caa a22 4500 44580064X CHVBK 20180317145140.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20111001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00704-011-0403-2 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00704-011-0403-2 Potop Vera Department of Agroecology and Biometeorology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic aut Evolution of drought severity and its impact on corn in the Republic of Moldova [Elektronische Daten] [Vera Potop] Droughts in Moldova were evaluated using meteorological data since 1955 and a long time series (1891-2009). In addition, yields for corn (Zea mays L.), a crop widely grown in Moldova, were used to demonstrate drought impact. The main aim is to propose use of the S i (S i-a and S i-m) drought index while discussing its potential use in studying the evolution of drought severity in Moldova. Also, a new multi-scalar drought index, the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI), is tested for the first time in identifying drought variability in Moldova while comparing it with the commonly used standardized precipitation index (SPI). S i-m, SPI, SPEI, and S i-a indices show an increasing tendency toward more intensive and prolonged severely dry and extremely dry summer months. Drought frequency increased through six decades, which included long dry periods in the 1990s and 2000s. Moreover, the evolution of summer evapotranspiration recorded a positive and significant trend (+3.3mm/year, R 2 = 0.46; p ≤ 0.05) between 1955 and 2009. A yield model based on the S i-a agricultural index and historic corn yields explained 43% of observed variability in corn production when drought occurred in May, July, and August. Increasing severity of the 20-year drought during the critical part of the growing season is raising corn yield losses, as net losses have so far exceeded net gains. Springer-Verlag, 2011 Theoretical and Applied Climatology Springer Vienna 105/3-4(2011-10-01), 469-483 0177-798X 105:3-4<469 2011 105 704 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0403-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0403-2 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Potop Vera Department of Agroecology and Biometeorology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Theoretical and Applied Climatology Springer Vienna 105/3-4(2011-10-01), 469-483 0177-798X 105:3-4<469 2011 105 704 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer