Monitoring Drought Impacts through Spatiotemporal Analysis of Climatic and Vegetative Indices in the Drâa River Watershed, Morocco

Authors

  • Kaouthar MAJDOULI Laboratory of Geosciences, Geotourism, Natural Hazards and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Boulevard Prince My Abdellah, B.P. 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1118-4819
  • Ahmed ALGOUTI Laboratory of Geosciences, Geotourism, Natural Hazards and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Boulevard Prince My Abdellah, B.P. 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2344-0821
  • Najat BHIRY Department of Geography, Université Laval, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 2405, rue de la Terrasse, Quebec G1V 0A6, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6609-0235
  • John MOLSON Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Université Laval, Pavillon Adrien Pouliot 1065, avenue de la Médecine, Local 4309, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6581-8044
  • Abdellah ALGOUTI Laboratory of Geosciences, Geotourism, Natural Hazards and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Boulevard Prince My Abdellah, B.P. 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7501-5221
  • Khadija LAMRANI Laboratory of Geosciences, Geotourism, Natural Hazards and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Boulevard Prince My Abdellah, B.P. 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8350-2935
  • Imane EL KIHAL Laboratory of Geosciences, Geotourism, Natural Hazards and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Boulevard Prince My Abdellah, B.P. 2390, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7269-7686

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36253/ijam-3676

Keywords:

Drought, Remote Sensing, Climatic indices, Vegetative indices, Climate change

Abstract

The Drâa River watershed, characterized by a semi-arid climate, is particularly vulnerable to the risk of desertification, a threat exacerbated by the effects of global warming. This study is based on an analysis of climatic and hydrological variations in the Drâa basin, using satellite and terrestrial data. Climatic indices including SPI and PDSI, and vegetation indices VCI, TCI, VHI and NDVI, were calculated to assess the impact of climatic conditions on water resources and vegetation cover. In addition, the water reflectance index (NDWI) was used to analyze variations in water level of the El Mansour Eddahbi reservoir. The remote sensing results were compared with records from local hydrological stations to ensure consistent and thorough interpretation. The analyses show that the Drâa watershed is currently experiencing the longest drought in its recorded history, although its intensity is lower than that observed between 1981 and 1984. Over a 23-year period (2000-2023), only 9 years were relatively wet, compared to 14 years of drought, according to the SPI index. These climatic conditions have put considerable pressure on water resources and vegetation cover, as evidenced by variations in vegetation indices and climatic parameters. The reduction in the surface area and perimeter of the El Mansour Eddahbi reservoir, observed by remote sensing, was corroborated by the decrease in water volume measured in situ. Prolonged droughts in this region therefore pose a significant threat to water and environmental resources.

References

Abatzoglou JT, 2013. Development of gridded surface meteorological data for ecological applications and modelling. International Journal of Climatology, 33(1) : 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3413

Agence du Bassin Hydraulique de Drâa Oued Noun (ABHDON), 2009. Eaux de surface. Avenue Mohamed VI, BP 1351, Guelmim, Maroc.

Agence du Bassin Hydraulique de Drâa Oued Noun (ABHDON), 2013. Eaux de surface. Avenue Mohamed VI, BP 1351, Guelmim, Maroc.

AghaKouchak A, Cheng L, Mazdiyasni O, Farahmand A, 2014. Global warming and changes in risk of concurrent climate extremes: Insights from the 2014 California drought. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(23) : 8847–8852. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062308

Agoussine M, Bouchaou L, 2004. Les problèmes majeurs de la gestion de l'eau au Maroc. Sécheresse, 15(2) : 187–194.

Agoussine M, 2003. Les divers aspects de l'hydrologie en régions arides et semi-arides – cas du sud-est marocain. Terre & Vie, Rabat, 70.

Agoussine M, Saidi MEM, Igmoullan B, 2004. Reconnaissance des ressources en eau du bassin d’Ouarzazate (Sud-Est marocain). Bulletin de l’Institut Scientifique, Rabat, section Sciences de la Terre, 26 : 81–92.

