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Arid Land Geography ›› 2020, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (4): 871-879.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2020.04.02

• Climatology and Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Applicability of modified water budget index in winter wheat drought monitoring of Gansu Province

JIA Jian-ying1,2, LIU Rong2, HAN Lan-ying1,2, WAN Xin1, WANG Da-wei1   

  1. 1 Key (Open) Laboratory of Arid Climatic Change and Reducing Disaster of Gansu Province / Key Open Laboratory of Arid Climatic Change and Reducing Disaster of China Meterological Administration / Institute of Arid Meteorology,China Meterological Administration,Lanzhou 730020,Gansu,China;
    2 Lanzhou Regional Climate Center,Lanzhou 730020,Gansu,China;
    3 Lanzhou Meteorology Bureau,Lanzhou 730020,Gansu,China
  • Received:2018-12-07 Revised:2019-08-12 Online:2020-07-25 Published:2020-11-18

Abstract: Winter wheat is a major grain crop in Gansu Province, where precipitation is the most limiting factor for winter-wheat production. The uneven space-time distribution of precipitation results in perennial winter-wheat drought in the province. Therefore, it is of great significance to improve the accuracy and timeliness of drought monitoring in dryland agriculture in northwestern China. This could provide the needed scientific basis for decision-making departments to formulate agricultural-disaster prevention and mitigation measures in support of regional food security. In the present study, we collected multiyear data on soil-water content and winter-wheat fertility from three agronomic observatory stations as well as daily observational data on meteorological elements for 43 winter-wheat-growing counties during 1971-2016. On the basis of soil-water content before sowing and on water budget for winter-wheat development stages, the crop water-budget index was revised, and the drought index for different grades was then determined. The correlation coefficient between the water-budget index and soil-water storage was 0.6522. The high correlation between the water-budget index for different growth periods and winter-wheat yield reduction rate passed a 0.01 test of significance. This showed that the modified water-budget index can accurately reflect winter-wheat drought for Gansu Province. Results of using ArcGIS to map the spatial distribution (including intensity and frequency) of drought at different wheat-growth stages in the years 1971-2016 show that the winter-wheat drought occurrence and range in Gansu Province increased with each growth stage from sowing to flowering. The drought distributions during the jointing and flowering periods were the the most widespread, occurring in central Gansu Province, north of Qingyang, west of Pingliang, west of Tianshui, and south of Longnan. The frequency and level of drought in the mature (flowering) period decreased with increasing precipitation. Thus, the modified crop water-budget index objectively reflected winter-wheat drought in Gansu Province, thereby providing a reliable reference application.

Key words: drought monitoring, water budget index, winter wheat, soil water storage, Gansu Province