TITLE:
Growing Season and Phenological Stages of Small Grain Crops in Response to Climate Change in Alaska
AUTHORS:
Mingyuan Cheng, Mingchu Zhang, Robert Mark Van Veldhuizen, Charles Winsett Knight
KEYWORDS:
Heading, Maturity, Climate Change, Growing-Season Length, Growing Degree Days
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Climate Change,
Vol.10 No.4,
December
21,
2021
ABSTRACT: The climate change in Alaska has caused earlier spring snowmelt and the growing season expanded. However, the effect of climate change on crop phenological stages, heading (BBCH 55) and maturity (BBCH 85), is unknown. In this study, the trends of growing-season length (GSL), phenological stages of crops and climatic parameters, and the correlations between climatic parameters and the phenological stages were analyzed using the climate data and crop data over the period of 1978 to 2016. The longer GSL was found in Fairbanks (64.83?N, 147.77?W) and in Delta Junction (64.05?N, 145.60?W) but not in Palmer (61.60?N, 149.11?W). Sowing dates did not change significantly in three locations. The decreasing trends of heading and maturity of crops were observed but varied with location. Heading of barley and oat significantly advanced 3 and 3.1 d decade-1, respectively from 1989 to 2016 in Fairbanks while no change of heading was observed in Delta Junction and Palmer. Maturity of barley, oat and wheat significantly advanced 2.6, 3.8 and 3.9 d decade-1, respectively from 1978 to 2016 in Fairbanks (P -1 from 1978 to 2015, respectively in Delta Junction (P