Estimation of the drought sensitivity of Hungarian soils based on corn yield responses

During our soil-specific drought sensitivity research, an aim of ours was to ascertain how drought, a stress factor caused by the lack of precipitation, affects soil fertility. We used the five-year-long (1985–1989) soil and corn yield data of the National Pedological and Crop Production Database (NPCPD). We assigned the annual Pálfai Drought Index (PaDI) to the annual corn yield data of the NPCPD in order to identify drought-free corn yields and production areas. We determined the drought sensitivity of soils by comparing drought-free and annual yields. Based on the results of our statistical analyses, we created a seven-point drought sensitivity scale of soil types, based on which we produced a national soil-specific drought sensitivity index map. Our results may provide a good starting point for constructing large-scale (1: 10,000) climate sensitivity soil maps of agricultural lands, which can assist with soil-specific crop production that also adapts to climate change.