The Analysis of Long-Term Trends in the Meteorological and Hydrological Drought Occurrences Using Non-Parametric Methods-Case Study of the Catchment of the Upper Notec River (Central Poland)

The study aims to identify long-term trends in the changes of drought occurrences using the Mann-Kendall (MK) test and the Theil-Sen estimator. Trend research was carried out on the example of the catchment area of the Upper Notec River, which covers an agricultural area of Poland with some of the lowest water reserves. The meteorological droughts were identified based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), while the hydrological droughts were determined on the basis of the Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) in various time scales (1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months) in the period of 1981-2016. The relationship between SPI and SRI was determined on the basis of the Pearson correlation analysis. The results showed that statistically significant trends (at the significance level of 0.05) were identified at 3 out of 8 meteorological stations (downward trend at Klodawa station and upward trend for drought at Sompolno and Koluda Wielka stations). Statistically significant hydrological droughts showed an increase in occurrences at the Lysek station, while a downward trend was noted at the Noc Kalina station. No trend was found at the Pakosc station. The analysis of the correlation between meteorological and hydrological droughts showed a strong relationship in dry years. The maximum correlation coefficient was identified in longer accumulation periods i.e., 6 and 9 months. The example of the catchment of the Upper Notec River points to the necessity of using several indicators in order to assess the actual condition of the water reserves.

Automated summary

This study utilized the Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen estimator to identify long-term trends in drought occurrences in the Upper Notec River catchment area in Poland. Significant trends were found at certain meteorological stations, with a strong relationship between meteorological and hydrological droughts in dry years. The study highlights the importance of using multiple indicators to accurately assess water reserves.