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Agroecological zoning of agricultural lands in the country based on simulation of growth and yield of irrigated and rainfed alfalfa under current and future climatic conditions
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Effat Paravar   , Afshin Soltani  , Ebrahim Zeinali , Hossein Kazemi , Amir Dadrasi |
| Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran |
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Abstract: (27 Views) |
gro-ecological zoning, by creating a comprehensive database, significantly assists in planning and aligning agricultural activities with existing ecological conditions and assessing the impacts of climate change in each region. This study aimed to perform agro-ecological zoning of the country’s agricultural lands based on the simulated growth and yield of irrigated and rainfed alfalfa under current and future climatic conditions. The results showed that, for irrigated alfalfa, the country was divided into five zones with yields of <20, 20–25, 25–30, 30–35, and >35 t ha⁻¹, accounting for approximately 1%, 14%, 46%, 34%, and 5% of the total area, respectively. Climate change increased yields in zones with annual growing degree days (GDD, base temperature 0 °C) ≤6000, while zones with ≥7000 GDD experienced decreased yields. For rainfed alfalfa, the country was divided into five zones with yields of <5, 5–10, 10–15, 15–20, and >20 t ha⁻¹. Under future climate scenarios, the proportion of areas with yields <5 t ha⁻¹ decreased significantly from 34% to about 3%, while the share of areas with yields of 5–10 t ha⁻¹ increased from 55% to 83%. Overall, climate change is predicted to increase alfalfa yield in most major rainfed zones, highlighting the importance of agro-ecological zoning for sustainable agricultural planning.
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| Keywords: Agro-ecological zones, Climate change, Yield, Water consumption |
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Full-Text [PDF 1060 kb]
(13 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Scientific & Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/09/28 | Accepted: 2026/09/25 | Published: 2025/12/1
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