R L, Hammer G L, Hargreaves J N G, et al. 1996. APSIM: a novel software system for model development, model testing and simulation in agricultural systems research. Agricultural Systems, 50(3): 255–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piao S L, Ciais P, Huang Y, et al. 2010. The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China. Nature, 467: 43–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pongratz J, Lobell D B, Cao L, et al. 2012. Crop yields in a geoengineered climate. Nature Climate Change, 2: 101–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prescott J A. 1940. Evaporation from a water surface in relation to solar radiation. Transaction of Royal Society of Science Australia, 64: 114–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qin Y, Liu Y J, Ge Q S. 2018. Spatiotemporal variations in maize phenology of China under climate change from 1981–2010. Acta Geographica Sinica, 73(5): 906–916.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rezaei E E, Siebert S, Huging H, et al. 2018. Climate change effect on wheat phenology depends on cultivar change. Scientific Reports, 8: 4891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks W J, Kucharik C J. 2011. Crop management and phenology trends in the U.S Corn Belt impacts on yields, evapotranspiration and energy balance. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 151(7): 882–894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao F L, Zhang Z, Zhang S. 2012. Response of crop yields to climate trends since 1980 in China. Climate Research, 54(3): 233–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao F L, Zhang Z, Xiao D P, et al. 2014a. Responses of wheat growth and yield to climate change in different climate zones of China, 1981–2009. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 189–190: 91–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao F L, Zhang S, Zhang Z, et al. 2014b. Maize growing duration was prolonged across China in the past three decades under the combined effects of temperature, agronomic management, and cultivar shift. Global Change Biology, 20(12): 3686–3699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Wang J, Wang E L, et al. 2015. Increased uncertainty in simulated maize phenology with more frequent supra-optimal temperature under climate warming. European Journal of Agronomy, 71: 19–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Chen J, Li Y, et al. 2016. Effects of climate change and cultivar on summer maize phenology. International Journal of Plant Production, 10(4): 509–526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao D P, Tao F L, Liu Y J, et al. 2013. Observed changes in winter wheat phenology in the North China Plain for 1981–2009. International Journal of Biometeorology, 57(2): 275–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao D P, Tao F L. 2014. Contributions of cultivars, management and climate change to winter wheat yield in the North China Plain in the past three decades. European Journal of Agronomy, 52: 112–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao D P, Qi Y Q, Shen Y J, et al. 2016a. Impact of warming climate and cultivar change on maize phenology in the last three decades in North China Plain. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 124(3–4): 653–661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao D P, Tao F L, Shen Y J, et al. 2016b. Combined impact of climate change, cultivar shift, and sowing date on spring wheat phenology in northern China. Journal of Meteorological Research, 30(5): 820–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J, Yang X G, Dai S W, et al. 2015. Increased utilization of lengthening growing season and warming temperatures by adjusting sowing dates and cultivar selection for spring maize in Northeast China. European Journal of Agronomy, 67: 12–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41401104) and the Excellent Going Abroad Experts’ Training Program in Hebei Province, China.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Technology Research Center, Geographic Information Development and Application of Hebei, Institute of Geographical Sciences, Hebei Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050011, China

    Dengpan Xiao, Yanxi Zhao & Huizi Bai

  2. Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050021, China

    Yukun Hu & Jiansheng Cao

Authors
  1. Dengpan Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yanxi Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Huizi Bai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yukun Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jiansheng Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiansheng Cao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xiao, D., Zhao, Y., Bai, H. et al. Impacts of climate warming and crop management on maize phenology in northern China. J. Arid Land 11, 892–903 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-019-0028-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-019-0028-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation