Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative(802) 656-0683femc@uvm.eduwww.uvm.edu/femc705 Spear StreetSouth BurlingtonVermont05403United States of AmericaStandardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI ) leadStandardized Preciptation-Evapotranspiration Index of DroughtThe Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is a multiscalar drought index based on climatic data. It can be used for determining the onset, duration and magnitude of drought conditions with respect to normal conditions in a variety of natural and managed systems such as crops, ecosystems, rivers, water resources, etc.Standardized Preciptation-Evapotranspiration Index of Droughtclimate changeprecipitationtemperaturemonitoringdrought indexspeiNortheast Growing Season SPEI1951-04-01Extract of SPEI growing season (April-Sept) drought index values for the Northeast with the long-term mean (1951-present).While mild, short-term droughts are not an uncommon event in Vermont, with higher temperatures resulting from continued climate change, we may see more severe or longer-duration droughts. Lack of water, particularly during the growing season, can result in short-term changes in our forests, for example, a tree will halt photosynthesis and growth until there is sufficient water. But droughts can also result in more serious consequences to forests, like lack of a viable seed crop or large die-offs of vulnerable species, locations, or age classes. Seedlings are particularly vulnerable to drought due to their shallow root systems. Further, droughts can increase the chance of forest fire -- to which many of our tree species are not adapted. Insect pest outbreaks can also be more destructive when they occur with or following drought.Z1242_3386_5DH3KAVMC.1242.3386mySQLhttps://vmc.w3.uvm.edu/vmcdevel/CI4/data/archive/project/spei-drought/dataset/northeast-growing-season-speiLTMeanLTMeandecimalRegionRegiontextStateStatetextYearYearintYrMeanYrMeandecimal