Şerban et al. (2025) Satellite-based assessment of drought evolution and agricultural stress in Dobrogea, Romania using the Normalized Vegetation Soil Water index (NVSWI)

Identification

• Journal: Remote Sensing Applications Society and Environment
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-18
• Authors: Cristina Şerban, Carmen Maftei
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101768

Research Groups

• Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania
• Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania

Short Summary

This study utilized a multi-indicator remote sensing approach to assess agrometeorological drought dynamics in Dobrogea, Romania, from 2001 to 2021, revealing an increased drought frequency and severity, with over 70% of the area experiencing extreme drought in 2020.

Objective

• To enhance the understanding of agrometeorological drought dynamics in the Dobrogea region of Romania using a multi-indicator remote sensing approach.
• To explore the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation activity (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI).
• To assess the extent to which water availability limits plant growth.
• To characterize drought conditions across the region from 2001 to 2021 based on Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and Normalized Vegetation Supply Water Index (NVSWI).
• To evaluate drought frequency, spatial distribution, and inter-index correlations, and track land cover changes throughout the study period.
• To assess the performance of NVSWI in detecting drought over key agricultural land covers and its correlation with annual yield data for various crops.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Dobrogea region, Romania
• Temporal Scale: 2001 to 2021 (21 years)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Normalized Vegetation Soil Water Index (NVSWI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Land Surface Temperature (LST).
• Data sources: Satellite-based remote sensing data, annual yield data for various crops.

Main Results

• A clear increase in drought frequency was observed over the two-decade period, with most years marked by some degree of drought, primarily due to below-average precipitation.
• In 2020, more than 70% of the Dobrogea area was exposed to extreme drought.

Contributions

• Provides an enhanced understanding of agrometeorological drought dynamics in Dobrogea using a multi-indicator remote sensing approach.
• Offers insights into the performance of NVSWI for drought detection over key agricultural land covers and its correlation with crop yields.
• Contributes to the development of more effective drought monitoring strategies in vulnerable agricultural areas.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Şerban2025Satellitebased,
  author = {Şerban, Cristina and Maftei, Carmen},
  title = {Satellite-based assessment of drought evolution and agricultural stress in Dobrogea, Romania using the Normalized Vegetation Soil Water index (NVSWI)},
  journal = {Remote Sensing Applications Society and Environment},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101768},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101768}
}