The Agricultural Potential of a Region with Semi-Dry, Warm and Temperate Subhumid Climate Diversity through Agroecological Zoning

Edgar Vladimir Gutiérrez Castorena, Gustavo Andrés Ramírez Gómez () and Carlos Alberto Ortíz Solorio
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Edgar Vladimir Gutiérrez Castorena: Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Francisco I. Madero S/n, Ex hacienda El Canadá, General Escobedo CP 66050, Nuevo León, Mexico
Gustavo Andrés Ramírez Gómez: Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillos. Car. Mexico-Texcoco km 36.5, Montecillos CP 56230, Edo. Mexico, Mexico
Carlos Alberto Ortíz Solorio: Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillos. Car. Mexico-Texcoco km 36.5, Montecillos CP 56230, Edo. Mexico, Mexico

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: The sustainability of the natural resources used in agricultural production is essential to meet the future food needs of the population. It is necessary to understand the characteristics of climate and soil changes through agroclimatic zoning models, even with non-existent or limited climatic and edaphic databases, to avoid a decline in production. The objective of the study was to determine the accuracy of the Global Agroecological Zoning (GAEZ), ECOCROP and Papadakis models for major cereals, vegetables and fruit trees in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico, using the databases of climatic stations and soil profiles collected by INEGI with random sampling in the field. The model with the best projection was ECOCROP, which predicted 37,609 km 2 of irrigated area for sorghum and 34,796 km 2 for wheat, in addition to identifying by soil characteristics rainfed areas with higher suitability for beans measuring 8470 km 2 and orange measuring 6175 km 2 with zoning predictions based on field information. In conclusion, the thematic maps obtained with ECOCROP had an accuracy greater than 50% for more than half of the crops analyzed, making it the best method for the study area. Therefore, the food production decisions of the producers must be directed towards cereal crops based on the projected area; however, it is necessary to establish an updating program and generate edaphoclimatic databases, updating thematic soil and climate maps with models that support the projections verified in the field.

Keywords: agroecological zones; northeastern Mexico; agroclimatic suitability; spline (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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