December 2, 2003

Climate Warming Impacted On China Agriculture Production Pattern & Higher Production Costs

Climate warming has had some impact on the pattern of China's agriculture production and has increased production costs.

Due to warmer climate, the northern boundaries for the safety growth of winter wheat has shifted further northward from the Great Wall to the Shenyang-Zhangjiakou-Baotou-Urumqi line, according to experts.

By 2050, the boundaries of triple-cropping system will be shifted 500 km northward from the Yangtze River valley to the Yellow River valley; and that of double-cropping system will be shifted to the current middle area of one-cropping system, and the one-cropping area will decrease by 23.1%.

Meanwhile, the pattern of major crops will also change. The highly cold-tolerant winter wheat in North China will be replaced by moderately cold-tolerant winter wheat; highly temperature-resistant rice will become the dominant variety in South China; early-ripening maize in Northeast China will be replaced by middle and late ripening varieties; area where crop culture and livestock breeding are mixed will move about 150 km southward in the northern part of North China and about 20km southward in Northwest China.

Climatic warming is also more likely to cause the spread of plant diseases and insect pests and weeds.

Experts urged China to adopt proper counter-measures to ensure that the grain security of China and even the whole world would not be undermined.