Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Agricultural Drought — A Practical Approach to Definition, Assessment and Mitigation Strategies

  • Chapter
Book cover Drought and Drought Mitigation in Europe

Part of the book series: Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research ((NTHR,volume 14))

Abstract

Despite the improvements in investigative and operative technology, drought remains one of the main problems in many countries, involving a large number of human activities. Over the past few years scientists have proposed specific formulas and procedures to detect drought phenomena or to give specific information to end-users or decision-makers. This paper illustrates some basic concepts on agricultural drought, with a collection of the main indices used to determine drought severity in this extremely sensitive economic sector. Some considerations on the actual knowledge of the problem are presented and some suggestions on possible improvements of the land and natural resource management capabilities are given.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alpat’ev, A.M. and Ivanova, V.N. (1958) Characteristics and Geographic Distribution of Drought, in Vsesoiuznyi Institute Rastenievodstava, Otdel Agrometeorologii, Zasukhi V. S.S.S.R., A.E. Rudenko Leningrad, 31 - 45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baier, W. and Robertson, G.W. (1966) A New Versatile Soil Moisture Budget, Can. J. Plant. Sci. 46: 299 - 315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldwin-Wiseman, W.R. (1941) Further Cartographic Studies of Drought, Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc. 67 (288): 39 - 47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barger, G.L. and Thom, H.C.S. (1949) Method for Characterising Drought Intensity in Iowa, Agron. J. 41: 13 - 19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates, C.G. (1935) Climatic Characteristics of the Plains Region, in M.Silcox, F.A. et al. (eds.), Possibilities of Shelterbert Planting in the Plains Region, Washington D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benincasa, F., Maracchi, G., and Rossi, P. (1991) Agrometeorologia, Patron Editore, Bologna, Italy. Blumenstock, G. (1942), Drought in the United States Analysed by Means of the Theory of Probability, USDA Technical Bulletin 819, 5 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bova, N.V. (1941) Agrometeorological Indices in the South-Eastern USSR, Socialistic Grain Farming, No.3. British Rainfall Organisation (1936) British Rainfall, Air Ministry, Meteorological Office, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, H.S. (1933) Droughts in Arkansas, Monthly Weather Review 61: 129 - 140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Condra, G.E. (1944) Drought, its Effects and Measures of Control in Nebraska, Nebraska University, Conservation and Survey Division, Conservation Bulletin 25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, V. and Pollak, L.W. (1950) Methods in Climatology. Second Edition, including some methods in General Geophysics, Harward Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass., 459 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Martonne, E. (1926) Une nouvelle fonction climatologique: l’indice d’aridité, La Météorologie 2: 449 - 458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emberger, L. (1955) Une classification biogéogtaphique des climates, Recueil des travaux des laboratories des botanique, geologie et zoologie de la Facultié des Sciences de l’Université de Montpellier, Serie botanique 7: 3-45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, E.A. (1953) Probability Analysis of Rainfall Factors in Drought in New South Wales, Rural Bank of N. S. Wales and N. S. Wales Dept. of Lands, Australia, 54 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, E.A. (1965) Climate of the Tipperary Area, CSIRO, Melbourne, Land Research Series No. 13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foley, J. C. (1957) Drought in Australia, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Bulletin No. 43, 281 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrido, R. (1998) Un sistema de seguimiento de la sequia en la region de Murcia, I Asamblea HispanoPortuguesa de Geodesia y Geofisica, Almeria, Spain.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaussen, H. (1954) Proc. 8th. Congr. Int. Bot., Paris, Sect. 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, W.J. and Maher, J.V. (1967) Rainfall Deciles as Drought Indicator, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Bulletin No. 48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gommes, R. and Petrassi, F. (1994) Rainfall Variability and Drought in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1960, FAO, Agrometeorology Series Working Paper No. 9, Rome, Italy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, G.H. (1974) Climatic Zoning for Agricultural Production in Northeast Brasil,Dept. of Agriculture and Irrigation Engineering, Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah, 1 map, 6 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, G.H. (1988) Manual for Dry Land and Irrigated Crop Production: Appendix 1 (Monthly Climatic Data Table for Africa, International Irrigation Centre, Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henin, S. and Temisien, T. (1944) Sur une relation entre la pluviosité, le drainage et l’evaporation,Comptes rendus à l’Académie des Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, A.J. (1906) Drought, in Climatology of the United States, U.S. Weath. Rev. Bull. Q. Washington, WB Report No. 361: 51-58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, R.M. (1962) Soil Moisture Calculation, in A.Thomson (ed.), Proc. of Symp. on Water balance of the soil and forest meteorology, Department of transport, Toronto, 65 - 79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyt, J.C. (1936) Droughts of 1930-1934, USGS Water Supply Paper No. 680, 106 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karl, T.R. and Knight, R.W. (1985) Atlas of Monthly Palmer Hydrological Drought Indices (1931-1983) for the Contiguous United Stated, Historical Climatology Series 3 - 7, National Climatic Data Centre, Asheville, N.