Assessing Vegetation Response to Drought in the Central Part of Oltenia Plain (Romania) Using Vegetation and Drought Indices

Lavinia Crișu, Andreea-Gabriela Zamfir, Alina Vlăduț, Sandu Boengiu, Daniel Simulescu () and Oana Mititelu-Ionuș
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Lavinia Crișu: Doctoral School of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Andreea-Gabriela Zamfir: Doctoral School of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Alina Vlăduț: Geography Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Sandu Boengiu: Geography Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Daniel Simulescu: Geography Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Oana Mititelu-Ionuș: Geography Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-28

Abstract: Drought is an extremely negative phenomenon that is becoming increasingly frequent in the southern part of Romania (Oltenia Plain). An insufficiency or lack of precipitation, especially in the warm season, induces a state of stress on the vegetation, damaging it prematurely and decreasing the agricultural yield. Integrating satellite observations into research inventories has practical applications for drought dynamics in plain regions and may significantly contribute to its agricultural sustainability. The aim of our study was to highlight the relationship between drought and vegetation health in the central parts of the Oltenia Plain, namely, the Băilești Plain and Nedeia Plain. We used four different indices (SPI/SPI-CDF-ISND, SPEI, NDVI, NDMI) in order to assess the occurrence of meteorological and agricultural drought and gained a wider picture regarding past and future trends. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of vegetation health index trends and their implications for climate change. The selected indices were the most suitable for assessing drought according to the literature, and combining all of them helped us to obtain a full picture of drought’s impact on vegetation.

Keywords: drought; Sentinel-2 data; standardized precipitation index (SPI); gamma distribution; standardized precipitation–evapotranspiration index (SPEI); normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); normalized difference moisture index (NDMI) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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