Impacts of Climate Change on Corn Production in Inner Mongolia, China

Temperature, precipitation and climatic productivity expressed by Thornthwaite Memorial model in the main corn production regions in Inner Mongolia in the last 59 years were analyzed to assess the potential impacts of climate change on corn production. Temperature in Inner Mongolia from 1951 to 2009 had been increasing, abrupt changes occurred around the beginning of 1990s. Precipitation did not show significant trend, but with dramatic fluctuations. Changes in climatic productivity manifested that precipitation was the main constraint in Inner Mongolia, especially in warm and hot temperate corn production zones. In response to climate change, cool temperate zone in Inner Mongolia has the potential to become the stable corn production area in the future.