Handbook of Drought Indicators and Indices: Recently published, this handbook from the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) was developed by Mark Svoboda and Brian Fuchs of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It intended as a resource guide for practitioners


Vegetative response to water availability on the San Carlos Apache Reservation: The authors used remote sensing to quantify vegetation response to water availability. Using a MODIS derived Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, they found that woodlands and grasslands respond similarly to short term water availability. The authors call for increased monitoring and management of woodlands and argue for unique management plans for woodlands and forests.


Plant responses to increasing CO2 reduce estimates of climate impacts on drought severity: Many Earth System Models (ESMs) used to predict future drought stress on ecosystems overlook the physiological effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide causing decreased transpiration (water loss) in plants. Including this effect significantly reduces the overall magnitude of future droughts while also changing the balance of some hydrological processes within terrestrial ecosystems.


Economic Analysis of the 2016 California Drought for Agriculture Report: The economic impacts of California's drought in 2015-16, though substantial, are less than in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The estimated direct costs of the 2016 drought stand at $550 million, slightly more than 1% of California’s annual agricultural output. However, California’s water resources are still in vulnerable condition – depleted after several years of severe drought – and the possible impact of below-average precipitation in 2016-17 remains a major concern.


Examining multi-functionality for crop yield and ecosystem services in five systems of agroecological intensification: To learn whether improved ecological farming practices can enhance both yield and ecosystem services, the authors analyzed 104 studies in five different systems: conservation agriculture; holistic grazing management; organic agriculture; precision agriculture; and system of rice intensification. They looked at how these systems affect nine ecosystem services (pest control, pollination, soil fertility, weed control, biodiversity, carbon storage, erosion control, water flow, and water quality) and concluded that win-win outcomes are common, but effects vary and much more research is needed.


Characterizing the extreme 2015 snowpack deficit in the Sierra Nevada (USA) and the implications for drought recovery: The authors use a combination of remote sensing and on-the-ground snowpack measurements to estimate that it will take at least four years of normal precipitation to rebuild the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which has fallen to record-low levels during California's 2012-2016 drought.