Investor Presentaiton
Climate 2020, 8, 46
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Since 1947 within the Belgorod Region, the mean HTC was 1.11 and the index varies from 1.20 in
the northwest part of the region to 0.90 in the southeast of the region. Adverse weather conditions
for the cultivation of agricultural crops occur during years when the value of the HTC is 1.00 to 1.40.
However, in particular, favorable drought conditions emerge during years in which the HTC is less
than 1.00 [24,37,38]. Since the late 1980s, there has been a weak decrease in the HTC variable against
the background of strong variability ranging from to 0.67 to 3.30 (Figure 3).
The BCP in the Belgorod Region has changed over the years from 1.81 during the period 1988-2000,
to 1.85 since the beginning of the 21st century (2001-2015) (reference [14]). A qualitative assessment
of the regional BCP for the two periods showed that during the first period 96% of growing season
BCP conditions were characterized as typical, but only 4% of growing seasons were relatively moist.
During the second period, the BCP variability increased along with the average BCP. For 81% of
growing seasons, the BCP were typical, but in 10% of cases the BCP was characterized as dry and 9% as
moist (Figure 4). This demonstrates that regional agricultural conditions have become more variable
since the turn of the 21st century.
1.5
0.5
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
Year
Figure 3. The values of HTC (mm °C-¹) from 1954 to 2018 for the Belgorod Region. The blue dashed
line is the linear trend line (mm °C-1).
3.2. Sugar Beet Yield Character and Climatic Conditions in the Belgorod Region
One of the most important cash crops for the Belgorod Region is sugar beet, which was ranked
third as measured by cultivated area within the region until 1991. During the period from 1965 to
1991, the planted acreage for this profitable crop was steady, within the range of 147-164 thousand
hectares (ha). Since 1991, due to economic and technological reasons, the planted acreage for sugar
beet crops began to decline quickly. The minimum number for sugar beet acreage was recorded in
2008, amounting to 75.9 thousand ha.
The HTC (Figure 3) and sugar beet yield over sub-regions in the Belgorod Region is shown in
Figure 5. Note that the sugar beet yield has increased in recent years (the trend is significant at the 95%
confidence level using all three tests)—at least some of this increase likely due to better agricultural
technology as found by many studies of crop yield (e.g., reference [9]) in spite of less land area being
devoted to the crop (e.g., [39]). Significant changes in the thermal conditions during the warm season,
or HTC, have also occurred since 1998, which is linked to changes in the general circulation as stated
above (e.g., [14,20-23]). The correlation between HTC and sugar beet yield is 0.11, which is not
significant. However, if the sugar beet yield is detrended in order to at least partly remove technology
trends, the correlation is 0.22, which is significant at the 90% confidence level.
The three lowest harvests for this root crop per unit area were noted in 1972 (11.0 tons ha¯¹),
1979 (11.2 tons ha¯¹), and 1981 (117 tons ha¯¹) (Figure 6). The reason for low sugar beet yields during
these years was dry conditions in May and June. During these months, the HTC for 1972, 1979, and
1981 was 0.95, 0.28, and 0.38, respectively. Furthermore, shown in Figure 6 is the sugar beet contentView entire presentation