Satellite imagery is used to study the regional and temporal variability of vegetation responses to climate and to understand how agricultural regions have changed over time. For the Cerrados in Brazil, the latter is crucially important since the region is undergoing one of the most rapid agricultural transformations in the world as the vast savanna ecosystem is converted to commercial soybean fields and intensified pastures. The key to the project is that the regional studies are linked by a common project methodology. A strong event in the Pacific may not engender the strongest teleconnections in other regions. Both temperature and precipitation, key agricultural variables, may be affected in both seasonal means and patterns of variability.
Impacts are strongest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Furthermore, different crops are affected differently. In Zimbabwe, corn is more strongly affected than roots and tubers. Impact of ENSO on Crop Production in Study Regions Deviation of Crop Production from an Average Normal Year Argentina Brazil USA Zimbabwe GDP in agriculture, Mil. Responses should not incur undue risk, since predictions may turn out to be wrong. Likewise, low-risk responses should also be devised when positive production alternatives are sought.