The Potential for Future Crop Loss Essay -- Agriculture Farming Enviro

The Potential for Future Crop Loss On the subject of potential crop loss there are several variables, which influence drought and plant disease resulting in a loss of crops. The first variable is that of drought. Drought is a result of shifting weather patterns, which changes the amount of precipitation an area receives. There are three major causes of drought, deficient and unfavorably distributed precipitation, excess heat and warm winds (Nemanishen, 1998, p.35). Historically the grasslands of North America have had a highly varied climate with years of drought immediately followed by years of sufficient precipitation. For example, in the area of the Palliser Triangle in the grasslands of Canada, wheat crop loss has been seen numerous times in history varying in severity depending on the weather patterns of the season. In drought years the wheat yield is particularly sensitive to low antecedent moisture reserves, below average rainfall in the crop growing season, and summer heat waves with hot, dry winds (Nemanishen, 1998, p.24). In consecutive drought years the precipitation deficit accumulates resulting in soil moisture depletion in the root systems (Nemanishen, 1998, p.26). The loss of soil moisture also leads to a lack of ground water recharge resulting in declines of runoff and stream flow making the crops particularly susceptible to wind erosion. Major droughts have reduced annual grassland rainfall fifteen to twenty-five percent and July and August average rainfall twenty-five to fifty percent. As a result of drought wheat crop production dropped twenty –five percent in North America (Borchert, 1971, pp10-11). In order to avoid crop loss it is important for scientists and farmers to identify weather patterns ... ...ast, it’s happening right now and it will happen in the future. Works Cited Borchert, J. R. (1971). The dust bowl in the 1970s. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 61(1), 1-22. Boyce, N. (2001). Revisiting Ireland's great famine. U.S. News and World Report, 130(24), 44. Daly, D.C. (1996). The leaf that launched a thousand ships. Natural History, 105(1), 24-32. Hertstein, U., Grunhage, L., & Jager, H. J. (1995). Assessment of past, present, and future impacts of ozone and carbon-dioxide on crop yields. Atmospheric Environment, 29 (16), 2031-2039 Lowdermilk, W. C. (1999). Conquest of the land through 7,000 years. Agriculture Information Bulletin, (99), 1-24. Nemanishen, W. (1998) Drought in the Palliser Triangle. PFRA Drought Committee. 23-40.