Drought monitoring over West Africa based on an ecohydrological simulation (2003–2018)

Abstract

In Africa, droughts are causing significant damage to human health and the economy. In West Africa, a severe decline in food production due to agricultural droughts has been reported in recent years. In this study, we simulated ecohydrological variables using the Coupled Land and Vegetation Data Assimilation System, which can effectively evaluate the hydrological water cycle and provide a dynamic evaluation of terrestrial biomass. Using ecohydrological variables (e.g., soil moisture content, leaf area index and vegetation water content) as a drought indicator, we analyzed agricultural droughts in the Sahel-inland region of West Africa during 2003–2018. Results revealed reasonable agreement between the simulated values and the pearl millet yield, and produced a successful quantification of severe droughts in the Sahel-inland region.