Pei et al. (2026) Modified daily standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index based on influence attenuation of water surplus and deficit

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-05
• Authors: Wei Pei, Tonglin Fang, Shaoting Liu, Lei Hao, Hui Liu, Tianxiao Li, Qiang Fu
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110746

Research Groups

• College of Intelligence Science and Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China
• School of Water Conservancy & Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China
• Department of Information Engineering, Hebei Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Technology, Xingtai, 054002, China

Short Summary

This study proposes a modified daily standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (MDSPEI) that accounts for the attenuation of water surplus and deficit impacts on subsequent days. The MDSPEI outperforms the traditional DSPEI in capturing drought characteristics.

Objective

• To develop a more accurate drought monitoring tool by considering the temporal influence attenuation of water surplus and deficit.
• To investigate the performance of the MDSPEI compared to the traditional DSPEI in identifying drought events.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: China (entire country)
• Temporal Scale: Daily scale, 42-year dataset from 1979 to 2020

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Modified daily standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (MDSPEI) based on influence attenuation of water surplus and deficit.
• Data sources: China Meteorological Data Network (National Meteorological Information Center), CMA Global Land Surface Reanalysis System.

Main Results

• The MDSPEI shows higher sensitivity and earlier drought identification compared to the traditional DSPEI.
• The MDSPEI outperforms the DSPEI in correlation with the standardized soil moisture index (SSMI).
• Stronger negative correlations between the MDSPEI and drought-affected areas are observed at annual and annually averaged scales.

Contributions

• This study contributes to theories of daily SPEI and offers new ideas for drought monitoring.
• The proposed MDSPEI can capture drought characteristics more accurately than traditional indices.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Pei2026Modified,
  author = {Pei, Wei and Fang, Tonglin and Liu, Shaoting and Hao, Lei and Liu, Hui and Li, Tianxiao and Fu, Qiang},
  title = {Modified daily standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index based on influence attenuation of water surplus and deficit},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110746},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110746}
}