Rainfall-yield relationships across the Australian wheatbelt

A network of rainfall stations was selected across the Australian wheatbelt and monthly rainfall regressed with wheat yields from the surrounding shires for the period 1976-87. Yields were found to be strongly related to fluctuations in total rainfall amount and the seasonal distribution of rainfall through the year. These temporal relationships vary spatially and appear to be regulated by the water-holding capacity of regional soils. Sixteen...