A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015

A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015

<p>Drought is a major driver of vegetation activity in Spain, with significant impacts on crop yield, forest growth, and the occurrence of forest fires. Nonetheless, the sensitivity of vegetation to drought conditions differs largely amongst vegetation types and climates. We used a high-resolu...

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Main Authors: S. M. Vicente-Serrano, C. Azorin-Molina, M. Peña-Gallardo, M. Tomas-Burguera, F. Domínguez-Castro, N. Martín-Hernández, S. Beguería, A. El Kenawy, I. Noguera, M. García
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2019-06-01
Series:Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
Online Access:https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/1189/2019/nhess-19-1189-2019.pdf
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spelling doaj-8543240b33504841a95b3a4f65bbe8812020-11-25T01:56:44ZengCopernicus PublicationsNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences1561-86331684-99812019-06-01191189121310.5194/nhess-19-1189-2019A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015S. M. Vicente-Serrano0C. Azorin-Molina1M. Peña-Gallardo2M. Tomas-Burguera3F. Domínguez-Castro4N. Martín-Hernández5S. Beguería6A. El Kenawy7I. Noguera8M. García9Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Spanish National Research Council (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, P.O. Box 13034, 50059 Saragossa, SpainDepartment of Earth Sciences, Regional Climate Group, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Spanish National Research Council (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, P.O. Box 13034, 50059 Saragossa, SpainEstación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spanish National Research Council (EEAD-CSIC), Saragossa, SpainInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Spanish National Research Council (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, P.O. Box 13034, 50059 Saragossa, SpainInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Spanish National Research Council (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, P.O. Box 13034, 50059 Saragossa, SpainEstación Experimental de Aula Dei, Spanish National Research Council (EEAD-CSIC), Saragossa, SpainDepartment of Geography, Mansoura University, 35516, Mansoura, EgyptInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Spanish National Research Council (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, P.O. Box 13034, 50059 Saragossa, SpainDepartment of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark<p>Drought is a major driver of vegetation activity in Spain, with significant impacts on crop yield, forest growth, and the occurrence of forest fires. Nonetheless, the sensitivity of vegetation to drought conditions differs largely amongst vegetation types and climates. We used a high-resolution (1.1&thinsp;km) spatial dataset of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for the whole of Spain spanning the period from 1981 to 2015, combined with a dataset of the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to assess the sensitivity of vegetation types to drought across Spain. Specifically, this study explores the drought timescales at which vegetation activity shows its highest response to drought severity at different moments of the year. Results demonstrate that – over large areas of Spain – vegetation activity is controlled largely by the interannual variability of drought. More than 90&thinsp;% of the land areas exhibited statistically significant positive correlations between the NDVI and the SPEI during dry summers (JJA). Nevertheless, there are some considerable spatio-temporal variations, which can be linked to differences in land cover and aridity conditions. In comparison to other climatic regions across Spain, results indicate that vegetation types located in arid regions showed the strongest response to drought. Importantly, this study stresses that the timescale at which drought is assessed is a dominant factor in understanding the different responses of vegetation activity to drought.</p>https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/1189/2019/nhess-19-1189-2019.pdf
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author S. M. Vicente-Serrano
C. Azorin-Molina
M. Peña-Gallardo
M. Tomas-Burguera
F. Domínguez-Castro
N. Martín-Hernández
S. Beguería
A. El Kenawy
I. Noguera
M. García
spellingShingle S. M. Vicente-Serrano
C. Azorin-Molina
M. Peña-Gallardo
M. Tomas-Burguera
F. Domínguez-Castro
N. Martín-Hernández
S. Beguería
A. El Kenawy
I. Noguera
M. García
A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
author_facet S. M. Vicente-Serrano
C. Azorin-Molina
M. Peña-Gallardo
M. Tomas-Burguera
F. Domínguez-Castro
N. Martín-Hernández
S. Beguería
A. El Kenawy
I. Noguera
M. García
author_sort S. M. Vicente-Serrano
title A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015
title_short A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015
title_full A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015
title_fullStr A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015
title_full_unstemmed A high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in Spain from 1981 to 2015
title_sort high-resolution spatial assessment of the impacts of drought variability on vegetation activity in spain from 1981 to 2015
publisher Copernicus Publications
series Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
issn 1561-8633
1684-9981
publishDate 2019-06-01
description <p>Drought is a major driver of vegetation activity in Spain, with significant impacts on crop yield, forest growth, and the occurrence of forest fires. Nonetheless, the sensitivity of vegetation to drought conditions differs largely amongst vegetation types and climates. We used a high-resolution (1.1&thinsp;km) spatial dataset of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for the whole of Spain spanning the period from 1981 to 2015, combined with a dataset of the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to assess the sensitivity of vegetation types to drought across Spain. Specifically, this study explores the drought timescales at which vegetation activity shows its highest response to drought severity at different moments of the year. Results demonstrate that – over large areas of Spain – vegetation activity is controlled largely by the interannual variability of drought. More than 90&thinsp;% of the land areas exhibited statistically significant positive correlations between the NDVI and the SPEI during dry summers (JJA). Nevertheless, there are some considerable spatio-temporal variations, which can be linked to differences in land cover and aridity conditions. In comparison to other climatic regions across Spain, results indicate that vegetation types located in arid regions showed the strongest response to drought. Importantly, this study stresses that the timescale at which drought is assessed is a dominant factor in understanding the different responses of vegetation activity to drought.</p>
url https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/19/1189/2019/nhess-19-1189-2019.pdf
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