Better Drought Index between SPEI and SMDI and the Key Parameters in Denoting Drought Impacts on Spring Wheat Yields in Qinghai, China

Drought has great negative impacts on crop growth and production. In order to select appropriate drought indices to quantify drought influences on crops to minimize the risk of drought-related crops as much as possible, climate and spring wheat yield-related data from eight sites in the Qinghai Province of China were collected for selecting better drought index between standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI, denoting meteorological drought) and soil moisture deficit index (SMDI, denoting agricultural drought) as well as the key parameters (timescale and month) in denoting drought impacts on spring wheat yields. The spring wheat yields during 1961–2018 were simulated by the DSSAT–CERES–Wheat model. Pearson correlations were used to investigate the relationship between SPEI and SMDI and between spring wheat yields and drought indices at different timescales. The results showed that: (1) SMDI reflected more consistent dry/wet conditions than SPEI when the timescales changed and (2) There were one- and two-month lags in SMDI compared to SPEI (with the higher correlation coefficients values of 0.35–0.68) during May to August and (3) May (the jointing period of spring wheat) and the two-month timescale of SMDI0–10 (with the higher correlation coefficients values of 0.21–0.37) were key parameters denoting drought influences on spring wheat yield and (4) The correlations between the linear slopes of spring wheat yield reduction rate and linear slopes of SMDI0–10 in May at the studied eight sites were considerable between 1961–2018 (r = 0.85). This study provides helpful references for mitigating the drought risk of spring wheat.

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