Aït Hamza M, El Faskaoui B, Fermin A, 2010. Les oasis du Drâa au Maroc. Hommes & Migrations, 1284 : 56–69.

Ait Dhmane L, Saidi ME, Moustadraf J, Rafik A, Hadri A, 2024. Spatiotemporal characterization and hydrological impact of drought patterns in northwestern Morocco. Frontiers in Water, 6 : 1463748. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2024.1463748

Aksu H, Cetin M, Aksoy H, Yaldiz SG, Yildirim I, Keklik G, 2022. Spatial and temporal characterization of standard duration-maximum precipitation over Black Sea Region in Turkey. Natural Hazards, 111(3) : 2379–2405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-05141-6

Alley WM, 1984. The Palmer Drought Severity Index: Limitations and assumptions. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 23(7) : 1100–1109. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1984)023<1100:TPDSIL>2.0.CO;2

Auclair L, 1987. Maroc présaharien : bois de feu et désertification. Forêt Méditerranéenne, 9(1) : 41–48.

Bentaleb A, 2011. Pompage d'eau et désertification dans la Moyenne Vallée du Draâ : le cas du palmier Mezguita (Maroc). Insaniyat, 51–52. https://doi.org/10.4000/insaniyat.1257

Bentaleb A, 2015. Vulnérabilité oasienne : valorisation et développement territorial dans les zones arides marocaines. Cas : Oasis du Drâa moyen. Dans : XIVᵉ Conférence Internationale Annuelle de l’Intelligence Territoriale “Développement durable des territoires vulnérables”, octobre 2015, Ouarzazate, Maroc. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01741493

Baki S, Hilali M, Kacimi I, Mahboub A, 2017. Caractérisation hydrogéologique et cartographie des ressources en eau dans le bassin versant de l’oued Rhéris (Sud-Est du Maroc). Bulletin de l’Institut Scientifique, Rabat, Section Sciences de la Terre, 38 : 29–43.

Bashit N, Ristianti N, Ulfiana D, 2022. Drought assessment using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) techniques (Case study: Klaten District). International Journal of Geoinformatics, 18(5) : 115–127. https://doi.org/10.52939/ijg.v18i5.2393

Bijaber N, El Hadani D, Saidi M, Svoboda MD, Wardlow BD, Hain CR, Poulsen CC, Yessef M, Rochdi A, 2018. Developing a remotely sensed drought monitoring indicator for Morocco. Geosciences, 8(2) : 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020055

Bijaber N, Rochdi A, Yessef M, El Yacoubi H, 2024. Mapping the structural vulnerability to drought in Morocco. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences, 9(2) : 264–280.

Briffa KR, Jones PD, Hulme M, 1994. Summer moisture variability across Europe, 1892–1991: An analysis based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index. International Journal of Climatology, 14(5) : 475–506. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370140502

Cherkaoui Dekkaki H, 2001. Contribution à l'étude hydrogéologique des nappes alluviales de Fezouata et Ktaoua (Moyenne vallée du Drâa). Mémoire de D.E.S.A., École Mohammadia d’Ingénieurs, Rabat, Maroc.

Choukrani G, Hilali A, Bouri S, 2018. Diagnostic et projection future du changement climatique en zone aride : Cas de la région Marrakech-Safi (Maroc). Larhyss Journal, 36 : 49–63.

Cook ER, Meko DM, Stahle DW, Cleaveland MK, 1999. Drought reconstructions for the continental United States. Journal of Climate, 12(4) : 1145–1162. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<1145:DRFTCU>2.0.CO;2

Dahan S, 2017. Gestion de la rareté de l’eau en milieu urbain au Maroc. Banque mondiale, Washington, DC. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/488091516133312338/pdf/summary-report.pdf

Direction de la Recherche et de la Planification de l’Eau (DRPE), 2008. Étude d’actualisation du plan directeur d’aménagement intégré des ressources en eau (PDAIRE) du bassin hydraulique du Drâa. Marché n°106/2008/DRPE, Rapport inédit.

