Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Drought and Wet Events and Their Impacts on Agriculture in the Yellow River Basin

Abstract

Droughts and floods have proven to be threats to food security worldwide. This research used the standardized precipitation index (SPI) to examine the spatiotemporal characteristics of drought and wet events from 1961 to 2020 in the Yellow River basin (YRB). Grain yield data were combined to assess how drought and wet frequency have affected the agricultural system. The occurrence frequency of drought was greater than that of wetness in time, drought frequency decreased, and wetness increased. Spatially, the frequency of drought in all provinces except Shanxi was higher than that of wetness. The grain yield per unit area of the YRB was generally highest in Shandong province and lowest in Gansu province. The grain yield per unit area have shown a significant growth trend in the nine provinces of the YRB since 1961. Drought had a negative effect on the grain yield per unit area in each province, while wetness had a positive effect on the grain yield per unit area in all provinces except Shandong. In general, the influence of drought on grain yield per unit area decreased, while the influence of wetness on grain yield per unit area increased. The results indicate that human activities are effective against preventing and controlling drought and wet disasters and can provide a reference for other parts of the world.