Spatiotemporal distribution of aridity indices based on temperature and precipitation in the extra-Carpathian regions of Romania

Abstract

In the last decades, droughts are a recurrent phenomena in many regions of the world, especially in the subtropics and mid-latitudes, affecting more and more the society. Aridity indices are often used to identify regions prone to that phenomenon. In this paper, we used data recorded in 30 locations in the extra-Carpathian areas of Romania over the period 1961–2007. The De Martonne aridity index (I DM) and the Pinna combinative index (I P) were employed in order to identify critical areas in the most important agricultural regions of the country. Monthly, seasonal, annual, and winter wheat and maize growing season datasets of I DM and annual values of I P were calculated. The trends were identified using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope, while ordinary Kriging technique was employed for interpolation. The main findings are that the most vulnerable to semi-aridity are the southeastern regions, especially during the warm period of the year, and that for Romania, the use of I DM is more appropriate compared to I P.