Wilhite DA, Sivakumar MVK, Wood DA (éds), 2000. Early Warning Systems for Drought Preparedness and Drought Management. Actes de la réunion d’experts tenue à Lisbonne, Portugal, 5–7 septembre 2000. Genève, Suisse : Organisation météorologique mondiale.

El Qorchi F, Yacoubi Khebiza M, Omondi OA, Karmaoui A, Pham QB, Acharki S, 2023. Analyzing temporal patterns of temperature, precipitation, and drought incidents: A comprehensive study of environmental trends in the Upper Drâa Basin, Morocco. Water, 15(22) : 3906. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15223906

Elair C, Rkha Chaham K, Hadri A, 2023. Assessment of drought variability in the Marrakech-Safi region (Morocco) at different time scales using GIS and remote sensing. Water Supply, 23(11) : 4592–4624. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2023.283

Eyoh A, Okeke F, Ekpa A, 2019. Assessment of the effectiveness of the vegetation condition index (VCI) as an indicator for monitoring drought condition across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria using AVHRR/MODIS NDVI. European Journal of Earth and Environment, 6(1).

Gumus V, El Moçayd N, Seker M, Seaid M, 2024. Future projection of droughts in Morocco and potential impact on agriculture. Journal of Environmental Management, 367 : 122019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122019

Hadri A, Saidi MEM, El Khalki EM, Aachrine B, Saouabe T, Elmaki AA, 2022. Integrated water management under climate change through the application of the WEAP model in a Mediterranean arid region. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 13(6) : 2414–2442. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2022.039

Hadria R, Boudhar A, Ouatiki H, Lebrini Y, Elmansouri L, Gadouali F, Hayat Lionboui HL, Benabdelouahab T, 2019. Combining use of TRMM and ground observations of annual precipitations for meteorological drought trends monitoring in Morocco. American Journal of Remote Sensing, 7(2) : 25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20190702.11

Hao Z, Singh VP, 2015. Drought characterization from a multivariate perspective: A review. Journal of Hydrology, 527 : 668–678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.05.031

Houmma H, Ismaguil I, Gadal S, El Mansouri L, Garba M, Gbetkom PG, Mamane Barkawi MB, Hadria R, 2023. A new multivariate agricultural drought composite index based on random forest algorithm and remote sensing data developed for Sahelian agrosystems. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 14(1) : 2223384. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2023.2223384

Justice CO, Vermote E, Townshend JRG, Defries R, Roy DP, Hall DK, Salomonson VV, Privette JL, Riggs G, Strahler A, Lucht W, Myneni RP, Knyazikhin Y, Running SW, Nemani RR, Wan Z, Huete AR, van Leeuwen W, Wolfe RE, Giglio L, Muller J-P, Lewis P, Barnsley MJ, 1998. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS): Land remote sensing for global change research. NASA Publications, 28. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nasapub/28

Kim J-S, Park S-Y, Lee J-H, Chen J, Chen S, Kim T-W, 2021. Integrated drought monitoring and evaluation through multi-sensor satellite-based statistical simulation. Remote Sensing, 13(2) : 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13020272

Kogan FN, 1990. Remote sensing of weather impacts on vegetation in non-homogeneous areas. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 11(8) : 1405–1419. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431169008955102

Kogan FN, 1997. Global drought watch from space. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 78(4) : 621–636. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<0621:GDWFS>2.0.CO;2

Kogan FN, Sullivan J, 1993. Development of global drought-watch system using NOAA/AVHRR data. Advances in Space Research, 13(5) : 219–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-1177(93)90548-P

Lahbous M, Touzani L, Ousidahou A, 2023. La sécheresse et son impact sur l’économie marocaine. La Revue d’économie et d’environnement, 3(2) : 20–42. https://revuecoenvi.org/index.php/laree/article/view/28