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knochenbauer, W. (1937) Wiss Abh. Reichsamt Wetterd, Vol. 3, No 9, 23 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koloskov, P.I. (1925) Climatological basis of agriculture in the province of Amour,Blagoveshohensk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Köppen, W. (1931) Die Klimate der Erde, Geogr. Schriften, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulik, M.S. (1958) Agroclimatic Indices of drought, Compendium of Abridged Reports to the Second Section of CAgM (WMO), F.F. Davidaia and M.S. Kulik (eds.), Hydrometeorological Publishing House, Moscow.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivanov, N.N. (1948) Landscape Climatic Zones of the Earth Surface, Proc. of the All Soviet Geographical Conference, New series, Vol. 1, Academy of Sciences of the URSS, Leningrad.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, R. (1915) Versuch einer exakten Klassification der Böden in Klimatischer und geologischer Hinsicht. (Intern. Mitteil. für Bodenkunde, 5,312) - 1920 - Verwitterung und Bodenbildung als Einfürung in die Bodenkunde, Stuttgart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Houérou, H.N. and Popov, G.F. (1981) An Eco-Climatic Classification of Inter-Tropical Africa,Paper No. 31 FAO, Rome, 40 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Houérou, H.N., Popov, G.F., and See L. (1993) Agrobioclimatic Classification of Africa, Agrometeorology Series Working Paper, No. 6, FAO, Rome, Italy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maracchi, G. (1996) Climate Analysis, Global Change and Impacts on Agriculture and Forestry: An Overview, in Climate Change Impact on Agriculture and Forestry, Proceedings of the European School on Climatology and Natural Hazards, Volterra, Italy: 3 - 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maracchi, G., Battista, P., and Rapi B. (1998) A Guide to Computer Science Application in Agrometeorology, WMO - Regional Training Seminar for National Instructors of RA. I and RA. VI (Nairobi, Kenya, 20 April to 1 May 1998 ), 262 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maracchi, G., Pérarnaud, V., and Kleschenko, A.D. (2000) Applications of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing in Agrometeorology,Special Volume of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. (1996) Regional Aspects of Climate Change, in Climate Change Impact on Agriculture and Forestry, Proceedings of the European School on Climatology and Natural Hazards, Volterra, Italy, 33 - 52.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKee, T.B., Doesken, N.J., and Kleist, J. (1993) The Relationship of Drought Frequency and Duration to Time Scales,8th Conference on Applied Climatology, Anaheim, CA, 17-22 Jan., 179-184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mcllroy, I.C. (1968) Evaporation and its Measurement. Part B.: Energy Balance and Combination Methods, Proc. of WMO seminar on Agriculture Meteorology, Melbourne Australia, Pub. Australian Bureau of Meteorology 2: 409-431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, W.C. (1965) Meteorological Drought, Research Paper 45, US Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau, Washington D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, W.C. (1968) Keeping Track of Crop Moisture Conditions, Nationwide: the New Crop Moisture Index, Weatherwise, 21, 156 - 161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penman, H.L. (1948) Natural evapotranspiration from open water, bare soil and grass, Proc. Roy. Soc., London 193: 120-145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Penman, H.L. (1961) Weather, Plant and Soil Factors in Hydrology, Weather 16 (7): 207 - 219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, I.D. and McGregor, G.R. (1998) The Utility of a Drought Index for Assessing the Drought Hazard in Devon and Cornwall, South West England, Meteorol. Applications 5: 359 - 372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramdas, D.A. (1950) Rainfall and Agriculture, Ind. J. Met. and Geophys. 1 (4): 262 - 274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rickard, D.S. (1966) The Occurrence of Agriculture Drought at Ashburton N.Z., New Zealand Journal Agricultural Res., 431 - 441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russel, H.C. (1896) On Periodicity of Good and Bad Seasons, Roy. Soc. N.S.W.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shafer, B.A., Dezman, L.E. (1982) Development of a Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) to Assess the Severity of Drought Conditions in Snowpack Runoff Areas, Proceedings of the Western Snow Conference, USA, 164 - 175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selyaninov, G.T. (1930) Methods of Agricultural Climatology, in Agricultural Meteorology, No. 22 L.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sly, W.K. (1970) A climatic moisture index for land and soil classification in Canada, Can. J. Soil Sri. 50: 291 - 301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tannehill, I.R. (1947) Drought his causes and effects, Princeton Univers. Press, 274 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomthwaite, C.W. (1931) The Climates of North America According to a New Classification, Geogr. Rev. 21: 633 - 655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornthwaite, C.W. (1948) An approach toward a rational classification of climate, The Geogr.Rev. 38: 55 - 94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomthwaite, C.W. and Mather, J.R. (1955) The Water Balance, Pub. In Clim. Drexel Inst. Tech Vol. 8, No. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trumble, H.C. (1937) The Climatic Control of Agriculture in South Australia, Trans. Royal Soc.S Aust. 61: 41-62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turc, L. (1954) Le bilan d’eau des sols. Rélations entre les precipitations, l’evaporation et l’ecoulement, Ann. Agron Paris 5: 491 - 596

