Intense rainfall is as damaging to the U.S. agricultural sector as heatwaves and excessive droughts, according to a new study published in the journal Global Change Biology that examined more than three decades of crop insurance, climate, soil, and corn yield data.
Intense rainfall is as damaging to the U.S. agricultural sector as heatwaves and excessive droughts, according to a new study published in the journal Global Change Biology that examined more than three decades of crop insurance, climate, soil, and corn yield data.
The study, led by scientists at the University of Illinois, found that since 1981, corn yields in the U.S. Midwest were reduced by as much as 34 percent during years with excessive rainfall. Years with drought and heatwaves experienced yield loss of up to 37 percent. Intense rain events can physically damage crops, delay planting and harvesting, restrict root growth, and cause oxygen deficiency and nutrient loss. Between 1989 and 2016, excessive rainfall caused $10 billion in agricultural losses.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
Image: A farm in northeastern Arkansas flooded after torrential rains in 2008. FEMA/SAMIR VALEJA