Layelmam M, 2015. Calcul des indicateurs de sécheresse à partir des images NOAA/AVHRR. Rapport de recherche, IAV, CRTS, CRASTE-LF. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00915461

Lebdi F, Maki A, 2023. La sécheresse au Maghreb : diagnostic, impacts et perspectives pour le renforcement de la résilience du secteur agricole. Tunis : FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7126fr

Ji L, Peters AJ, 2003. Assessing vegetation response to drought in the northern Great Plains using vegetation and drought indices. Remote Sensing of Environment, 87(1) : 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(03)00174-3

Li J, Zhou S, Hu R, 2016. Hydrological drought class transition using SPI and SRI time series by loglinear regression. Water Resources Management, 30(2) : 669–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-1184-7

Liu W, Kogan FN, 2002. Monitoring Brazilian soybean production using NOAA/AVHRR based vegetation condition indices. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23 : 1161–1179.

McFeeters SK, 1996. The use of the normalized difference water index (NDWI) in the delineation of open water features. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 17(7) : 1425–1432. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431169608948714

McKee TB, Doesken NJ, Kleist J, 1993. The relationship of drought frequency and duration to time scales. Dans : Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Applied Climatology, 179–186. American Meteorological Society.

McKee TB, Doesken NJ, Kleist J, 1995. Drought monitoring with multiple time scales. Dans : Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Applied Climatology, 233–236. American Meteorological Society, Dallas, TX.

Mehdaoui R, Mili EM, Seghir A, 2018. Caractérisation à l’aide du SPI de la sécheresse climatique dans le bassin versant de Ziz (Sud-Est, Maroc). European Scientific Journal, 14(21) : 177–194.

Ouysse S, Laftouhi N-E, Tajeddine K, 2010. Impact of climate variations on water resources in the Drâa basin (Morocco): Correlation between precipitation and evapotranspiration variability in the Drâa basin. Dans : Proceedings of the International Conference on Participatory and Integrated Management of Water Resources in Arid Zones (GIRE3D), Ouarzazate, Morocco.

Palmer WC, 1965. Meteorological drought. Office of Climatology Research Paper No. 45. Washington DC : US Weather Bureau.

Rouse JW, Haas RH, Schell JA, Deering DW, 1973. Monitoring vegetation systems in the Great Plains with ERTS (Earth Resources Technology Satellite). Dans : Proceedings of 3rd Earth Resources Technology Satellite Symposium, Greenbelt, MD, USA, décembre 10–14, pp. 309–317.

Sadiki A, Hanchane M, 2024. Apport des SIG et de la télédétection dans le suivi et la cartographie du lac de barrage Mansour Eddahbi (Sud-Est du Maroc). Espaces, Revue de Géographie, (11-12) : 19–25.

Saouabe T, Naceur KA, El Khalki EM, Hadri A, Saidi ME, 2022. GPM-IMERG product: A new way to assess the climate change impact on water resources in a Moroccan semi-arid basin. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 13(7) : 2559–2576. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2022.403

Schulz W, 2004. Reconstructing mediatization as an analytical concept. European Journal of Communication, 19(1) : 87–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323104040696

Schulz O, Busche H, Benbouziane A, 2008. Decadal precipitation variances and reservoir inflow in the semi-arid Upper Drâa Basin (South-Eastern Morocco). Dans : Zereini F, Hötzl H (éds). Climatic Changes and Water Resources in the Middle East and North Africa, Environmental Science and Engineering, pp. 165–178. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85047-2_13

Scian B, Donnari M, 1997. Retrospective analysis of the Palmer Drought Severity Index in the semi-arid Pampas region, Argentina. International Journal of Climatology, 17(3) : 313–322. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(19970315)17:3<313::AID-JOC112>3.0.CO;2-W

