Development of Drought Vulnerability Index for Upland Crops using Soil Moisture Data

Abstract

Recently, with changing rainfall patterns worldwide due to climate change, the effects and damages of upland crops are increasing. A water supply system from irrigation facilities such as agricultural reservoirs and pumping stations has been established in paddy fields, whereas irrigation uplands equipped with water supply facilities account for only 18.5% of the upland area. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze vulnerable areas of upland droughts because they depend on natural rainfall and lack the ability to respond to drought damage. Currently, there is limited drought information to respond to an upland drought because the characteristics of crops and actual cultivation period are not analyzed. Soil moisture directly resulting from rainfall shortage is highly related to drought, especially for upland crops and vegetation. Therefore, upland crops drought can be evaluated using soil moisture and weather data. In this study, an upland drought vulnerability index based on runs theory and entropy method was developed using effective soil moisture, soil moisture drought index, and groundwater level. Soil moisture and meteorological data were obtained from the soil moisture observation network (Rural Development Administration), and weather observation network (Korea Meteorological Administration). The results showed that Upland Drought Vulnerability Index (UDVI) can be an effective tool for quantitatively evaluating upland drought vulnerability.