Agroecological Determinants of Potato Spatiotemporal Yield Variation at the Landscape Level in the Central and Northern Ukraine

Abstract

Global food security largely depends on the crop yield increase, so the study of the yield-limiting factors of potato (the second bread) is a pressing issue today. This study determines the contribution of the agroecological factors, namely, bioclimatic variables, soil indicators, and factors of landscape diversity, to the variation in potato yields. Conducted in Polissya and Forest-steppe zones of Ukraine during 1991–2017, this study has not only addressed the relationship between ecological determinants and potato yields, but also considered crop yields as a dynamic system. The dynamics of potato yields from the mid-1990s to the present is described by a log-logistic model. There are statistically significant regression dependencies between potato yield parameters and agroecological factors. Potato yield is dependent on the diversity of landscape cover. The relationship between yield parameters and landscape-ecological diversity is non-linear, which determines the presence of optimal landscape structure for the highest potato yields. Among climatic factors, the continental climate is of the greatest importance for potato yield. The high sensitivity of potato yield parameters to soil indices was found, and mostly the soil texture components (silt content), which largely determines the potato yield spatial variation.