Thi Nguyen Quang, Govind Ajit, Ha Tuyen V
Faculty of Resources Management, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Mo Bach Str, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province, 250000, Vietnam.
International Center for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Cairo, 11728, Egypt.
Environ Monit Assess. 2025 Jan 28;197(2):203. doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-13622-5.
Drought is a reoccurring natural phenomenon that presents significant challenges to agricultural production, ecosystem stability, and water resource management. The Central Highlands of Vietnam, a major region of industrial crops and vegetation ecosystems, has become increasingly vulnerable to drought impacts. Despite this vulnerability, limited research has explored the specific characteristics of drought and its seasonal effects on vegetation ecosystems in the region. This study addressed these gaps by providing a detailed analysis of recent soil moisture drought characteristics and their seasonal impacts on vegetation from 2015 to 2023 using weekly soil moisture active passive (SMAP) and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite time series observations. This analysis derived the soil moisture anomaly index as a proxy to assess drought characteristics and used correlation analysis to quantify their impacts on seasonal vegetation dynamics. Our spatial analysis identified the most significant drought years in 2015 and 2019 in the study region, while the wettest conditions were detected in 2017 and 2022 over the study period. Notably, significant soil moisture deficits were observed in August and October throughout the study period, even though these months typically fall within the rainy season. On average, nearly 25 drought events were detected in the region from 2015 to 2023 due to soil moisture deficits, each lasting approximately 6 weeks. The impact of drought events on the vegetation ecosystem was seasonally pronounced in spring and winter, where droughts were notably higher. Our results provide valuable insights into informed decision-making and sustainable agricultural practices in the region. Understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of drought and its seasonal effects on vegetation can help policymakers and farmers develop targeted strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts, enhance water management practices, and promote drought-resistant crop varieties, thereby maintaining agricultural productivity and ecosystem health amidst increasing climate variability.
干旱是一种反复出现的自然现象，给农业生产、生态系统稳定性和水资源管理带来了重大挑战。越南中部高地是工业作物和植被生态系统的主要区域，越来越容易受到干旱影响。尽管存在这种脆弱性，但对该地区干旱的具体特征及其对植被生态系统的季节性影响的研究却很有限。本研究通过利用每周的土壤湿度主动被动（SMAP）和中分辨率成像光谱仪（MODIS）卫星时间序列观测数据，对2015年至2023年期间近期土壤湿度干旱特征及其对植被的季节性影响进行了详细分析，填补了这些空白。该分析得出土壤湿度异常指数作为评估干旱特征的指标，并使用相关性分析来量化其对季节性植被动态的影响。我们的空间分析确定了研究区域2015年和2019年为最严重干旱年份，而在研究期间2017年和2022年检测到最湿润的情况。值得注意的是，在整个研究期间，8月和10月都出现了显著的土壤水分亏缺，尽管这几个月通常属于雨季。从2015年到2023年，该地区因土壤水分亏缺平均检测到近25次干旱事件，每次持续约6周。干旱事件对植被生态系统的影响在春季和冬季季节性地表现得尤为明显，干旱情况明显更高。我们的研究结果为该地区的明智决策和可持续农业实践提供了有价值的见解。了解干旱的时空模式及其对植被的季节性影响，有助于政策制定者和农民制定有针对性的策略，以减轻不利影响、加强水资源管理实践并推广抗旱作物品种，从而在气候变率增加的情况下维持农业生产力和生态系统健康。
