Assessments of the relationships between crop productivity and climate change rely upon a combination of modelling and measurement. As part of this review, this relationship is discussed in the context of crop and climate simulation. Methods for linking these two types of models are reviewed, with a primary focus on large-area crop modelling techniques. Recent progress in simulating the impacts of climate change on crops is presented, and the application of these methods to the exploration of adaptation options is discussed. Specific advances include ensemble simulations and improved understanding of biophysical processes. Finally, the challenges associated with impacts and adaptation research are discussed. It is argued that the generation of knowledge for policy and adaptation should be based not only on syntheses of published studies, but also on a more synergistic and holistic research framework that includes: (i) reliable quantification of uncertainty; (ii) techniques for combining diverse modelling approaches and observations that focus on fundamental processes; and (iii) judicious choice and calibration of models, including simulation at appropriate levels of complexity that accounts for the principal drivers of crop productivity, which may well include both biophysical and socio-economic factors. It is argued that such a framework will lead to reliable methods for linking simulation to real-world adaptation options, thus making practical use of the huge global effort to understand and predict climate change.

[1] In this study, the water balance methodology introduced by Thornthwaite and Mather (1955) is modified to estimate monthly actual evapotranspiration for 686 stations over China during . The modification is done by replacing the Thornthwaite potential evapotranspiration estimation with the Penman-Monteith method. Temporal trend and spatial distribution of the estimated annual actual evapotranspiration during the past 43 years are analyzed. The results show that (1) the actual evapotranspiration had a decreasing trend in most areas east of 100°E, and there was an increasing trend in the west and the north parts of northeast China; (2) the spatial distribution of the trend for the actual evapotranspiration is similar to that of the potential evapotranspiration in south China, while the trends are opposite in north China; (3) for most parts of China, the change in precipitation played a key role for the change of estimated actual evapotranspiration, while in southeast China, the change of potential evapotranspiration appeared to be the major factor; and (4) in general, the hydrological cycle was intensified in western China, whereas it was weakened from the Yellow River basin northward.

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