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Trend Detection of Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Iran Based on Implementation of Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) and Application of Non-Parametrical Statistical Method

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Abstract

Drought is known as one of the main natural hazards especially in arid and semi-arid regions where there are considerable issues in regard to water resources management. Also, climate changes has been introduced as a global concern and therefore, under conditions of climate change and global warming, the investigation of drought severity trend in regions such as Iran which is mainly covered by arid and semi-arid climate conditions is in the primary of importance. Therefore, in this study, based on the application of Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) for assessment drought severities, and also the implementation of non-parametric Mann- Kendall statistics and Sen’s slope estimator, the trends in different time series of RDI (3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 monthly time series) were investigated. Results indicated the frequent decreasing trends in RDI time series particularly for long term time series (12, 18 and 24 monthly time series) than short term ones. Decreasing trend in RDI time series means the increasing trend in drought severities. Since the water resources especially ground water in most cases are affected by long term droughts, therefore, increasing trend in drought intensities in long term ones can be a threat for water resources management in surveyed areas.

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Acknowledgments

The authors greatly acknowledge the financial supports of Yazd University, provided for running the present project. Furthermore, authors greatly appreciate the technical support of Management Center for Strategic Projects in Fars Organization Centre of Jihad-Agriculture of Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Natural Resources, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Kousari, Yaghoub Niazi, Esmaeel Soheili, Mehdi Hayatzadeh & Javad Chezgi

  2. Management Center for Strategic Projects, Fars Organization Center of Jihad Agriculture, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Kousari

  3. Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Mohammad Taghi Dastorani

Authors
  1. Mohammad Reza Kousari
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  2. Mohammad Taghi Dastorani
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  3. Yaghoub Niazi
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  4. Esmaeel Soheili
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  5. Mehdi Hayatzadeh
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  6. Javad Chezgi
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Correspondence to Mohammad Reza Kousari.

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Kousari, M.R., Dastorani, M.T., Niazi, Y. et al. Trend Detection of Drought in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Iran Based on Implementation of Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) and Application of Non-Parametrical Statistical Method. Water Resour Manage 28, 1857–1872 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0558-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0558-6

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