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Annual Water Balance and Agricultural Development in Alaska
Author(s) -
Newman James E.,
Branton C. Ivan
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934243
Subject(s) - water balance , peninsula , agriculture , precipitation , geography , environmental science , agricultural land , agricultural development , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , archaeology , geotechnical engineering , meteorology
Mean annual precipitation in Alaska varies from 10 cm in the north to well over 500 cm in the southeast. Much of the interior has a macro—scale negative mean water balance, whereas coastal areas are very humid. Most land areas with the potential for agricultural development lie along the major interior river valleys. Nearly all of these land areas have long—term negative water balances. Should agricultural development take place in these areas, this negative water balance is likely to be magnified. Only those potential agricultural lands in the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak—Aleutian Island chain, and the southeast coastal regions lack water limitations when subjected to intensive crop production.