Leila Fazel Dehkordi; Hossein Azarnivand; Mohammad Ali Zare Chahouki; Farhad Mahmoudi Kohan; Shahram Khalighi Sigaroudi
Abstract
To identify an appropriate index for monitoring and evaluation of drought, rainfall data obtainedfrom meteorological stations of Ilam Province from 2000 to 2011 and MODIS satellite images with16-day intervals were collected and processed. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) wascalculated based ...
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To identify an appropriate index for monitoring and evaluation of drought, rainfall data obtainedfrom meteorological stations of Ilam Province from 2000 to 2011 and MODIS satellite images with16-day intervals were collected and processed. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) wascalculated based on rainfall data; therefore, the rainfall data were used for measuring SPI andsatellite images were used for calculating NDVI. Also, the percentages of canopy cover in rangetypes were selected from the information of the National Evaluation of rangelands in differentclimatic zones. The correlation between SPI and NDVI and also canopy cover and NDVI wasexamined. The relationship between vegetation index (NDVI) and SPI was determined byregression. The results of SPI showed that in 2000 a severe drought and in 2006 a medium wetoccurred in rangelands of Ilam Province. NDVI value variations have as well confirmed it. Theresults showed that NDVI and life form (annual forb and annual grass) has the highest percentage ofcorrelation. Also examining of result showed that most correlation of SPI and NDVI was in 3 and 6-months intervals. Evaluation of regression models performance in range types described thatmodels in 3 and 6- months intervals was suitable for monitoring drought. The result of regressionconfirmed that NDVI was an appropriate index for monitoring and assessment of drought.