Abstract: Based on the 1961-2007 observation data from 66 meteorological stations in the sub-humid and warm-temperate irrigated wheat-maize agricultural area of Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal change characteristics of agro-climate resources for chimonophilous and thermophilic crops in the area in 1961-1980 and 1981-2007. The analyzed items included the length of temperature-defined growth season and the active accumulative temperature, sunshine hours, precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, and aridity index during the temperature-defined growth season. With climate warming, the length of temperature-defined growth season of chimonophilous and thermophilic crops in the area in 1981-2007 extended by 7.4 d and 6.9 d, and the ≥0 ℃ and ≥10 ℃ accumulative temperature increased at a rate of 4.0-137.0 and 1.0-142.0 ℃·d·(10 a)^-1, respectively, compared with those in 1961-1980. The sunshine hours during the temperature-defined growth season of the crops decreased markedly; and the precipitation during the temperature-defined growing season decreased in most parts of the area, being obvious in Hebei and north Shandong Province, but increased in north Anhui and southeast Henan Province. In most parts of the area, the reference evapotranspiration of chimonophilous and thermophilic crops during their temperature-defined growth season decreased, and the aridity index increased.

Key words: agro-climate resources, Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, climate change trend