scholarly journals Towards a Single Integrative Metric on the Dynamics of Social-Environmental Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11246
Author(s):  
Jiquan Chen ◽  
Ranjeet John ◽  
Changliang Shao ◽  
Zutao Ouyang ◽  
Elizabeth A. Mack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Single Measure ◽  
Environmental Systems ◽  
Public Data ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Environmental Events

Integrating the dynamics and interconnections of natural and human system properties into a single measure would make it simpler to reliably and repeatedly assess and compare different social-environmental systems (SES). We propose a novel metric to assess the magnitudes and variations in SES dynamics by integrating longitudinal gross domestic product, population, and ecosystem net primary production. We use annual public data across the Asian Drylands Belt (ADB) from 1992 through 2016 for 18 political entities as our testbed for assessing the efficacy of the metric. We perform cross-comparisons with existing natural and social science metrics to demonstrate the validity of the proposed metric, including the Human Development Index and the Palmer Drought Severity Index. The new metric demonstrates notable and meaningful differences in trends among the political entities that reflect major social, economic and environmental events over the 25-year period. It provides unique perspectives about the three pillar components (social, economic and environmental systems) in each of the 18 political entities (PE) of the ADB. The metric also shows meaningful associations with key economic and environmental indicators and great potential for broader application and evaluation, given additional testing in other countries, regions, and biomes.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impacts of Drought on Grassland Net Primary Production at the Global Scale

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Yue Yang ◽  
Yangyang Liu ◽  
Linjing Tong ◽  
Qi-peng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Degradation Mechanism ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Grassland Type ◽  
Degraded Grassland

Abstract Quantitatively assessing the impacts of drought on grassland has significant implications to understand the degradation mechanism and prevention degraded grassland. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between grassland drought and grassland Net Primary Productivity (NPP) based on the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI) from 1982 to 2008. The results showed that the global grassland scPDSI value had a slightly increasing trend with the rate of 0.0119 per year (R2 = 0.195), indicating that the global grassland drought lighter to some extent during study period. Moreover, the correlation coefficient between annual grassland NPP and scPDSI was from −0.83 to 0.92. The grassland NPP decreased under mild drought from 1992 to 1996. Additionally, the correlation coefficient between scPDSI and NPP for each grassland type was: Closed Shrublands > Non-woody grassland > Savannas > Open Shrublands > Woody Savannas, indicating that drought had difference influences on the different grassland types. Our results might provide the underlying insights needed to be guide for the effects of extreme weather events on grassland NPP.

scholarly journals A Remotely Sensed Global Terrestrial Drought Severity Index

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiaozhen Mu ◽  
Maosheng Zhao ◽  
John S. Kimball ◽  
Nathan G. McDowell ◽  
Steven W. Running
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Drought Monitoring ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Regional Drought ◽  
Drought Severity Index

Regional drought and flooding from extreme climatic events are increasing in frequency and severity, with significant adverse ecosocial impacts. Detecting and monitoring drought at regional to global scales remains challenging, despite the availability of various drought indices and widespread availability of potentially synergistic global satellite observational records. The authors have developed a method to generate a near-real-time remotely sensed drought severity index (DSI) to monitor and detect drought globally at 1-km spatial resolution and regular 8-day, monthly, and annual frequencies. The new DSI integrates and exploits information from current operational satellite-based terrestrial evapo-transpiration (ET) and vegetation greenness index [normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)] products, which are sensitive to vegetation water stress. Specifically, this approach determines the annual DSI departure from its normal (2000–11) using the remotely sensed ratio of ET to potential ET (PET) and NDVI. The DSI results were derived globally and captured documented major regional droughts over the last decade, including severe events in Europe (2003), the Amazon (2005 and 2010), and Russia (2010). The DSI corresponded favorably (correlation coefficient r = 0.43) with the precipitation-based Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), while both indices captured similar wetting and drying patterns. The DSI was also correlated with satellite-based vegetation net primary production (NPP) records, indicating that the combined use of these products may be useful for assessing water supply and ecosystem interactions, including drought impacts on crop yields and forest productivity. The remotely sensed global terrestrial DSI enhances capabilities for nearreal-time drought monitoring to assist decision makers in regional drought assessment and mitigation efforts, and without many of the constraints of more traditional drought monitoring methods.

scholarly journals Analysis of wet and dry season by using the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) over Java Island

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinta Berliana S. ◽  
Indah Susanti ◽  
Bambang Siswanto ◽  
Amalia Nurlatifah ◽  
Hidayatul Latifah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palmer Drought Severity Index ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Drought Severity Index

Spatial and temporal characteristics of wildfires in Mississippi, USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Grala ◽  
William H. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Palmer Drought Severity Index ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
The State ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Wildfire Occurrence ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Drought Severity Index

Forests constitute a large percentage of the total land area in Mississippi and are a vital element of the state economy. Although wildfire occurrences have been considerably reduced since the 1920s, there are still ~4000 wildfires each year in Mississippi burning over 24 000 ha (60 000 acres). This study focusses on recent history and various characteristics of Mississippi wildfires to provide better understanding of spatial and temporal characteristics of wildfires in the state. Geographic information systems and Mississippi Forestry Commission wildfire occurrence data were used to examine relationships between climatic and anthropogenic factors, the incidence, burned area, wildfire cause, and socioeconomic factors. The analysis indicated that wildfires are more frequent in southern Mississippi, in counties covered mostly by pine forest, and are most prominent in the winter–spring season. Proximity to roads and cities were two anthropogenic factors that had the most statistically significant correlation with wildfire occurrence and size. In addition, the validity of the Palmer Drought Severity Index as a measure of fire activity was tested for climatic districts in Mississippi. Analysis indicated that drought influences fire numbers and size during summer and fall (autumn). The strongest relationship between the Palmer Drought Severity Index and burned area was found for the southern climatic districts for the summer–fall season.

scholarly journals Developing Objective Operational Definitions for Monitoring Drought

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1217-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Quiring
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Meteorological Drought ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Specific Method ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Spatially Variant ◽  
Objective Methodology

Abstract Drought is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to accurately describe because its definition is both spatially variant and context dependent. Decision makers in local, state, and federal agencies commonly use operational drought definitions that are based on specific drought index thresholds to trigger water conservation measures and determine levels of drought assistance. Unfortunately, many state drought plans utilize operational drought definitions that are derived subjectively and therefore may not be appropriate for triggering drought responses. This paper presents an objective methodology for establishing operational drought definitions. The advantages of this methodology are demonstrated by calculating meteorological drought thresholds for the Palmer drought severity index, the standardized precipitation index, and percent of normal precipitation using both station and climate division data from Texas. Results indicate that using subjectively derived operational drought definitions may lead to over- or underestimating true drought severity. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use an objective location-specific method for defining operational drought thresholds.

scholarly journals Is an Epic Pluvial Masking the Water Insecurity of the Greater New York City Region?*,+

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1339-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Pederson ◽  
Andrew R. Bell ◽  
Edward R. Cook ◽  
Upmanu Lall ◽  
Naresh Devineni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
York City ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
City Region ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Current Water

Abstract Six water emergencies have occurred since 1981 for the New York City (NYC) region despite the following: 1) its perhumid climate, 2) substantial conservation of water since 1979, and 3) meteorological data showing little severe or extreme drought since 1970. This study reconstructs 472 years of moisture availability for the NYC watershed to place these emergencies in long-term hydroclimatic context. Using nested reconstruction techniques, 32 tree-ring chronologies comprised of 12 species account for up to 66.2% of the average May–August Palmer drought severity index. Verification statistics indicate good statistical skill from 1531 to 2003. The use of multiple tree species, including rarely used species that can sometimes occur on mesic sites like Liriodendron tulipifera, Betula lenta, and Carya spp., seems to aid reconstruction skill. Importantly, the reconstruction captures pluvial events in the instrumental record nearly as well as drought events and is significantly correlated to precipitation over much of the northeastern United States. While the mid-1960s drought is a severe drought in the context of the new reconstruction, the region experienced repeated droughts of similar intensity, but greater duration during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The full record reveals a trend toward more pluvial conditions since ca. 1800 that is accentuated by an unprecedented 43-yr pluvial event that continues through 2011. In the context of the current pluvial, decreasing water usage, but increasing extra-urban pressures, it appears that the water supply system for the greater NYC region could be severely stressed if the current water boom shifts toward hydroclimatic regimes like the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

scholarly journals Drought Vulnerability Indices in Mexico

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1671 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ortega-Gaucin ◽  
Jesús de la Cruz Bartolón ◽  
Heidy Castellano Bahena
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
Drought Vulnerability ◽  
Public Programs ◽  
Analytic Procedure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Very High

