Impacts of climate change on cotton yield in China from 1961 to 2010 based on provincial data

To develop scientific countermeasures, the impacts of climate change on cotton yield during 1961–2010 in three major cotton-producing regions of China were studied by using the available provincial data. The results indicate that (1) a rise in average temperature increased the cotton yield in most provinces of Northwest China and the Yellow River valley; however, the rise in average temperature decreased the cotton yield in the Yangtze River valley. Moreover, cotton production across the entire study region was reduced by approximately 0.1% relative to the average during 1961–2010. (2) A decrease in diurnal temperature range (DTR) reduced cotton yield in some provinces, while a beneficial DTR effect was observed in the other provinces. Changes in DTR resulted in an average decrease in production by approximatly 5.5% across the entire study region. (3) A change in the amount of precipitation increased the cotton yield in some provinces; however, it caused a decrease in other provinces. The decrease in average production due to the change in precipitation was approximately 1.1%. We concluded that the changes in temperature and precipitation decreased cotton yields in China, while beneficial effects of temperature and precipitation existed in the cotton-growing regions of Northwest China during 1961–2010.