Yang et al. (2025) Propagation dynamics of meteorological, agricultural, and vegetation droughts in China

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-09-19
• Authors: Xiang‐Lei Yang, Wenxiang Zhang, Aifeng Lv, Taohui Li, Pengfei Yin
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134284

Research Groups

• Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Key Laboratory of Plateau Geographic Processes and Environment Change of Yunnan Province, Faculty of Geography, Yunnan Normal University
• University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Yunnan University

Short Summary

This study quantified the propagation mechanisms of meteorological, agricultural, and vegetation droughts across China, revealing distinct propagation times and seasonal variations influenced by climate and vegetation types. The findings provide a scientific foundation for enhanced drought monitoring and early warning systems.

Objective

• To quantify the mechanisms of propagation from meteorological drought (MetD) to agricultural drought (AgrD) and vegetation drought (VegD) across China's diverse climatic gradients.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: National scale (China)
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly defined, but implies a multi-year historical analysis for trend and frequency assessment.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI), Vegetation Condition Index (VCI)
• Data sources: Not explicitly defined for underlying data, but indices derived from precipitation, soil moisture, and vegetation data.

Main Results

• MetD exhibited the highest mean frequency (1.43 times per year), followed by VegD (1.17 times per year), and AgrD (0.54 times per year).
• All drought types showed alleviation trends, indicated by significant increases in SPI (57.11 %), SSMI (86.63 %), and VCI (65.00 %).
• MetD had the strongest influence on AgrD, while AgrD had a more substantial effect on VegD than MetD.
• The average propagation time from MetD to AgrD was 7.38 months, which was significantly shorter than from MetD to VegD (12.94 months) and from AgrD to VegD (12.79 months).
• Propagation processes were shorter during summer and autumn compared to spring and winter, influenced by climate and vegetation types.

Contributions

• Quantifies the complete propagation pathway from meteorological to agricultural and vegetation droughts across China, addressing a poorly understood mechanism.
• Provides specific propagation times and identifies seasonal and vegetation type influences on drought propagation dynamics.
• Offers a scientific foundation for improving drought risk assessment, ecological restoration, and the development of comprehensive drought monitoring and early warning systems in China.

Funding

• Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Yang2025Propagation,
  author = {Yang, Xiang‐Lei and Zhang, Wenxiang and Lv, Aifeng and Li, Taohui and Yin, Pengfei},
  title = {Propagation dynamics of meteorological, agricultural, and vegetation droughts in China},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134284},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134284}
}