IMPACTS OF DRYNESS AND DROUGHT PHENOMENA ON AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE IN THE TITU PLAIN
HAVRIŞ LOREDANA-ELENA, STAN DOINA
ABSTRACT. – Impacts of dryness and drought phenomena on agricultural landscape in the Titu Plain. The authors analyze the dryness and drought phenomena in one of the subsidence areas of the Romanian Plain, namely Titu Plain, located in its central-north part, a region frequently affected by such phenomena, under the influence of persistent continental antyciclones. The topic approached in this study is in line with the current concerns of agriculture stakeholders to undertake climate change adaptation measures for a better management of water resources for crops in the the main agricultural regions of the country. In this paper we focused mainly on the impact of dryness and drought on agricultural landscape, although their direct and indirect effects affect not only agriculture, but also the whole economic activity of the region. The impact of these phenomena was assessed by using relevant statistical-climatological methods (e.g. the Helmann method, the Walter-Lieth climatic diagrams), applied on the monthly temparature and precipitation datasets from four weather stations located in the study region covering a 47-year period of meteorological observations (1961-2007): Târgovişte, Ploieşti, Titu şi Videle. The distribution of elements at risk within the Titu Plain region, included in the vulnerability analysis, was determined using land use map of the region extracted from CLC (Corine Land Cover, 2006), by reclassifying the primary land use classes under GIS, resulting six categories of vulnerable items to dryness and drought. Among these items, the agricultural lands have a share of 66.5% across the study region, the main crops being represented by cereals (wheat and corn), potatoes and sunflowers.
Keywords: the Titu Plain, agricultural landscape, vulnerability, dryness and drought phenomena.