Abstract
Climate change has caused uneven changes in hydrological processes (precipitation and evapotranspiration) on a space-temporal scale, which would influence climate types, eventually impact agricultural production. Based on data from 61 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2014 in the North China Plain (NCP), the spatiotemporal characteristics of climate variables, such as humidity index, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration (ET0), were analyzed. The sensitivity coefficients and contribution rates were applied to ET0. The NCP has experienced a semiarid to humid climate from north to south due to the significant decline of ET0 (−13.8 mm decade−1). In the study region, 71.0% of the sites showed a “pan evaporation paradox” phenomenon. Relative humidity had the most negative influence on ET0, while wind speed, sunshine hours, and air temperature had a positive effect on ET0. Wind speed and sunshine hours contributed the most to the spatiotemporal variation of ET0, followed by relative humidity and air temperature. Overall, the key climate factor impacting ET0 was wind speed decline in the NCP, particularly in Beijing and Tianjin. The crop yield in Shandong and Henan provinces was higher than that in the other regions with a higher humidity index. The lower the humidity index in Hebei province, the lower the crop yield. Therefore, potential water shortages and water conflict should be considered in the future because of spatiotemporal humidity variations in the NCP.
Highlights
IntroductionHydrological processes and crop water requirements have been modified by climate change on local, regional, and global scales [1, 2]
Hydrological processes and crop water requirements have been modified by climate change on local, regional, and global scales [1, 2]. e modification of climate change has coincided with surface air temperature increase
Annual and Spatial Variation and Tendency of Humidity Index. e humidity index (K) showed an upward trend from north to south, changing from 0.34 to 1.20 (Figure 2(a)), which indicated that the climate of the region varied from semiarid to humid from north to south. e climate in Northwest and mid-west Hebei was semiarid, while that in South Henan was humid, with K above 1. e other regions had semihumid climate, with K ranging from 0.5 to 1.0
Summary
Hydrological processes and crop water requirements have been modified by climate change on local, regional, and global scales [1, 2]. Actual evapotranspiration (ET) and potential evapotranspiration (ET0) played important roles [3], in soil evaporation and crop transpiration, eventually impact crop productivity. Because ET0 is computed from precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and sunshine hours [8,9,10], any change in these variables is likely to change the ET0. These changes created more benign or stressful conditions for ET0 [11, 12].
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