Anthropogenic eutrophication is one of the most common threats to inland water quality, often causing toxic algal blooms and loss of aquatic biodiversity. Mitigating the harmful impacts of eutrophication requires managing nutrient inputs from the catchment focusing on the major local drivers of eutrophication. These drivers can be identified using models that predict lake trophic state based on characteristics of the lake and its catchment. In this study, we aimed to extend the spatial scope of these models by identifying drivers of eutrophication in a large sample of lakes (1547) distributed across Finland. Moreover, we used satellite‐observed chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration as trophic state indicator, instead of site‐sampled data, which is commonly used in existing research. We identified major drivers of eutrophication on river basin district to country scale based on 11 catchment and lake characteristics, applying the random forest algorithm. On country scale, the catchment and lake characteristics explained 41% of the variation in lake chl a concentrations, and on river basin district scale, 20%–44%. Catchment and lake hydromorphology were the most important explanatory characteristics. Especially, high natural eutrophication level, shallow mean depth of lake, and small share of lake area in the catchment were related to increased lake chl a concentration. Moreover, depending on the dominant land use type in the model area, share of agricultural area and share of peatland area in the catchment were ranked among the most important drivers of increased lake chl a concentration. The results suggest that trophic state predictive models utilizing satellite‐observed chl a concentration could provide an additional, cost‐effective tool for addressing lake eutrophication, especially in areas without and extensive on‐site monitoring network.
<p>Climate change has already impacted the productivity of important food crops. The projected increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns affect the climatic suitability of food production areas. Changes in climatic suitability require adaptive actions on farms and will likely alter the potential volume and diversity of food crop production globally.</p><p>Existing research has mostly analysed the impacts of climate change on the four staple crops: wheat, rice, maize, and soybean. However, other food crops contribute more than 50% to the global calorie and protein supply and therefore constitute a crucial element of food security. Moreover, these crops might succeed in more diverse climate conditions than the staple crops. If climate change narrows the production potential of the staple food crops, other food crops could become even more important for global food security in the future. Therefore, to comprehensively understand the implications of climate change on food crop production, there is need for analysis on a diverse set of food crops.</p><p>In this study, we delineate suitable climate conditions for 27 major food crops using historical climatic data and examine the effect of future changes in climate suitability on food crop production volume and diversity. We define the crop-specific suitable climate conditions utilizing the Safe Climatic Space concept, based on global gridded datasets on biotemperature, precipitation, and aridity in 1970&#8211;2000 as well as crop production in 2010. Then, using future climate parameter data, we project changes in global climate suitability for the 27 food crops. The analyses cover five global warming scenarios from +1.5 &#176;C to +5 &#176;C.</p><p>The preliminary results indicate that the global food crop production potential on the current croplands will decrease for most crops in all five global warming scenarios. Furthermore, the potential diversity of food crops will decrease significantly at low latitudes but increase in other areas. In all five scenarios, areas near the equator will become unsuitable for most studied crops. On the other hand, on the current extent of cropland, the potential production area of especially oil crops and starchy roots will expand in the northern hemisphere.</p><p>For many crops, there is distinct difference in the magnitude of lost production and diversity potential between global warming of +2 &#176;C and +3 &#176;C, highlighting that it is important to restrict global warming at the very maximum to +2 &#176;C. The results of this study could provide insights for agricultural adaptation to climate change by illustrating opportunities for geographically shifting or expanding production in regions where climate suitability is projected to change. Further, the results could identify potential substitute crops for regions where climate conditions might become unsuitable for the currently cultivated food crops.</p>
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.