Exploring the dynamics of agricultural climatic resource utilization of spring maize over the past 50 years in Northeast China

• We examine dynamics of agricultural climatic resource utilization of spring maize.
• We use climatic suitability theory and fuzzy mathematics to establish functions.
• Growth periods that are most sensitive to environmental limitations are divided.
• Climate change affects the utilization of agro-climatic resource of spring maize.
• Spatio-temporal difference in utilization of agro-climatic resource is remarkable.

Exploring the dynamics of the utilization of agricultural climatic resources (i.e., environmental factors that affect crop productivity such as light, temperature, and water) can provide a theoretical basis for modifying agricultural practices and distributions of agricultural production in the future. Northeast China is one of the major agricultural production areas in China and also an obvious region of climatic warming. We were motivated to analyze the utilization dynamics of agricultural climatic resource during spring maize cultivation from 1961 to 2010 in Northeast China. To understand these dynamics, we used the daily data from 101 meteorological stations in Northeast China between 1961 and 2010. The demands on agricultural climatic resources in Northeast China imposed by the cultivation of spring maize were combined and agricultural climatic suitability theory was applied. The growth period of spring maize was further detailedly divided into four stages: germination to emergence, emergence to jointing, jointing to tasseling, and tasseling to maturity. The average resource utilization index was established to evaluate the effects. Over the past five decades, Northeast China experienced increases in daily average temperature of 0.246 °C every decade during the growing season (May–September). At the same time, strong fluctuating decreases were observed in average total precipitation of 8.936 mm every decade and an average sunshine hour of 0.122 h every decade. Significant temporal and spatial changes occurred in K from 1961 to 2010. The K showed decreasing trends in Liaoning province and increasing trends in Jilin and especially in Heilongjiang province, which increased by 0.11. Spatial differences were visible in different periods, and the most obvious increase was found in the period 2001–2010. The areas with high values of K shifted northeastward over the past 50 years, indicating more efficient use of agricultural climatic resources in Northeast China.