Xiao, L.Y., 2020. Spatial-temporal analysis of precipitation and drought in the Poyang lake basin during 1957-2012. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 379-382. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Droughts have presented an increasing trend in the Poyang Lake Basin in the past several decades. To find patterns of meteorological drought, spatiotemporal changes in precipitation and drought were analyzed. Firstly, the Mann-Kendall method was adopted for a trend test. Results show that precipitation trends in the Poyang Lake Basin have clearly temporal and spatial distinctions. For the monthly scale, there were dry trends in May for all of the basin area, while statistically significant wet trends were found in January for nearly all the basin. Secondly, the standard precipitation index (the SPI) was calculated to characterize droughts. Analysis of the standard precipitation index at a 12-month time scale suggested that the statistically significant decreasing trends were found at Xiushui station and Ganxian station, which are located in the north and south. Results of the analysis revealed that the half part of the Poyang Lake Basin became drier during 1957-2012. Morover, we can know the decrease of precipitation in May and October may be the reason of the drought in the Xiushui and Ganxian stations.