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Crop Management as an Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in Early Modern Era: A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Qing Pei

    (Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

  • David D. Zhang

    (Department of Geography and International Centre for China Development Study, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

  • Harry F. Lee

    (Department of Geography and International Centre for China Development Study, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

  • Guodong Li

    (Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

Abstract

Effective adaptation determines agricultural vulnerability to climate change, especially in the pre-industrial era. Crop management as an agricultural adaptation to climate change in recent human history, however, has rarely been systematically evaluated. Using Europe as our study area, we statistically compared yield ratio of wheat, rye, barley, and oats (an important performance indicator of an agrarian economy) between Eastern and Western Europe in AD 1500–1800. In particular, a statistical comparison was made of crop yield ratio in the two regions during the warm agricultural recovery period AD 1700–1800. The general trend of crop yield in Eastern and Western Europe basically followed the alternation of climatic epochs, in which the extreme cooling period in AD 1560–1660 drastically reduced the crop yield ratio. The yield ratio of rye in Eastern and Western Europe was very similar throughout the entire study period. However, the yield ratio of wheat, barley, and oats showed different patterns in the two regions and increased drastically in Western Europe in the warm agricultural recovery period, which might have contributed to rapid socio-economic development in Western Europe and eventually the East–West Divide in Europe in the following centuries.

Suggested Citation

  • Qing Pei & David D. Zhang & Harry F. Lee & Guodong Li, 2016. "Crop Management as an Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in Early Modern Era: A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Europe," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:6:y:2016:i:3:p:29-:d:73766
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Fredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist & Andrea Seim & Heli Huhtamaa, 2021. "Climate and society in European history," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(2), March.

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