Enhancing the Ability of a Soil Moisture-based Index for Agricultural Drought Monitoring by Incorporating Root Distribution

Abstract

Agricultural drought differs from meteorological, hydrological, and socioeconomic drought, being closely related to soil water availability in the root zone, specifically for crop and crop growth stage. In previous studies, several soil moisture indices (e.g., the soil moisture index, soil water deficit index) based on soil water availability have been developed for agricultural drought monitoring. However, when developing these indices, it was generally assumed that soil water availability to crops was equal throughout the root zone, and the effects of root distribution and crop growth stage on soil water uptake were ignored. This article aims to incorporate root distribution into a soil moisture-based index and to evaluate the performance of the improved soil moisture index for agricultural drought monitoring. The Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China was used as the study area. Overall, soil moisture indices were significantly correlated with the crop moisture index (CMI), and the improved root-weighted soil moisture index (RSMI) was more closely related to the CMI than averaged soil moisture indices. The RSMI correctly identified most of the observed drought events and performed well in the detection of drought levels. Furthermore, the RSMI had a better performance than averaged soil moisture indices when compared to crop yield. In conclusion, soil moisture indices could improve agricultural drought monitoring by incorporating root distribution.