The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) as an indicator of soil moisture

Mika, J.; Horváth, Sz.; Makra, László; Dunkel, Z.

doi:10.1016/j.pce.2004.08.036

Cited by 57 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This is supported by the positive correlations between the tree-ring width and PDSI in January to May of the current year (Figure 4), especially from March to May. Since PDSI is generally considered as an indicator of soil moisture availability (Mika et al, 2005), we suggest that soil moisture availability during the early part of the growing season is a primary limiting factor for trees on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The soil moisture for this period most likely came from melted snow, which is the main form of precipitation at this altitude during the winter season.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Assessing drought variability since 1650 AD from tree‐rings on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, southwest China

Gebrekirstos

et al. 2015

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Southwest China has experienced significant drought during the past few years. To better understand the tendency of drought changes over time, this study applies dendroclimatological techniques to assess drought variations in Lijiang Prefecture, southwest China. So far, the longest chronology (387 years) of Picea likiangensis on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was constructed, and the relationships between the tree-ring width and climate variables were analysed. The spring season Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) was reconstructed based on a standard chronology. Tree-ring width is positively related to precipitation and relative humidity from February to March and the PDSI from January to May. Conversely, tree-ring width is also negatively related with mean temperature from January to May, suggesting that growth of P. likiangensis is affected both by temperature and precipitation. The reconstructed PDSI showed that the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain has experienced considerable variations in spring drought conditions during the past 361 years. Four distinct periods were recognized: (1) 1650-1730, a relatively humid period with an average PDSI value above zero; (2) 1730-1860, a period with greatly fluctuating PDSI and intermittent wet periods (1746-1755, 1782-1800, and 1820-1830) and several dry periods (1735-1745, 1756-1780, 1810-1820, and 1830-1860); (3) 1870-1945, a humid period, with the highest PDSI value during 1930-1945; and (4) 1945-2011, a period with decreasing humidity. The results are consistent with hydrological studies in nearby regions and related species, as well as historical records of natural disasters. The recently observed spring drought follows a trend of decreasing humidity over the past 60 years, suggesting that a sound strategy for management and land-use planning is required to secure ecosystem and human well-being.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Assessing drought variability since 1650 AD from tree‐rings on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, southwest China

Gebrekirstos

et al. 2015

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…The seven PDSI rankings are as follows: extremely dry, severely dry, moderately dry, near normal, moderately wet, very wet, and extremely wet. Because PDSI rankings are heavily weighted on the previous month's PDSI rankings, it is a good predictor of seasonal trends and potential soil moisture supply when new predictions are made (Mika et al, 2005). In a general sense, the growing season of 2011 was characterized by near‐normal temperatures and a wetter than normal April, May, and June, followed by a dry late summer and early fall.…”

Section: Weathermentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Planting, Full‐season Cultivars, and Seed Treatments Maximize Soybean Yield Potential

Vossenkemper

Nafziger

Wessel³

et al. 2015

Crop Forage & Turfgrass Mgmt

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Recent findings in the midwestern United States have shown that planting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] by early May often increases yield compared to planting in mid‐ to late May. These findings have encouraged earlier planting, but raise questions about how planting date might interact with other management factors. In 58 on‐farm trials in Illinois and Indiana in 2011 and 2012, we found that seed treatment (fungicide + insecticide + rhizobia inoculant) increased plant stand by 4200 plants per acre, with greater effects from early planting than with later planting. Seed treatment also increased yield, by an average of 1.2 bu/acre, but did not interact with planting date or maturity. Planting in late April increased yield only slightly (0.9 bu/acre) compared to planting in mid‐ to late May, and full‐season cultivars yielded 3.8 bu/acre more than short‐season cultivars. Full‐season cultivars yielded 5.5 bu/acre more than short‐season cultivars with early planting, but only 2 bu/acre more planted later. Yield of full‐season cultivars dropped by 2.7 bu/acre from early to normal planting, but those of short‐season cultivars remained unchanged. Although seed treatments may improve stands more with early planting, stands were adequate regardless of planting date or seed treatment, and the decision to use seed treatment can be made independently of cultivar or planting date. These results show that planting full‐season cultivars before short‐season ones, and perhaps choosing slightly fuller season cultivars in general, may improve soybean yields.

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“…The PDSI is a measure of cumulative departure relative to the local mean conditions in atmospheric moisture supply and demand at the surface and is perhaps the most widely used index of meteorological drought (Dai et al 2004). The PDSI has proven a good proxy of surface moisture conditions (Dai et al 2004;Mika et al 2005;Szep et al 2005). It has been routinely used for monitoring droughts in the United States.…”

Section: Characterization Of Severe Extended Droughtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twentieth-Century Droughts and Their Impacts on Terrestrial Carbon Cycling in China

et al. 2009

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Midlatitude regions experienced frequent droughts during the twentieth century, but their impacts on terrestrial carbon balance are unclear. This paper presents a century-scale study of drought effects on the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in China. The authors first characterized the severe extended droughts over the period 1901-2002 using the Palmer drought severity index and then examined how these droughts affected the terrestrial carbon dynamics using tree-ring width chronologies and a process-based biogeochemistry

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The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) as an indicator of soil moisture

Cited by 57 publications

References 12 publications

Assessing drought variability since 1650 AD from tree‐rings on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, southwest China

Assessing drought variability since 1650 AD from tree‐rings on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, southwest China

Early Planting, Full‐season Cultivars, and Seed Treatments Maximize Soybean Yield Potential

Twentieth-Century Droughts and Their Impacts on Terrestrial Carbon Cycling in China

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