Drought is one of the most harmful hydro climatic threats to society. Mexico has been historically affected by recurring and long-lasting droughts that have severely impacted society and the economy. Consequently, public programs and policies have been developed in order to reduce the country’s vulnerability to drought, hence the importance of identifying the spatial distribution and the dimension—even in relative terms only—of vulnerability in different regions from social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This article presents a method for obtaining indices and maps of vulnerability to drought in Mexico; indices and maps are based on a set of socioeconomic and environmental indicators that the method combines using an objective analytic procedure that identifies the most vulnerable states and municipalities from social, economic, and environmental perspectives, all of which converge in overall vulnerability to drought. The results obtained indicate that 38.9% of total Mexican population inhabits municipalities with high and very high degrees of overall vulnerability to drought. For this reason, it is necessary to continue implementing actions and preventive and mitigation strategies via public policies and social programs aimed at decreasing the country’s vulnerability to the occurrence of drought events. This is the only way to facilitate the necessary conditions to reduce the impact of drought and to decrease people’s vulnerability to this phenomenon.

scholarly journals The Value of Remotely Sensed Information: The Case of a GRACE-Enhanced Drought Severity Index

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bernknopf ◽  
David Brookshire ◽  
Yusuke Kuwayama ◽  
Molly Macauley ◽  
Matthew Rodell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Drought Monitoring ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Satellite Mission ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Grace Data ◽  
Effects Of Drought

Abstract A decision framework is developed for quantifying the economic value of information (VOI) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission for drought monitoring, with a focus on the potential contributions of groundwater storage and soil moisture measurements from the GRACE data assimilation (GRACE-DA) system. The study consists of (i) the development of a conceptual framework to evaluate the socioeconomic value of GRACE-DA as a contributing source of information to drought monitoring; (ii) structured listening sessions to understand the needs of stakeholders who are affected by drought monitoring; (iii) econometric analysis based on the conceptual framework that characterizes the contribution of GRACE-DA to the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) in capturing the effects of drought on the agricultural sector; and (iv) a demonstration of how the improved characterization of drought conditions may influence decisions made in a real-world drought disaster assistance program. Results show that GRACE-DA has the potential to lower the uncertainty associated with the understanding of drought and that this improved understanding has the potential to change policy decisions that lead to tangible societal benefits.

Temporal and spatial heterogeneity of drought impact on vegetation growth on the Inner Mongolian Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Bailing ◽  
Li Zhiyong ◽  
Liang Cunzhu ◽  
Wang Lixin ◽  
Jia Chengzhen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Desert Steppe ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Mongolian Plateau ◽  
Typical Steppe ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index

Drought frequency and intensity have increased in recent decades, with consequences for the structure and function of ecosystems of the Inner Mongolian Plateau. In this study, the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) was chosen to assess the extent and severity of drought between 1982 and 2011. The normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to analyse the responses of five different vegetation types (forest, meadow steppe, typical steppe, desert steppe and desert) to drought. Our results show that during the last 30 years, the frequency and intensity of droughts have increased significantly, especially in summer and autumn. The greatest decline in NDVI in response to drought was observed in typical steppe and desert steppe vegetation types. Compared with other seasons, maximum decline in NDVI was observed in summer. In addition, we found that NDVI in the five vegetation types showed a lag time of 1–2 months from drought in the spring and summer. Ancillary soil moisture conditions influenced the drought response, with desert steppe showing a stronger lag effect to spring and summer drought than the other vegetation types. Our results show that drought explains a high proportion of changes in NDVI, and suggest that recent climate change has been an important factor affecting vegetation productivity in the area.

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