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Where is the USA Corn Belt, and how is it changing?
- Source :
- The Science of the total environment. 618
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- The "Corn Belt" is a commonly used term, but often referenced as a vaguely defined region in the Midwest USA. A few key studies have delineated synoptic maps of the Corn Belt boundaries going back to the early 20th century, but a modern flexible and accessible framework for mapping the Corn Belt in space and time is needed. New tools provide reference maps for the Corn Belt in the 21st century and the ability to quantify space-time changes in corn cropping patterns. The Landuse and Agricultural Management Practices web-Service (LAMPS) was used to estimate the average corn (maize, Zea mays L.) area in each county of the contiguous 48 USA states for the years 2010-2016. LAMPS provides a modified areal Fraction of corn (Fc) used to map the Corn Belt at three intensity levels, for example. The resulting patterns illustrate a mostly contiguous Midwest Corn Belt surrounded by more scattered regions, including southern and eastern regions. We also mapped irrigated areas and temporal changes in Fc. Mapped patterns have the potential to help researchers study issues related to food, feed, biofuel, and water security.
- Subjects :
- Environmental Engineering
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Land use
Agroforestry
business.industry
Agricultural management
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
01 natural sciences
Pollution
Zea mays
Water resources
Water security
Agriculture
040103 agronomy & agriculture
0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
Environmental Chemistry
Physical geography
business
Waste Management and Disposal
Cropping
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18791026
- Volume :
- 618
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The Science of the total environment
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f9321a74163d8846053f9901de6ab769