Farmers tend to grow crops on land with optimal water and nutrient availability conditions. When these conditions become less than optimal, farmers might shift planting dates, switch to or develop a different crop variety, or even look for new places to grow, therefore changing crop spatial distribution patterns. A study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showed that changes in crop spatial distribution patterns, as an integral part of land cover and land use change, can modulate crop yields in response to Earth system changes.