Tropical cyclone disasters and crop sensitivity in Guangdong, China: why are food crops more vulnerable?

Abstract Tropical cyclones (TCs) pose growing challenges to agricultural sustainability in coastal regions; however, the crop-specific impacts of TC disasters remain unclear. Focusing on the Guangdong Province, the most TC-affected region in China, from 1991 to 2020, we constructed a TC Disaster Index (TCDI) that integrates TC frequency and its socioeconomic impacts. Our results reveal that food crops, especially grains and tubers, exhibit a markedly higher vulnerability to TCDI than cash crops, primarily because of the phenological overlap with the peak TC season (July–September). Food crops demonstrated stronger intercrop consistency in yield fluctuations, characterised by pronounced variability in the 1990 s and a subsequent decline in the 2000 s, corresponding to the weakening of the TCDI. Rice, the most widely planted food crop in Guangdong, showed the strongest sensitivity regarding meteorological yield and reduction rate, driving the overall response of food crops to TCs. In contrast, most cash crops showed weaker correlations with TCDI and exhibited lower intercrop consistency in yield responses, except for sugar crops, which shared similar seasonal exposure to TC activities. Spatial analysis highlighted elevated crop vulnerability in western Guangdong, where concentrated farmland and higher TC track density intensified exposure risks. These findings underscore the need for crop-specific adaptation strategies and provide a solid basis for mitigating agricultural meteorological disaster risks in Guangdong and other similar coastal regions.