Seiler RA, Kogan F, Sullivan J, 1998. AVHRR-based vegetation and temperature condition indices for drought detection in Argentina. Advances in Space Research, 21(3) : 481–484. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0273-1177(97)00884-3

Serbouti I, Chenal J, Pradhan B, Diop EB, Azmi R, Abdem SAE, Adraoui M, Hlal M, Bounabi M, 2024. Assessing the impact of agricultural practices and urban expansion on drought dynamics using a multi-drought index application implemented in Google Earth Engine: A case study of the Oum-Er-Rbia watershed, Morocco. Remote Sensing, 16 : 3398. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16183398

Stour L, Agoumi A, 2008. Climatic drought in Morocco during the last decades. Hydroécologie Appliquée, 16 : 215–232.

Wang Q, Shi P, Lei T, Geng G, Liu J, Mo X, Li X, Zhou H, Wu J, 2015. The alleviating trend of drought in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China based on the daily SPEI. International Journal of Climatology, 35(13) : 3760–3769. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4244

Waroux YLP, 2013. Dégradation environnementale et développement économique dans l’arganeraie d’Aoulouz (Maroc). Sécheresse, 24(1) : 29–38.

Weber B, 2004. Untersuchungen zum Bodenwasserhaushalt und Modellierung der Bodenwasserflüsse entlang eines Höhen- und Ariditätsgradienten (SE Marokko). Thèse de doctorat.

Wilhite DA, 2000. Drought planning and risk assessment: status and future directions. Annals of Arid Zone, 39 : 211–230.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2012. Standardized precipitation index user guide (M. Svoboda, M. Hayes, & D. Wood). WMO-No. 1090. Genève : WMO. https://library.wmo.int/viewer/31481/download?file=wmo_1090_fr.pdf&navigator=1&type=pdf

Zhang A, Jia G, 2013. Monitoring meteorological drought in semiarid regions using multi-sensor microwave remote sensing data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 134 : 12–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.02.023

Zkhiri W, Tramblay Y, Hanich L, Jarlan L, Ruelland D, 2018. Spatiotemporal characterization of current and future droughts in the High Atlas basins (Morocco). Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 135(1-2) : 593–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-018-2388-6

Downloads

Published

2026-01-21

How to Cite

MAJDOULI, K., ALGOUTI, A., BHIRY, N., MOLSON, J., ALGOUTI, A., LAMRANI, K., & EL KIHAL, I. (2026). Monitoring Drought Impacts through Spatiotemporal Analysis of Climatic and Vegetative Indices in the Drâa River Watershed, Morocco. Italian Journal of Agrometeorology. https://doi.org/10.36253/ijam-3676

Issue

Just Accepted Manuscripts

Section

RESEARCH ARTICLES

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Kaouthar MAJDOULI, Ahmed ALGOUTI, Najat BHIRY, John MOLSON, Abdellah ALGOUTI, Khadija LAMRANI, Imane EL KIHAL

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Licence and copyright agreement for IJAM

(revised October 2020)

The following licence and copyright agreement is valid for any article published by IJAM.

Author’s certification

By submitting the manuscript, the authors certify the following:

  • They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
  • The work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or proceedings-type publication – including discussion papers – or as part of a published lecture or thesis); it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work was carried out.
  • They have secured the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
  • They agree to the following licence and copyright agreement:

Copyright

  • The copyright of any article is retained by the author(s). More information on the transfer of copyright can be found below.
  • Authors grant our journals a licence to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.
  • Authors grant any third party the right to use the article freely under the stipulation that the original authors are given credit and the appropriate citation details are mentioned.
  • The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

Anyone is free to share — to copy, distribute, and transmit the work to remix — to adapt the work under the following conditions:

  • Attribution — The original authors must be given credit.
  • For any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the licence terms of this work are.
  • Any of these conditions can be waived if the copyright holders give permission.
  • Nothing in this licence impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights. The full legal code of this licence.

 

Similar Articles

<< < 2 3 4 5 6 7 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.