Spatiotemporal variations in summer maize droughts in the Huaibei Plain

【Objective】 Drought is a significant abiotic stress affecting agricultural production in many regions of China. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations in drought during the growing seasons of summer maize in the Huaibei Plain. 【Method】 The analysis was based on the drought severity index (DSI) from 2010 to 2019 calculated using metrological data measured from weather stations across the region. We focused on the top 0-10 cm soil layer and the root zone from the soil surface to the depth of 50 cm. The M-K test and the Kriging spatial interpolation were used to analyze the spatiotemporal variation in droughts over the region at different time scales. 【Result】 ① Since 2016, the severity and frequency of droughts have both significantly increased in the areas of Dangshan, Mengcheng, and Qiaocheng, while decreased in the area of Fuyang. In Suzhou, droughts mainly occurred in 2010—2012 and 2019. Compared to seasonal scale, some drought events exhibited greater severity and higher frequency at the ten