Abstract

This entry provides a broad introduction to agroclimatology. Agricultural productivity is intricately related to the climate and a region’s soil types, hydrologic cycle, and meteorology. Because of this, agronomy and climate are disciplines that are linked together in the science of agroclimatology: the applied science of water, soil, and crop management incorporating the knowledge of regional weather and climate information such as precipitation and temperature with an aim to improve crop yields. The interlinked roles of the disciplines of soil science, surface hydrology and the hydrologic cycle, agronomy (i.e., crop management and biomass), and meteorology and climatology on agroclimatology are introduced. A brief history of agroclimatology, discussion of agroclimatology and technologies associated with it today, the importance of agroclimatology, along with the projected path of agroclimatology into the future are discussed.