Abstract:  Winter wheat is the major grain crop in Gansu Province, where precipitation is the most important factor affecting the dry-farming winter wheat production. The uneven spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation results in the drought occurrence for winter wheat in the province. Therefore, it is of great significance to improve drought risk management level for dry-farming winter wheat in northwest China. In this paper, the daily meteorological data from 41 stations and the data related to winter wheat production in Gansu Province during the period of 1971-2016 were used. Based on the natural disaster risk theory, the drought risk for winter wheat was assessed. The results showed that the zones with high drought risk for winter wheat in Gansu Province were mainly located in north Qingyang City and south Longnan City, the drought hazards for winter wheat in whole growth period were high or sub-high, especially in south Longnan City, and winter wheat yield per unit area in north Qingyang City was lower and more unstable than the average in Gansu Province. The zones with sub-high and moderate drought risk were mainly located in the most regions of Longdong, north Longzhong and north Tianshui City, the drought hazards for winter wheat in whole growth period were moderate or sub-low, the area ratios of winter wheat were higher than the average in Gansu Province, and the productivity level and stability of winter wheat was different from different regions in Gansu Province. The study results could provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and mitigation of drought for winter wheat and for the sustainable development in Gansu Province.

Key words: winter wheat; drought')">

winter wheat; drought, risk assessment, regionalization, Gansu Province