Abstract
The objectives of this study were to develop an evaluation method of regional vulnerability to agricultural drought and to classify the vulnerability patterns. In order to test the method, 24 city or county areas of Gyeonggi-do were chose. First, statistic data and digital maps referred for agricultural drought were defined, and the input data of 31 items were set up from 5 categories: land use factor, water resource factor, climate factor, topographic and soil factor, and agricultural production foundation factor. Second, for simplification of the factors, principal component analysis was carried out, and eventually 4 principal components which explain about 80.8% of total variance were extracted. Each of the principal components was explained into the vulnerability components of scale factor, geographical factor, weather factor and agricultural production foundation factor. Next, DVIP (Drought Vulnerability Index for Paddy), was calculated using factor scores from principal components. Last, by means of statistical cluster analysis on the DVIP, the study area was classified as 5 patterns from A to E. The cluster A corresponds to the area where the agricultural industry is insignificant and the agricultural foundation is little equipped, and the cluster B includes typical agricultural areas where the cultivation areas are large but irrigation facilities are still insufficient. As for the cluster C, the corresponding areas are vulnerable to the climate change, and the D cluster applies to the area with extensive forests and high elevation farmlands. The last cluster I indicates the areas where the farmlands are small but most of them are irrigated as much.
