Soil Moisture Outweighs Climatic Factors in Critical Periods for Rainfed Cereal Yields: An Analysis in Spain

Jaime Gaona, Pilar Benito-Verdugo, José Martínez-Fernández, Ángel González-Zamora, Laura Almendra-Martín and Carlos Miguel Herrero-Jiménez
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Jaime Gaona: Instituto de Investigación en Agrobiotecnología (CIALE), Universidad de Salamanca, 37185 Villamayor, Spain
Pilar Benito-Verdugo: Instituto de Investigación en Agrobiotecnología (CIALE), Universidad de Salamanca, 37185 Villamayor, Spain
José Martínez-Fernández: Instituto de Investigación en Agrobiotecnología (CIALE), Universidad de Salamanca, 37185 Villamayor, Spain
Ángel González-Zamora: Instituto de Investigación en Agrobiotecnología (CIALE), Universidad de Salamanca, 37185 Villamayor, Spain
Laura Almendra-Martín: Instituto de Investigación en Agrobiotecnología (CIALE), Universidad de Salamanca, 37185 Villamayor, Spain
Carlos Miguel Herrero-Jiménez: Instituto de Investigación en Agrobiotecnología (CIALE), Universidad de Salamanca, 37185 Villamayor, Spain

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-22

Abstract: Cereals are keystone crops for achieving food security and socioeconomic equilibrium, but rainfed cropland is highly sensitive to environmental anomalies that impact yields. The impact of soil moisture on cereal yield is particularly overlooked. This study evaluates the impact of root-zone soil moisture on yield compared to nine common climatic variables: maximum and minimum temperature, diurnal temperature range, growing degree days, accumulated rainfall, radiation, photothermal quotient, relative humidity of the air, and vapor pressure deficit. This study used the climatic database E-OBSv23 and the soil moisture databases ERA5-Land and LISFLOOD, focused on wheat and barley over the main cereal areas of Spain. Correlation analysis between annual yield and daily soil moisture and climatic data provided indicated the prevalence and concurrence of the impact factors on phenological stages of the Zadoks scale. Critical periods of impact on wheat and barley yields primarily concentrate during the growth and reproductive phases of spring. Soil moisture exceeds all other factors in magnitude and duration of influence, and our results suggest a complex interplay of factors during the critical spring period. This study highlights the preeminent role of soil moisture over climatic factors on the variability of rainfed cereal yields in water-limited areas.

Keywords: soil moisture; climatic factors; cereal yields; phenological stage; wheat; barley (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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