Soil-specific drought sensitivity of Hungarian terroirs based on yield reactions of arable crops

Abstract

The hypothetical climate change and the stress influences caused by the increasingly frequent found meteorological extremities affect the fertility of soils in even more degree. During our soil-climate sensitivity researches, the expression of the drought sensitivity as a stress influence, evolved as a result of lack of precipitation in soil fertility was studied. During our work, effects of increasing droughts of last decades were investigated through the yield results of the three most important crops, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), corn (Zea mays L.), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), based on the area rate in the Hungarian sowing structure, in relation to the natural geographical microregions and fertility of sites. For the examinations, yield data of the National Pedological and Crop Production Database (NPCPD) were used. The database contains complex plot-level crop production and soil information for 5 years (1985–1989). The examination results prove the considerable drought sensitivity of that lands, where soil types with high sand or clay content can be found. The mainly exposed microregions for the effects of drought are, e.g., the Dorozsma-Majsa Sand Ridge, Kerka Riverscape, Dévaványa Plain etc., while less sensitive sites are e.g. the Enying Ridge, Tolnai-Sárköz, Nógrád Basin etc.