Morales et al. (2026) Soil Moisture Persistence and Integrated Drought-State Variability in a Semi-Arid Andean Region

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Identification

• Journal: Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-05
• Authors: Bruno Kadafi Cárdenas Morales, Manuel Mendoza Colos, Juan Carlos Terres León, Eder Moisés Terres León, Sammier Angelo Laura Cutti, Jherry Lobaton Phocco Minaya, Rubén Ñaupari Molina, Solón Dante Carhuallanqui-Ibarra, Freddy Grover Rivera Garamendi, L. De Los Santos Valladares
• DOI: 10.3390/hydrology13090237

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided text.

Short Summary

This study examines soil moisture persistence and coupled drought-state variability in the southern Peruvian Andes to improve drought monitoring. It introduces an Integrated Drought State (IDS) index to synthesize the delayed responses of land-surface conditions relative to precipitation anomalies.

Objective

• To investigate soil moisture persistence and the coupled variability of drought states in a semi-arid mountainous region of the southern Peruvian Andes.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Semi-arid mountainous region of the southern Peruvian Andes.
• Temporal Scale: Long-term (based on satellite and reanalysis datasets).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Integrated Drought State (IDS) framework, percentile-based metrics, duration analysis, and temporal persistence diagnostics.
• Data sources: CHIRPS (precipitation), ERA5-Land (root-zone soil moisture), NDVI (vegetation conditions), and LST (land surface temperature).

Main Results

• Soil moisture exhibits measurable temporal persistence, maintaining dry conditions even after precipitation anomalies subside.
• Land-surface responses (vegetation activity and surface thermal conditions) adjust more slowly than atmospheric forcing, co-evolving with soil moisture depletion.
• The developed IDS effectively captures the coherent temporal evolution of precipitation, soil moisture, vegetation, and thermal conditions during prolonged dry periods.

Contributions

• Highlights the necessity of integrating slowly varying land-surface conditions, specifically soil moisture persistence, with hydroclimatic forcing to accurately monitor drought persistence and recovery in semi-arid mountainous environments.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Morales2026Soil,
  author = {Morales, Bruno Kadafi Cárdenas and Colos, Manuel Mendoza and León, Juan Carlos Terres and León, Eder Moisés Terres and Cutti, Sammier Angelo Laura and Minaya, Jherry Lobaton Phocco and Molina, Rubén Ñaupari and Carhuallanqui-Ibarra, Solón Dante and Garamendi, Freddy Grover Rivera and Valladares, L. De Los Santos},
  title = {Soil Moisture Persistence and Integrated Drought-State Variability in a Semi-Arid Andean Region},
  journal = {Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/hydrology13090237},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology13090237}
}