Precipitation pattern changes and response of vegetation to drought variability in the eastern Hungary

Abstract

The results showed that the PCI values ranged between 9.44 and 15.8 with an average of 11.8, while the dPCI values ranged between 8.6 and 20.7 with an average of 10.9, which indicates heterogeneity in rainfall distribution from year to year. More than 103 events of severe agricultural drought were detected for the whole studied period. In connection to this, severe hydrological drought was recorded in 16% of the total monthly rainfall events from 1950 to 2010. Interestingly, a significant correlation was obtained between SPI-3, -6 (i.e., drought), and NDVI in the summer season.