MONITORING OF WATER USE, DROUGHT AND YIELD IMPACTS OF WINTER WHEAT USING IMAGINERY FROM SATELLITES

Remote sensing can be very useful tool for drought monitoring, providing valuable information about yield-limiting moisture conditions and crop response under current climate conditions. In this study the Atmosphere-land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model was used. The ALEXI model uses the morning surface temperature (LST) rise and provides information on the surface moisture status. In this paper correlations between yields and satellite indicators of crop water use or evapotranspiration (ET) were studied for the period 2002-2014. Correlations were studied for winter wheat at district scale in Vysocina, Jihomoravsky and Olomoucky regions since winter wheat is one of the traditional and most important crops grown in these regions. The Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) was used for these correlations as an ET-based index. Time series of Pearson correlation coefficient (r) computed between ESI and winter wheat yields at district scale were analysed. Strongest correlations are associated with districts within the Southern Moravian lowlands in Jihomoravsky and Olomoucky region, where frequency of occurrence of severe drought was highest over the period of record. Severe drought resulted in significant yield impacts, particularly in years 2003 and 2012. Correlations tend to be lower over the highlands districts of Vysocina and surroundings. In these districts, yields are more temperature than moisture limited and were more stable over the period of record.