Volume 19, Issue 1-2, March 2015
IMPACT OF DROUGHT ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS WITHIN THE OLTENIA PLAIN, ROMANIA
Authors: Irina Ontel, Alina Vladut
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of moisture conditions on the productivity of agricultural crops within the Oltenia Plain, Romania at various time scales. The agro-databases contain the productions of winter wheat, maize and sunflower reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Agricultural Department for the period 1971-2013. The meteorological elements used were represented by the rainfall amount and air-temperature recorded at the six meteorological stations: Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Calafat, Băilești, Bechet, Craiova, Caracal and Turnu-Magurele. According to the SPI and De Martonne Index, the driest years, with low rainfall amounts, were 1983-1985, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2012, with different degrees of water defcit. Moreover, the years with the lowest productions were recorded in the last half of the analysed period: 1993, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2012. The impact of the drought variability of yield on the agricultural crops was evaluated using Bravais-Pearson correlations test, which was statistically signifcant in the last half of the reference period, while the correlation in the frst half of the period it was not statistically signifcant. This result can be explained by the political system and the gradual degradation of the irrigation system, which determined the addiction on climatic conditions after ‘89 years.
Keywords: drought, SPI, De Martonne Index, crops yield, Oltenia Plain, Romania
Article info: 9-19
Received: October 11, 2014 | Revised: January 27, 2015 | Accepted: February 26, 2015