    Google Scholar 

  • Turc, L. (1955) Le bilan d’eau des sols. Rélations entre les precipitations, l’evaporation et l’ecoulement, Ann. Agron. Paris 6: 5 - 131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Bavel, C.H.M. (1953) A drought criterion and its application in evaluating drought incidence and hazard, Agron. J., 45: 167-171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Bavel, C.H.M. and Verlinden, F.J. (1956) Agricultural Drought in North Carolina, N.C. Agric. Experimental Station Tech. Bull. No. 122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vjsotskii, G.N. (1905) Steps of the European USSR, Encyclopaedia of Russian Agriculture, Vol. 9, Ed. A.Devriena.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R.C.L. (1955) Drought and effective rainfall frequency in pastoral New South Wales, Met. Study No. 5, Bureau of Met., Melbourne, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • WMO, World Meteorological Organization (1975) Drought and Agriculture. Tech.. Note No.138, WMO No. 392, Ginevra.

    Google Scholar 

  • WMO, World Meteorological Organization (1998) WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate in 1997,WMO No. 877, Ginevra.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Climatology and Agrometeorology, University of Florence, 50144, Florence, Italy

    G. Maracchi

Authors
  1. G. Maracchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Space Applications Institute, JRC, Ispra, Italy

    Jürgen V. Vogt

  2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Catania, Italy

    Francesca Somma

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Maracchi, G. (2000). Agricultural Drought — A Practical Approach to Definition, Assessment and Mitigation Strategies. In: Vogt, J.V., Somma, F. (eds) Drought and Drought Mitigation in Europe. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9472-1_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9472-1_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5568-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-9472-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation