Construction and application of comprehensive drought index in different steppe types

Abstract: The drought index is important to the drought grade evaluation, drought prevention, and mitigation measures formulating. Based on the physical mechanism of drought, the objective weighting method of Criteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) was used to construct a comprehensive drought index with multi-source information. The mechanism of Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Vegetation Supply Water Index (VSWI), and Solar-induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence index (SIF) were comprehensively considered in the drought development process. The vegetation types, coverage, and their sensitivity to precipitation and temperature of different steppes were also been considered in the comprehensive drought index construction. Taking Xinlingol steppe in Inner Mongolia as an example, the applicability and sensitivity of comprehensive drought index in different steppe types were explored compared with the precipitation anomaly percentage index of meteorological drought and the Relative Soil Moisture Index (RSM) of agricultural drought. The temporal and spatial distribution and evolution characteristics of drought were further analyzed in desert, typical and meadow steppes during 2007-2018. The results showed that: 1) The comprehensive drought index can not only sensitively capture the early stage of drought but also comprehensively reflect the duration and time of drought from the perspective of hydrology and pastoral area drought. The comprehensive drought index makes up for the limitation of drought information revealed by a single drought index to a certain extent, which can effectively identify the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of drought, and improve the pertinence and accuracy of drought monitoring. 2) The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of drought in Xinlingol steppe evaluated by the comprehensive drought index were more consistent with the actual drought condition compared with precipitation anomaly percentage index and RSM, and the correlation between 0-20 cm RSM and comprehensive drought index was the most significant. The drought frequency of the Xilingol steppe during 2007-2018 showed a fluctuating downward trend, which had a significant positive correlation with the drought crop area, affected population, and direct economic loss. 3) The drought intensity of the Xinlingol steppe was mainly light and moderate drought, in which the severe and extreme drought mainly happened in spring and autumn. For different steppe types of Xilingol, the drought frequency of desert steppe was significantly higher than that of typical steppe and meadow steppe, and the spatial distribution of drought shows a gradually decreasing trend from northwest to southeast and serious drought in the middle and north part of the typical steppe. This study carried out an optimal combination of drought information, in which the input information is easy to obtain and calculate, and the application of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence index effectively revealed the response of vegetation to drought stress. The application intensity of the comprehensive drought index in the desert steppe is relatively weak compared with meadow and typical steppe because the soil and biodiversity situation of the desert steppe is poor, the vegetation is sensitive to a precipitation process, and the cumulative effect is significant. This study is of great significance to the drought events monitoring and prevention in different steppe types on the Mongolian Plateau.